Beam propagation method analysis of optical waveguide lenses

Focusing characteristics of optical waveguide lenses are analyzed by the beam propagation method (BPM) instead of the ray tracing method. By use of the BPM, we can observe field distributions of a converging or diverging light beam after it passes through a waveguide lens. Variations of the spot width and magnitude of diffraction can immediately be evaluated with this calculation. The BPM calculations are used for a mode-index, Luneburg, and geodesic lenses. For the application of the method to the geodesic lens, the surface deformation is converted into an equivalent index.