Hybrid finite element-mixed-potential integral equation-discrete complex image approach for inhomogeneous waveguides in layered media

Presents an efficient approach which combines the finite element method (FEM), the mixed-potential integral equation method (MPIE) and the discrete complex image method (DCIM) for the analysis of inhomogeneous waveguides in layered media. In this approach, the inhomogeneous guiding core is modeled by the FEM based on the vector E-formulation and the layered media by the MPIE. The FEM and MPIE formulations are coupled by enforcing the continuity of the tangential fields across the surface of the guiding core. The spectral integrals that arise in layered media Green´s functions are efficiently evaluated using the DCIM. Numerical results for the dispersion curves of dielectric waveguides in a homogeneous medium and on a grounded substrate are presented and compared with published results.