This book was originally published in Japanese in October 1998 with the
intention of providing a straightforward presentation of the sophisticated
techniques used in optical waveguide analyses. Apparently, we were
successful because the Japanese version has been well accepted by
students in undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. courses as well as
by researchers at universities and colleges and by researchers and
engineers in the private sector of the optoelectronics field. Since we did
not want to change the fundamental presentation of the original, this
English version is, except for the newly added optical fiber analyses and
problems, essentially a direct translation of the Japanese version.
Optical waveguide devices already play important roles in telecommu-
nications systems, and their importance will certainly grow in the future.
People considering which computer programs to use when designing
optical waveguide devices have two choices: develop their own or use
those available on the market. A thorough understanding of optical
waveguide analysis is, of course, indispensable if we are to develop our
own programs. And computer-aided design (CAD) software for optical
waveguides is available on the market. The CAD software can be used
more effectively by designers who understand the features of each analysis
method. Furthermore, an understanding of the wave equations and how
they are solved helps us understand the optical waveguides themselves.
Since each analysis method has its features, different methods