Simulation of three-dimensional waveguide discontinuities by a full-vector mode-matching method based on finite-difference schemes.

A rigorous full-vector analysis based on the finite-difference mode-matching method is presented for three-dimensional optical wave propagation problems. The computation model is facilitated by a perfectly matched layer (PML) terminated with a perfectly reflecting boundary condition (PRB). The complex modes including both the guided and the radiation fields of the three-dimensional waveguide with arbitrary index profiles are computed by a finite-difference scheme. The method is applied to and validated by the analysis of the facet reflectivity of a buried waveguide and the power exchange of a periodically loaded dielectric waveguide polarization rotator.