Convergence analysis of various factorization rules in the Fourier-Bessel basis for solving Maxwell equations using modal methods

Abstract

The choice of factorization rule can strongly affect the convergence of solutions to Maxwell equations based on the orthogonal expansion of electromagnetic fields. While this issue has already been investigated thoughtfully for the Fourier basis (plane-wave expansion), for other bases it has not yet received much attention. Although there are works showing that, in the case of the Fourier-Bessel basis (cylindrical-wave expansion), the use of an inverse factorization rule can provide faster convergence than Laurent’s rule, these works neglect the fact that other rules are also possible. Here, I mathematically demonstrate four different factorization rules for solving Maxwell equations in cylindrical coordinates using the Fourier-Bessel expansion in both infinite and finite domains. I compare their convergence for a step-index fiber (which has a known exact solution and thus enables the absolute numerical error to be determined), as well as for several VCSEL structures. I show that the cylindrical-wave expansion differs from the plane-wave expansion and that the application of an inverse factorization rule for the electric field component perpendicular to the discontinuities can result in deterioration of numerical convergence. Finally, I identify the factorization rule that gives the fastest convergence of the modal method using the Fourier-Bessel basis.