k-domain method for the fast calculation of electromagnetic fields propagating in graded-index media

A conceptually straightforward method for the fast calculation of electromagnetic fields propagating in graded-index media is presented. More specifically, in this method, we convert Maxwell's curl equations into the spatial-frequency domain to obtain an ordinary differential equation (ODE), and subsequently solve the ODE with the 4th-order Runge-Kutta method. Compared to the traditional beam propagation methods, this method deals with vectorial fields accurately, without physical approximations, like the scalar field approximation or the paraxial approximation; numerically, this method takes advantage of the fast Fourier transform and the convolution theorem to achieve an efficient calculation. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement