Process / pipelineComputational

Beam Propagation Method

The Beam Propagation Method is a computational technique for simulating the propagation of optical beams through slowly varying, weakly guiding structures. Developed by Feit and Fleck in 1978, BPM exploits the paraxial approximation to reduce the full vector wave equation to a scalar or vector envelope equation, enabling efficient simulation of waveguides, integrated optics, and photonic devices.

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Sources

  1. Feit, M. D., & Fleck, J. A. (1978). Light propagation in graded-index optical fibers. Applied Optics, 17(24), 3990-3998. DOI: 10.1364/AO.17.003990
  2. Huang, W. P. (1992). The finite-difference vector beam propagation method: an analysis. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 10(3), 295-305. DOI: 10.1109/50.124389
  3. Hadley, G. R. (1992). Wide-angle beam propagation using Padé approximant operators. Optics Letters, 17(20), 1426-1428. DOI: 10.1364/OL.17.001426

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ScholarGateBeam Propagation Method (Beam Propagation Method). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/optics/beam-propagation-method