Bidirectional finite-element method-of-line beam propagation method (FE-MoL-BPM) for analyzing optical waveguides with discontinuities

A bidirectional finite-element method-of-line beam propagation method (FE-MoL-BPM) is newly proposed for analyzing optical waveguides with discontinuities including transmissions, reflections and radiations. In this approach, the finite-element method (FEM) is introduced to discretize the derivatives of the variable perpendicular to the propagation direction. Since the proposed method is accurate and stable, only a small number of nodal points are required.