Fully vectorial eigenmode calculation of dielectric waveguides using a Rayleigh--Ritz method with rational basis functions

A fully vectorial Rayleigh--Ritz method for the eigenmode calculation of dielectric waveguides is presented. It uses the four transversal field components and takes rational functions as an orthonormal basis. This formalism is especially useful near the cutoff frequency and has been applied for the investigation of the polarization properties of the output waveguides in integrated spot-size transformers. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.