Wave Optics Module

User’s Guide
Wave Optics Module User’s Guide
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Part number: CM023501

C o n t e n t s

Chapter 1: Introduction

About the Wave Optics Module 10

About the Wave Optics Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What Problems Can You Solve? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Wave Optics Module Physics Interface Guide . . . . . . . . . . 12
Common Physics Interface and Feature Settings and Nodes . . . . . . 14
Selecting the Study Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The Wave Optics Module Modeling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Where Do I Access the Documentation and Application Libraries? . . . . 16

Overview of the User’s Guide 20

Chapter 2: Wave Optics Modeling

Preparing for Wave Optics Modeling 25

Simplifying Geometries 26
2D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3D Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using Efficient Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Applying Electromagnetic Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Meshing and Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Periodic Boundary Conditions 31

Scattered Field Formulation 33

Modeling with Far-Field Calculations 35

Far-Field Support in the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain
Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Radiation Pattern Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

CONTENTS |3
 Maxwell’s Equations 42
Maxwell’s Equations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Constitutive Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Potentials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Electromagnetic Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Phasors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Special Calculations 50
S-Parameter Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Far-Field Calculations Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

S-Parameters and Ports 55

S-Parameters in Terms of Voltage and Electric Field . . . . . . . . . 55
S-Parameter Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
S-Parameter Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Port Sweeps/Manual Terminal Sweeps and Touchstone Export . . . . . 56

Jones Vectors and Polarization Plots 57

Jones Vectors for Polarization Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Polarization Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Jones Vector Variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Lossy Eigenvalue Calculations 60

Eigenfrequency Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Mode Analysis and Boundary Mode Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Material Libraries 64

Part Libraries 68

Reduced Order Modeling 69

Adaptive Frequency Sweep Using Asymptotic Waveform Evaluation
(AWE) Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Frequency Domain, Modal Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

4 | CONTENTS
 Electromagnetic Quantities 72

Chapter 3: Wave Optics Interfaces

The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface 76

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the
Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface . . . . . . . 84
Wave Equation, Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Initial Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
External Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Far-Field Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Far-Field Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Polarization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Perfect Electric Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Perfect Magnetic Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Circular Port Reference Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Diffraction Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Orthogonal Polarization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Periodic Port Reference Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Electric Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Magnetic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Scattering Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Reference Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Symmetry Axis Reference Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Impedance Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Surface Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Surface Magnetic Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Transition Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Layered Transition Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Periodic Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Magnetic Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Edge Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Electric Point Dipole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Magnetic Point Dipole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Line Current (Out-of-Plane) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

CONTENTS |5
 The Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface 129
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the
Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface . . . . . . . . . . 130
Wave Equation, Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Initial Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Drude–Lorentz Polarization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

The Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface 137

Domain, Boundary, and Pair Nodes for the Electromagnetic Waves,
Time Explicit Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Wave Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Initial Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Electric Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Magnetic Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Electric Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Perfect Electric Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Magnetic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Perfect Magnetic Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Surface Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Scattering Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Flux/Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Background Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Far-Field Domain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Far-Field Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface 148

Domain, Boundary, Edge, and Point Nodes for the Electromagnetic
Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Wave Equation, Beam Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Polarization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Initial Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Electric Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Field Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Magnetic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Matched Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Scattering Boundary Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Surface Current Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

6 | CONTENTS
 The Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface 166
Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the
Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface . . . . . . 174
Wave Equation, Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Initial Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Far-Field Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Electric Field Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Theory for the Electromagnetic Waves Interfaces 179

Introduction to the Physics Interface Equations . . . . . . . . . . 179
Frequency Domain Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Time Domain Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Curl Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Eigenfrequency Calculations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Gaussian Beams as Background Fields and Input Fields. . . . . . . . 189

Theory for the Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit

Interface 191
The Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
In-Plane E Field or In-Plane H Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Fluxes as Dirichlet Boundary Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Absorbing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Chapter 4: Heat Transfer Interfaces

The Laser Heating Interface 200

Chapter 5: Glossary

Glossary of Terms 206

CONTENTS |7
8 | CONTENTS
 1

Introduction

This guide describes the Wave Optics Module, an optional add-on package for
COMSOL Multiphysics® designed to assist you to set up and solve electromagnetic
wave problems at optical frequencies.

This chapter introduces you to the capabilities of this module. A summary of the
physics interfaces and where you can find documentation and model examples is
also included. The last section is a brief overview with links to each chapter in this
guide.

In this chapter:

• About the Wave Optics Module

• Overview of the User’s Guide

9
 About the Wave Optics Module
These topics are included in this section:

• About the Wave Optics Module

• What Problems Can You Solve?
• The Wave Optics Module Physics Interface Guide
• Common Physics Interface and Feature Settings and Nodes
• Selecting the Study Type
• The Wave Optics Module Modeling Process
• Where Do I Access the Documentation and Application Libraries?

Building a COMSOL Multiphysics Model in the COMSOL Multiphysics

Reference Manual

About the Wave Optics Module

The Wave Optics Module extends the functionality of the physics interfaces of the base
package for COMSOL Multiphysics. The details of the physics interfaces and study
types for the Wave Optics Module are listed in the table in The Wave Optics Module
Physics Interface Guide. The functionality of the COMSOL Multiphysics base package
is given in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

The Wave Optics Module solves problems in the field of electromagnetic waves at
optical frequencies (corresponding to wavelengths in the nano- to micrometer range).
The underlying equations for electromagnetics are automatically available in all of the
physics interfaces — a feature unique to COMSOL Multiphysics. This also makes
nonstandard modeling easily accessible.

The module is useful for simulations and design of optical applications in virtually all
areas where you find electromagnetic waves, such as:

• Optical fibers
• Photonic waveguides
• Photonic crystals
• Nonlinear optics

10 | CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
• Laser resonator design
• Active devices in photonics

The physics interfaces cover the following types of electromagnetics field simulations
and handle time-harmonic, time-dependent, and eigenfrequency/eigenmode
problems:

• In-plane, axisymmetric, and full 3D electromagnetic wave propagation

• Full vector mode analysis in 2D and 3D

Material properties include inhomogeneous and fully anisotropic materials, media with
gains or losses, and complex-valued material properties. In addition to the standard
postprocessing features, the module supports direct computation of S-parameters and
far-field radiation patterns. You can add ports with a wave excitation with specified
power level and mode type, and add PMLs (perfectly matched layers) to simulate
electromagnetic waves that propagate into an unbounded domain. For time-harmonic
simulations, you can use the scattered wave or the total wave.

Using the multiphysics capabilities of COMSOL Multiphysics you can couple

simulations with heat transfer, structural mechanics, fluid flow formulations, and other
physical phenomena.

What Problems Can You Solve?

The Wave Optics Module allows you to make high-frequency electromagnetic wave
simulations. It distinguishes itself from the AC/DC Module, in that the AC/DC
Module targets quasistatic simulations, where the size of the computational domain is
small compared to the wavelength.

Both the RF and the Wave Optics Module can handle high-frequency electromagnetic
wave simulations. However, with the Wave Optics Module you can do time-harmonic
simulations of domains that are much larger than the wavelength. This situation is
typical for optical phenomena, components, and systems. Due to the relatively weak
coupling between waves in optical materials, the interaction lengths are often much
larger than the wavelength. This applies to linear couplers, like directional couplers and
fiber Bragg gratings, and nonlinear phenomena, like second harmonic generation, self-
phase modulation, and so forth. With the Wave Optics Module, these kinds of
problems are directly addressable, without huge computer memory requirements.

ABOUT THE WAVE OPTICS MODULE | 11

 Independently of the structure size, the module accommodates any case of nonlinear,
inhomogeneous, or anisotropic media. It also handles materials with properties that
vary as a function of time as well as frequency-dispersive materials.

The Wave Optics Module Physics Interface Guide

The physics interfaces in this module form a complete set of simulation tools for
electromagnetic wave simulations. In addition to the core physics interfaces included
with the COMSOL Multiphysics license, the physics interfaces below are included with
the Wave Optics Module and available in the indicated space dimension. All physics
interfaces are available in 2D and 3D. In 2D there are in-plane formulations for
problems with a planar symmetry as well as axisymmetric formulations for problems
with a cylindrical symmetry. 2D mode analysis of waveguide cross sections with out-
of-plane propagation is also supported.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:

• Studies and Solvers

• The Physics Interfaces
• Creating a New Model
• For a list of all the core physics interfaces included with a COMSOL
Multiphysics license, see Physics Interface Guide.

PHYSICS INTERFACE ICON TAG SPACE AVAILABLE STUDY TYPE

DIMENSION

Fluid-Structure Interaction

Heat Transfer

Electromagnetic Heating

12 | CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
PHYSICS INTERFACE ICON TAG SPACE AVAILABLE STUDY TYPE
DIMENSION

Laser Heating1 — 3D, 2D, 2D frequency-stationary;

axisymmetric frequency-transient;
frequency-stationary, one-
way electromagnetic
heating; frequency-
transient, one-way
electromagnetic heating
Optics

Wave Optics

Electromagnetic ewbe 3D, 2D, 2D adaptive frequency sweep;

Waves, Beam axisymmetric boundary mode analysis;
Envelopes eigenfrequency; frequency
domain; frequency domain,
modal; wavelength domain;
frequency domain source
sweep
Electromagnetic ebem 3D, 2D frequency domain;
Waves, Boundary wavelength domain
Elements
Electromagnetic ewfd 3D, 2D, 2D adaptive frequency sweep;
Waves, Frequency axisymmetric boundary mode analysis;
Domain eigenfrequency; frequency
domain; frequency domain,
modal; mode analysis (2D
and 2D axisymmetric
models only); wavelength
domain; frequency domain
source sweep
Electromagnetic teew 3D, 2D, 2D time dependent; time
Waves, Time Explicit axisymmetric dependent with FFT
Electromagnetic ewt 3D, 2D, 2D eigenfrequency; time
Waves, Transient axisymmetric dependent; time
dependent, modal, time
dependent with FFT
1
This physics interface is a predefined multiphysics coupling that automatically adds all the
physics interfaces and coupling features required.

ABOUT THE WAVE OPTICS MODULE | 13

 Common Physics Interface and Feature Settings and Nodes
There are several common settings and sections available for the physics interfaces and
feature nodes. Some of these sections also have similar settings or are implemented in
the same way no matter the physics interface or feature being used. There are also some
physics feature nodes that display in COMSOL Multiphysics.

In each module’s documentation, only unique or extra information is included;

standard information and procedures are centralized in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see Table 2-4 for

links to common sections and Table 2-5 to common feature nodes.
You can also search for information: press F1 to open the Help
window or Ctrl+F1 to open the Documentation window.

Selecting the Study Type

To carry out different kinds of simulations for a given set of parameters in a physics
interface, you can select, add, and change the Study Types at almost every stage of
modeling.

Studies and Solvers in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

COMPARING THE TIME DEPENDENT AND FREQUENCY DOMAIN STUDIES

When variations in time are present there are two main approaches to represent the
time dependence. The most straightforward is to solve the problem by calculating the
changes in the solution for each time step; that is, solving using the Time Dependent
study (available with the Electromagnetic Waves, Transient and Electromagnetic
Waves, Time Explicit interfaces). However, this approach can be time consuming if
small time steps are necessary for the desired accuracy. It is necessary when the inputs
are transients like turn-on and turn-off sequences.

However, if the Frequency Domain or Wavelength Domain studies, available with the
Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain and the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam
Envelopes interfaces, are used, this allows you to efficiently simplify and assume that
all variations in time occur as sinusoidal signals. Then the problem is time harmonic

14 | CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
and in the frequency domain. Thus you can formulate it as a stationary problem with
complex-valued solutions. The complex value represents both the amplitude and the
phase of the field, while the frequency is specified as a scalar model input, usually
provided by the solver. This approach is useful because, combined with Fourier
analysis, it applies to all periodic signals with the exception of nonlinear problems.
Examples of typical frequency or wavelength domain simulations are wave-
propagation problems.

For nonlinear problems you can apply a Frequency Domain or Wavelength Domain
study after a linearization of the problem, which assumes that the distortion of the
sinusoidal signal is small. You can also couple waves at different frequencies, for
example in applications like second harmonic generation, by coupling several physics
interfaces, defined for the different frequencies, using weak expression coupling terms.

Use a Time Dependent study when the nonlinear influence is strong, or if you are
interested in the harmonic distortion of a sine signal. It can also be more efficient to
use a time dependent study if you have a periodic input with many harmonics, like a
square-shaped signal.

COMPARING THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN AND

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACES
Both the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain and the Electromagnetic Waves,
Beam Envelopes interfaces solve the time-harmonic Maxwell’s equations. For the
Frequency Domain interface, the dependent variable is the total electric field. Since the
electric field has a spatial variation on the scale of a wavelength, the maximum mesh
element size must be a fraction of a wavelength. If this mesh requirement is fulfilled,
the Frequency Domain interface is very flexible for solving both propagation and
scattering problems.

For many optical applications the propagation length is much longer than the
wavelength. For instance, a typical optical wavelength is 1 μm, but the propagation
length can easily be on the millimeter to centimeter scale. To apply the Frequency
Domain interface to this kind of problems, requires a large amount of available
memory. However, many problems are such that the electric field can be factored into
a slowly varying amplitude factor and a rapidly varying phase factor. The
Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface is based on this assumption. Thus,
this physics interface assumes a prescribed rapidly varying phase factor and solves for
the slowly varying amplitude factor. Thereby it can be used for solving problems
extending over domains that are a large number of wavelengths long, without
requiring the use of large amounts of memory.

ABOUT THE WAVE OPTICS MODULE | 15

 The Wave Optics Module Modeling Process
The modeling process has these main steps, which (excluding the first step),
correspond to the branches displayed in the Model Builder in the COMSOL Desktop
environment.

1 Selecting the appropriate physics interface or predefined multiphysics coupling

when adding a physics interface.
2 Defining model parameters and variables in the Definitions branch ( ).
3 Drawing or importing the model geometry in the Geometry branch ( ).
4 Assigning material properties to the geometry in the Materials branch ( ).
5 Setting up the model equations and boundary conditions in the physics interfaces
branch.
6 Meshing in the Mesh branch ( ).
7 Setting up the study and computing the solution in the Study branch ( ).
8 Analyzing and visualizing the results in the Results branch ( ).

Even after a model is defined, you can edit input data, equations, boundary conditions,
geometry — the equations and boundary conditions are still available through
associative geometry — and mesh settings. You can restart the solver, for example,
using the existing solution as the initial condition or initial guess. It is also easy to add
another physics interface to account for a phenomenon not previously described in a
model.

Where Do I Access the Documentation and Application Libraries?

A number of internet resources have more information about COMSOL, including
licensing and technical information. The electronic documentation, topic-based (or
context-based) help, and the application libraries are all accessed through the
COMSOL Desktop.

If you are reading the documentation as a PDF file on your computer,

the blue links do not work to open an application or content
referenced in a different guide. However, if you are using the Help
system in COMSOL Multiphysics, these links work to open other
modules, application examples, and documentation sets.

16 | CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
THE DOCUMENTATION AND ONLINE HELP
The COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual describes the core physics interfaces
and functionality included with the COMSOL Multiphysics license. This book also has
instructions about how to use COMSOL Multiphysics and how to access the
electronic Documentation and Help content.

Opening Topic-Based Help

The Help window is useful as it is connected to the features in the COMSOL Desktop.
To learn more about a node in the Model Builder, or a window on the Desktop, click
to highlight a node or window, then press F1 to open the Help window, which then
displays information about that feature (or click a node in the Model Builder followed
by the Help button ( ). This is called topic-based (or context) help.

To open the Help window:

• In the Model Builder, Application Builder, or Physics Builder click a node or

window and then press F1.
• On any toolbar (for example, Home, Definitions, or Geometry), hover the
mouse over a button (for example, Add Physics or Build All) and then
press F1.
• From the File menu, click Help ( ).
• In the upper-right corner of the COMSOL Desktop, click the Help ( )
button.

To open the Help window:

• In the Model Builder or Physics Builder click a node or window and then
press F1.
• On the main toolbar, click the Help ( ) button.
• From the main menu, select Help>Help.

Opening the Documentation Window

To open the Documentation window:

• Press Ctrl+F1.
• From the File menu select Help>Documentation ( ).

ABOUT THE WAVE OPTICS MODULE | 17

 To open the Documentation window:

• Press Ctrl+F1.
• On the main toolbar, click the Documentation ( ) button.
• From the main menu, select Help>Documentation.

THE APPLICATION LIBRARIES WINDOW

Each model or application includes documentation with the theoretical background
and step-by-step instructions to create a model or application. The models and
applications are available in COMSOL Multiphysics as MPH files that you can open
for further investigation. You can use the step-by-step instructions and the actual
models as templates for your own modeling. In most models, SI units are used to
describe the relevant properties, parameters, and dimensions, but other unit systems
are available.

Once the Application Libraries window is opened, you can search by name or browse
under a module folder name. Click to view a summary of the model or application and
its properties, including options to open it or its associated PDF document.

The Application Libraries Window in the COMSOL Multiphysics

Reference Manual.

Opening the Application Libraries Window

To open the Application Libraries window ( ):

• From the Home toolbar, Windows menu, click ( ) Applications

Libraries.
• From the File menu select Application Libraries.

To include the latest versions of model examples, from the File>Help

menu, select ( ) Update COMSOL Application Library.

Select Application Libraries from the main File> or Windows> menus.

To include the latest versions of model examples, from the Help menu
select ( ) Update COMSOL Application Library.

18 | CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
CONTACTING COMSOL BY EMAIL
For general product information, contact COMSOL at info@comsol.com.

COMSOL ACCESS AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT

To receive technical support from COMSOL for the COMSOL products, please
contact your local COMSOL representative or send your questions to
support@comsol.com. An automatic notification and a case number are sent to you by
email. You can also access technical support, software updates, license information, and
other resources by registering for a COMSOL Access account.

COMSOL ONLINE RESOURCES

COMSOL website www.comsol.com

Contact COMSOL www.comsol.com/contact
COMSOL Access www.comsol.com/access
Support Center www.comsol.com/support
Product Download www.comsol.com/product-download
Product Updates www.comsol.com/support/updates
COMSOL Blog www.comsol.com/blogs
Discussion Forum www.comsol.com/community
Events www.comsol.com/events
COMSOL Application Gallery www.comsol.com/models
COMSOL Video Gallery www.comsol.com/video
Support Knowledge Base www.comsol.com/support/knowledgebase

ABOUT THE WAVE OPTICS MODULE | 19

 Overview of the User’s Guide
The Wave Optics Module User’s Guide gets you started with modeling using
COMSOL Multiphysics. The information in this guide is specific to this module.
Instructions on how to use COMSOL in general are included with the COMSOL
Multiphysics Reference Manual.

As detailed in the section Where Do I Access the Documentation and

Application Libraries? this information can also be searched from the
COMSOL Multiphysics software Help menu.

TABLE OF CONTENTS, GLOSSARY, AND INDEX

To help you navigate through this guide, see the Contents, Glossary, and Index.

MODELING WITH THE WAVE OPTICS MODULE

The Wave Optics Modeling chapter familiarize you with the modeling procedures. A
number of models available through the Wave Optics Module Applications Libraries
also illustrate the different aspects of the simulation process. Topics include Preparing
for Wave Optics Modeling, Simplifying Geometries, and Scattered Field Formulation.

The chapter also contains a review of the basic theory of electromagnetics, starting
with Maxwell’s Equations, and the theory for some Special Calculations: S-parameters,
and far-field analysis. There is also a list of Electromagnetic Quantities with the SI units
and symbols.

OPTICS
The Wave Optics Interfaces chapter describes:

• The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface, which analyzes

frequency domain electromagnetic waves, and uses time-harmonic and
eigenfrequency or eigenmode (2D only) studies, boundary mode analysis and
frequency domain, modal.
• The Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface, which supports the time
dependent study type.
• The Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface, which solves a transient wave
equation for both the electric and magnetic fields.

20 | CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
• The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface, which analyzes frequency
domain electromagnetic waves, and uses time-harmonic and eigenfrequency
studies, boundary mode analysis, and frequency domain, modal studies.
• The Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface, which analyzes time-
harmonic electromagnetic waves using the boundary element method.

The underlying theory is also included at the end of the chapter.

HEAT TRANSFER
The Laser Heating Interface is used to model electromagnetic heating for systems and
devices where the electric field amplitude varies slowly on a wavelength scale. This
multiphysics interface adds an Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface and
a Heat Transfer in Solids interface.

OVERVIEW OF THE USER’S GUIDE | 21

22 | CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
 2

Wave Optics Modeling

The goal of this chapter is to familiarize you with the modeling procedure in the
Wave Optics Module. A number of models available in the Applications Libraries
also illustrate the different aspects of the simulation process.

In this chapter:

• Preparing for Wave Optics Modeling

• Simplifying Geometries
• Periodic Boundary Conditions
• Scattered Field Formulation
• Modeling with Far-Field Calculations
• Maxwell’s Equations
• Special Calculations
• S-Parameters and Ports
• Jones Vectors and Polarization Plots
• Lossy Eigenvalue Calculations
• Material Libraries
• Part Libraries

23
 • Reduced Order Modeling
• Electromagnetic Quantities

24 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Preparing for Wave Optics Modeling
Several modeling topics are described in this section that might not be found in
ordinary textbooks on electromagnetic theory.

This section is intended to help answer questions such as:

• Which space dimension should I use: 3D, 2D axial symmetry, or 2D?

• Is my problem suited for time-dependent or frequency domain formulations?
• Can I assume that the electric field has a slowly varying amplitude?
• What sources can I use to excite the fields?
• When do I need to resolve the thickness of thin shells and when can I use boundary
conditions?
• What is the purpose of the model?
• What information do I want to extract from the model?

Increasing the complexity of a model to make it more accurate usually makes it more
expensive to simulate. A complex model is also more difficult to manage and interpret
than a simple one. Keep in mind that it can be more accurate and efficient to use several
simple models instead of a single, complex one.

The Physics Interfaces and Building a COMSOL Multiphysics Model in

the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

PREPARING FOR WAVE OPTICS MODELING | 25

 Simplifying Geometries
Most of the problems that are solved with COMSOL Multiphysics are
three-dimensional (3D) in the real world. In many cases, it is sufficient to solve a
two-dimensional (2D) problem that is close to or equivalent to the real problem.
Furthermore, it is good practice to start a modeling project by building one or several
2D models before going to a 3D model. This is because 2D models are easier to
modify and solve much faster. Thus, modeling mistakes are much easier to find when
working in 2D. Once the 2D model is verified, you are in a much better position to
build a 3D model.

In this section:

• 2D Models
• 3D Models
• Using Efficient Boundary Conditions
• Applying Electromagnetic Sources
• Meshing and Solving

2D Models
The text below is a guide to some of the common approximations made for 2D
models. Remember that the modeling in 2D usually represents some 3D geometry
under the assumption that nothing changes in the third dimension or that the field has
a prescribed propagation component in the third dimension.

CARTESIAN COORDINATES
In this case a cross section is viewed in the xy-plane of the actual 3D geometry. The
geometry is mathematically extended to infinity in both directions along the z-axis,
assuming no variation along that axis or that the field has a prescribed wave vector
component along that axis. All the total flows in and out of boundaries are per unit
length along the z-axis. A simplified way of looking at this is to assume that the
geometry is extruded one unit length from the cross section along the z-axis. The total
flow out of each boundary is then from the face created by the extruded boundary (a
boundary in 2D is a line).

There are usually two approaches that lead to a 2D cross-section view of a problem.
The first approach is when it is known that there is no variation of the solution in one

26 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

particular dimension. The second approach is when there is a problem where the
influence of the finite extension in the third dimension can be neglected.

AXIAL SYMMETRY (CYLINDRICAL COORDINATES)

If the 3D geometry can be constructed by revolving a cross section around an axis, and
if no variations in any variable occur when going around the axis of revolution (or that
the field has a prescribed wave vector component in the direction of revolution), then
use an axisymmetric physics interface. The spatial coordinates are called r and z, where
r is the radius. The flow at the boundaries is given per unit length along the third
dimension. Because this dimension is a revolution all flows must be multiplied with αr,
where α is the revolution angle (for example, 2π for a full turn).

When using the axisymmetric versions, the horizontal axis represents the
radial (r) direction and the vertical axis the z direction, and the geometry
in the right half plane (that is, for positive r only) must be created.

POLARIZATION IN 2D
In addition to selecting 2D or 2D axisymmetry when you start building the model, the
physics interfaces (The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface, The
Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface, or The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam
Envelopes Interface) in the Model Builder offers a choice in the Components settings
section. The available choices are Out-of-plane vector, In-plane vector, and
Three-component vector. This choice determines what polarizations can be handled.
For example, as you are solving for the electric field, a 2D TM (out-of-plane H field)
model requires choosing In-plane vector as then the electric field components are in
the modeling plane.

3D Models
Although COMSOL Multiphysics fully supports arbitrary 3D geometries, it is
important to simplify the problem. This is because 3D models often require more
computer power, memory, and time to solve. The extra time spent on simplifying a
model is probably well spent when solving it. Below are a few issues that need to be
addressed before starting to implement a 3D model in this module.

• Check if it is possible to solve the problem in 2D. Given that the necessary
approximations are small, the solution is more accurate in 2D, because a much
denser mesh can be used.

SIMPLIFYING GEOMETRIES | 27
 • Look for symmetries in the geometry and model. Many problems have planes where
the solution is the same on both sides of the plane. A good way to check this is to
flip the geometry around the plane, for example, by turning it up-side down around
the horizontal plane. Then remove the geometry below the plane if no differences
are observed between the two cases regarding geometry, materials, and sources.
Boundaries created by the cross section between the geometry and this plane need
a symmetry boundary condition, which is available in all 3D physics interfaces.
• There are also cases when the dependence along one direction is known, and it can
be replaced by an analytical function. Use this approach either to convert 3D to 2D
or to convert a layer to a boundary condition.
• Sometimes the electric field can be decomposed into a product of a slowly varying
amplitude function and a prescribed rapidly varying phase function. In this case it is
advantageous to reformulate the equations and solve for the slowly varying
amplitude function. Thereby the mesh only need to resolve the slowly varying
function, and not the prescribed rapidly varying phase function.

Using Efficient Boundary Conditions

An important technique to minimize the problem size is to use efficient boundary
conditions. Truncating the geometry without introducing too large errors is one of the
great challenges in modeling. Below are a few suggestions of how to do this. They
apply to both 2D and 3D problems.

• Many models extend to infinity or can have regions where the solution only
undergoes small changes. This problem is addressed in two related steps. First, the
geometry needs to be truncated in a suitable position. Second, a suitable boundary
condition needs to be applied there. For static and quasistatic models, it is often
possible to assume zero fields at the open boundary, provided that this is at a
sufficient distance away from the sources. For radiation problems, special
low-reflecting boundary conditions need to be applied. This boundary should be in
the order of a few wavelengths away from any source.
A more accurate option is to use perfectly matched layers (PMLs). PMLs are layers
that absorbs all radiated waves with small reflections.
Another option is to truncate the model, using The Electromagnetic Waves,
Boundary Elements Interface for the infinite void domain.
• Replace thin layers with boundary conditions where possible. There are several types
of boundary conditions in COMSOL Multiphysics suitable for such replacements.

28 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

 For example, replace materials with high conductivity by the perfect electric
conductor (PEC) boundary condition.
• Use boundary conditions for known solutions. For example, an antenna aperture
can be modeled as an equivalent surface current density on a 2D face (boundary) in
a 3D model.

Applying Electromagnetic Sources

Electromagnetic sources can be applied in many different ways. The typical options are
boundary sources, line sources, and point sources, where point sources in 2D
formulations are equivalent to line sources in 3D formulations. The way sources are
imposed can have an impact on what quantities can be computed from the model. For
example, a line source in an electromagnetic wave model represents a singularity and
the magnetic field does not have a finite value at the position of the source. In a
COMSOL Multiphysics model, the magnetic field of a line source has a finite but
mesh-dependent value. In general, using volume or boundary sources is more flexible
than using line sources or point sources, but the meshing of the source domains
becomes more expensive.

Meshing and Solving

The finite element method approximates the solution within each element, using some
elementary shape function that can be constant, linear, or of higher order. Depending
on the element order in the model, a finer or coarser mesh is required to resolve the
solution. In general, there are three problem-dependent factors that determine the
necessary mesh resolution:

• The first is the variation in the solution due to geometrical factors. The mesh
generator automatically generates a finer mesh where there is a lot of fine
geometrical details. Try to remove such details if they do not influence the solution,
because they produce a lot of unnecessary mesh elements.
• The second is the skin effect or the field variation due to losses. It is easy to estimate
the skin depth from the conductivity, permeability, and frequency. At least two linear
elements per skin depth are required to capture the variation of the fields. If the skin
depth is not studied or a very accurate measure of the dissipation loss profile is not
needed, replace regions with a small skin depth with a boundary condition, thereby

SIMPLIFYING GEOMETRIES | 29
 saving elements. If it is necessary to resolve the skin depth, the boundary layer
meshing technique can be a convenient way to get a dense mesh near a boundary.
• The third and last factor is the wavelength. To resolve a wave properly, it is necessary
to use about 10 linear (or five 2nd order) elements per wavelength. Keep in mind
that the wavelength depends on the local material properties. Notice that this
limitation does not apply if it is possible to factor out the rapid field variation that
occurs on a wavelength scale (see 3D Models).

SOLVERS
In most cases the solver sequence generated by COMSOL Multiphysics can be used.
The choice of solver is optimized for the typical case for each physics interface and
study type in this module. However, in special cases tuning the solver settings can be
required. This is especially important for 3D problems because they can require a large
amount of memory.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:

• Meshing
• Studies and Solvers

30 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Periodic Boundary Conditions
The Wave Optics Module has a dedicated Periodic Condition. The periodic condition
can identify simple mappings on plane source and destination boundaries of equal
shape. The destination can also be rotated with respect to the source. There are three
types of periodic conditions available (only the first two for transient analysis):

• Continuity — The tangential components of the solution variables are equal on the
source and destination.
• Antiperiodicity — The tangential components have opposite signs.
• Floquet periodicity — There is a phase shift between the tangential components.
The phase shift is determined by a wave vector and the distance between the source
and destination. Floquet periodicity is typically used for models involving plane
waves interacting with periodic structures.

Periodic boundary conditions must have compatible meshes. This can be done
automatically by enabling the Physics-controlled mesh Sequence Type in the settings for
the mesh or by manually setting up the correct mesh sequence

If more advanced periodic boundary conditions are required, for

example, when there is a known rotation of the polarization from one
boundary to another, see Nonlocal Couplings and Coupling Operators in
the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual for tools to define more
general mappings between boundaries.

To learn how to use the Copy Mesh feature to ensure that the mesh on
the destination boundary is identical to that on the source boundary, see
Band-Gap Analysis of a Photonic Crystal: Application Library path
Wave_Optics_Module/Gratings_and_Metamaterials/
bandgap_photonic_crystal.

For an example of how to use the Physics-controlled mesh, see Fresnel

Equations: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/
Verification_Examples/fresnel_equations.

PERIODIC BOUNDARY CONDITIONS | 31

 In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual:

• Periodic Condition and Destination Selection

• Periodic Boundary Conditions

32 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Scattered Field Formulation
For problems where a known background field is illuminating an object in free space
it is possible to use the scattered field formulation. Since the equation of the
background field is known it can be entered as a model input and does not need to be
computed. Starting from the frequency-domain governing equation:

∇ × ( μ –1 ∇ × E ) – ω 2 εc E = 0

The total electric field, E, can be decomposed into two components:

E = Etotal = Ebackground + Erelative

The known background field becomes a source term and the scattered field
formulation thus solves for the relative electric field. A linearly polarized plane wave
background field, a paraxial-approximate Gaussian beam, or a user-defined
background field can be specified. When solving the scattered field formulation the
total, the background, and the relative electric fields are available. The relative field is
the difference between the background field and the total field. It is the relative field
that contributes to the far-field calculation. For more information about the Far-Field
computation, see Far-Field Calculations Theory. The benefit to this approach is that if
the background field is much larger in magnitude than the scattered field, the accuracy
of the simulation improves if the relative field is solved for. Another advantage is that
is becomes very easy to set up a perfectly matched layer surrounding the homogeneous
medium modeling domain.

The drawback to this approach is that the relative field requires some careful
interpretation. The relative electric field can conceptually be decomposed into:

Erelative = Escattered + Ecorrection + Ecancellation

The Escattered component is the scattered field from object. This is the field that is of
interest in a scattering problem. However, the relative field may also consist of a
component that represents a correction to the background field and a cancellation of
the background field. The Ecorrection component can be nonzero when the
background field does not exactly satisfy Maxwell’s equations, such as when the
paraxial Gaussian beam approximation is used for a tightly focused beam. For more
information about the Gaussian beam theory, see Gaussian Beams as Background
Fields and Input Fields. The Ecancellation component will be nonzero and equal to
−Ebackground wherever the total field should be zero, such as in the interior of any

SCATTERED FIELD FORMULATION | 33

 perfectly shielded objects, or behind a relatively large shielding object. Note that this
decomposition is conceptual only, it is only the relative field that is available.

An alternative of using the scattered-field formulation, is to use ports with the Activate
slit condition on interior port setting enabled. Then the domain can be excited by the
interior port and the outgoing field can be absorbed by perfectly matched layers. For
more information about the Port feature and the Activate slit condition on interior port
setting, see Port Properties.

SCATTERED FIELDS SETTING

The scattered-field formulation is available for The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency
Domain Interface under the Settings section. The scattered field in the analysis is called
the relative electric field. The total electric field is always available, and for the
scattered-field formulation this is the sum of the scattered field and the incident field.

Optical Scattering off a Gold Nanosphere: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/scattering_nanosphere

34 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Modeling with Far-Field Calculations
The far electromagnetic field from, for example, antennas can be calculated from the
near-field solution on a boundary using far-field analysis. The antenna is located in the
vicinity of the origin, while the far-field is taken at infinity but with a well-defined
angular direction ( θ, ϕ ) . The far-field radiation pattern is given by evaluating the
squared norm of the far-field on a sphere centered at the origin. Each coordinate on
the surface of the sphere represents an angular direction.

In this section:

• Far-Field Support in the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface

• The Radiation Pattern Plots

Optical Scattering off a Gold Nanosphere: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/scattering_nanosphere

Far-Field Support in the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain

Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain interface supports far-field analysis.
To define the far-field variables use the Far-Field Calculation node. Select a domain for
the far-field calculation. Then select the boundaries where the algorithm integrates the
near field, and enter a name for the far electric field. Also specify if symmetry planes are
used in the model when calculating the far-field variable. The symmetry planes have to
coincide with one of the Cartesian coordinate planes. For each of these planes it is
possible to select the type of symmetry to use, which can be of either symmetry in E
(PMC) or symmetry in H (PEC). Make the choice here match the boundary
condition used for the symmetry boundary. Using these settings, the parts of the
geometry that are not in the model for symmetry reasons can be included in the
far-field analysis.

The Far-Field Domain and the Far-Field Calculation nodes get their selections
automatically, if the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) feature has been defined before
adding the Far-Field Domain feature.

For each variable name entered, the software generates functions and variables, which
represent the vector components of the far electric field. The names of these variables

MODELING WITH FAR-FIELD CALCULATIONS | 35

 are constructed by appending the names of the independent variables to the name
entered in the field.

For example, the name Efar is entered and the geometry is Cartesian with the
independent variables x, y, and z, the generated variables get the names Efarx, Efary,
and Efarz.

If, on the other hand, the geometry is axisymmetric with the independent variables r,
phi, and z, the generated variables get the names Efarr, Efarphi, and Efarz.

In 2D, the software only generates the variables for the nonzero field components. The
physics interface name also appears in front of the variable names so they can vary, but
typically look something like ewfd.Efarz and so forth.

To each of the generated variables, there is a corresponding function with the same
name. This function takes the vector components of the evaluated far-field direction as
arguments.

The vector components also can be interpreted as a position. For example, assume that
the variables dx, dy, and dz represent the direction in which the far electric field is
evaluated.

The expression

Efarx(dx,dy,dz)

gives the value of the far electric field in this direction. To give the direction as an angle,
use the expression

Efarx(sin(theta)*cos(phi),sin(theta)*sin(phi),cos(theta))

where the variables theta and phi are defined to represent the angular direction
( θ, ϕ ) in radians. The magnitude of the far field and its value in dB are also generated
as the variables normEfar and normdBEfar, respectively.

Far-Field Calculations Theory

The Radiation Pattern Plots

The Radiation Pattern plots are available with this module to plot the value of a global
variable (for example, the far field norm, normEfar and normdBEfar, or components
of the far field variable Efar).

36 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

The variables are plotted for a selected number of angles on a unit circle (in 2D) or a
unit sphere (in 3D). The angle interval and the number of angles can be manually
specified. For 2D Radiation Pattern plots also the reference direction from which the
angle is measured and the normal to the plane the far field is computed for can be
specified. For 3D Radiation Pattern plots you also specify an expression for the surface
color.

The main advantage with the Radiation Pattern plot, as compared to making a Line
Graph, is that the unit circle/sphere that you use for defining the plot directions, is not
part of your geometry for the solution. Thus, the number of plotting directions is
decoupled from the discretization of the solution domain.

Default Radiation Pattern plots of far-field norm are automatically added

to any model that uses far field calculation features.

TABLE 2-1: VARIABLES AND OPERATORS GENERATED BY FAR FIELD

DESCRIPTION NAME AVAILABLE COMPONENT

Variables Far-field norm normEfar 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D

Far-field norm, dB normdBEfar 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
Far-field variable, Efarx 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
x component
Far-field variable, Efary 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
y component
Far-field variable, Efarz 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
z component
Effective isotropic radiated EIRP 3D
power
Effective isotropic radiated EIRPdB 3D
power, dB
Far-field gain gainEfar 3D
Far-field gain, dB gaindBEfar 3D
Axial ratio axialRatio 3D
Axial ratio, dB axialRatiodB 3D
Bistatic radar cross section bRCS3D 3D
Far-field variable, Efarphi 3D
phi component

MODELING WITH FAR-FIELD CALCULATIONS | 37

 TABLE 2-1: VARIABLES AND OPERATORS GENERATED BY FAR FIELD

DESCRIPTION NAME AVAILABLE COMPONENT

Far-field variable, Efartheta 3D

theta component
Far-field realized gain rGainEfar 3D
Far-field realized gain, dB rGaindBEfar 3D
Bistatic radar cross section bRCS2D 2D
per unit length
Maximum directivity1 maxD 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
Maximum directivity, dB1 maxDdB 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
1
Maximum gain maxGain 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
1
Maximum gain, dB maxGaindB 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
1
Maximum realized gain maxRGain 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
Maximum realized gain, maxRGaindB 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
dB1
Functions4 3D far-field norm2 norm3DEfar 2D Axisymmetric
2
3D far-field norm, dB normdB3DEfar 2D Axisymmetric
Uniform three dimensional af3 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
array factor3
Uniform two dimensional af2 2D
array factor3
1See Directivity via Global Evaluation.

2
See 3D Far-Field Norm Functions in 2D Axisymmetry.
3
See Array factor operators.
4See Far-Field Analysis Using Functions and Operators.

FAR-FIELD ANALYSIS USING FUNCTIONS AND OPERATORS

The postprocessing far-field functions are available under
Component>Definitions>Functions. Below you find example models using these
functions and some links to more information.

3D example with a Polar Plot Group Optical Scattering off a Gold

Nanosphere: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/
Optical_Scattering/scattering_nanosphere

38 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

 • Far-Field Support in the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain
Interface
• Radiation Pattern in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

3D Far-Field Norm Functions in 2D Axisymmetry

The functions norm3DEfar and normdB3DEfar calculate the 3D far-field norms, based
on field solutions in 2D axisymmetric geometry. These functions are available in these
cases:

• Far-field analysis using circular port excitation with a positive azimuthal mode
number
• Scattered field analysis excited by the predefined circularly polarized plane wave type

The function can be used in a 3D Radiation Pattern plot, where the input argument of
the function must be same as the Azimuth angle variable in the Evaluation section in the
settings window.

The suffix of a function name varies based on the circular port mode type, port mode
number and azimuthal mode number in the physics interface. For example, when
using azimuthal mode number 1 in the physics interface and transverse electric (TE)
mode with mode number 2 in the port settings, the generated operator name is
norm3DEfar_TE12.

When the function is used in a radiation pattern plot under a 1D or a polar plot group,
the value of input argument defines the plotting plane regardless of the normal and
reference direction in the evaluation section in the settings window. For example,
norm3DEfar_TE12(0)evaluates the norm of the electric far field for the TE12 mode
for 0-degree azimuthal angle. This is equivalent to plotting this variable on the
xz-plane. Similarly, norm3DEfar_TE12(pi/2) is the evaluation at 90-degree azimuthal
angle, which is equivalent to plotting the variable on the yz-plane.

The 3D far-field norm, the linear superposition of the positive and negative azimuthal
modes scaled by 0.5, is

2 2 2
E r cos mφ + E φ sin m φ + E z cos mφ ,

where φ is the azimuthal angle.

Array factor operators

The equation for the uniform three dimensional array factor operator af3 is

MODELING WITH FAR-FIELD CALCULATIONS | 39

 nx ny
sin  ----- ( 2πd x sin θ cos φ + α x ) sin  ----- ( 2πsd y sin θ cos φ + α y )
2  2 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ´ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2πd x sin θ cos φ + α x 2πd y sin θ cos φ + α y
sin  --------------------------------------------------- sin  ---------------------------------------------------
2 2

nz
sin  ----- ( 2πd z sin θ cos φ + α z )
2 
´ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ,
2πd sin θ cos φ + α
sin  ---------------------------------------------------
z z
2

where θ is the elevation angle and φ is the azimuthal angle.

The uniform two dimensional array factor operator af2 is simpler than the three
dimensional version, as the third, the z-component factor, is unity.

The number of input arguments for the array factor operators depends on the
dimension of model component, 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, or 3D.
TABLE 2-2: INPUT ARGUMENTS OF ARRAY FACTOR OPERATOR

ARGUMENT DESCRIPTION UNIT COMPONENT

nx Number of elements along x-axis Dimensionless 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D

ny Number of elements along y-axis Dimensionless 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
nz Number of elements along z-axis Dimensionless 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
dx Distance between array elements Wavelength 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
along x-axis
dy Distance between array elements Wavelength 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
along y-axis
dz Distance between array elements Wavelength 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
along z-axis
alphax Phase progression along x-axis Radian 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
alphay Phase progression along y-axis Radian 2D, 2D Axisymmetric, 3D
alphaz Phase progression along z-axis Radian 2D Axisymmetric, 3D

ANTENNA ANALYSIS USING FAR-FIELD VARIABLES

The directional properties of a radiation pattern described by variables, generated from
a far-field calculation feature, help to characterize the performance of antenna devices.

Directivity from a 3D Plot

While plotting a 3D radiation pattern, the maximum directivity can be calculated by
evaluating the ratio between the radiation intensity and the average value of the

40 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

radiation intensity. Since the radiation intensity is a function of power, the square of
the far-field norm has to be used in the Directivity expression in the Radiation Pattern
settings window for the antenna directivity calculation. For other physics interfaces,
such as in the Acoustics module, the expression is different.

Directivity via Global Evaluation

The maximum directivity can be computed through Results>Derived Values>Global
Evaluation. This calculation is based on the maximum and averaged intensity values on
the far-field calculation selection. It requires the selection for the far-field calculation
feature to be spherical for 3D and circular for 2D axisymmetric model components,
both centered at the origin.

Gain
The antenna realized gain is defined as

2
4πU normEfar
G real ized = ------------ = ----------------------------------
P in 60P in
∗ 2
where U is the radiation intensity, Re ( E far × H far ) ⁄ 2 = normEfar ⁄ 240π , and
Pin is the total input power.

The antenna gain is

2
normEfar
G = ----------------------------------
60P delivered
2
where the delivered power, Pdelivered is P in ( 1 – S 11 ) . The gain is available only
when the S-parameter calculation is valid, that is, for the single port excitation case.

MODELING WITH FAR-FIELD CALCULATIONS | 41

 Maxwell’s Equations
In this section:

• Maxwell’s Equations
• Constitutive Relations
• Boundary Conditions
• Potentials
• Electromagnetic Energy
• Material Properties
• Phasors

Maxwell’s Equations
The problem of electromagnetic analysis on a macroscopic level is that of solving
Maxwell’s equations subject to certain boundary conditions. Maxwell’s equations are
a set of equations, written in differential or integral form, stating the relationships
between the fundamental electromagnetic quantities. These quantities are:

• Electric field intensity E

• Electric displacement field D
• Magnetic field intensity H
• Magnetic flux density B
• Current density J
• Electric charge density ρ

For general time-varying fields, Maxwell’s equations in the differential form can be
written as

∇⋅D = ρ Gauss′ law, electric

∂B
∇ × E = – ------- Faraday′s law
∂t (2-1)
∇⋅B = 0 Gauss′ law, magnetic
∂D
∇ × H = J + ------- Maxwell-Ampère′s law
∂t

42 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Another fundamental equation, derived from Maxwell’s equations, is the equation of
continuity:

∂ρ
∇⋅J = – ------ (2-2)
∂t

Constitutive Relations
To obtain a closed system, the equations include constitutive relations that describe
the macroscopic properties of the medium. They are given as

D = ε0 E + P
B = μ0 ( H + M ) (2-3)

J = σE
where ε0 and μ0 are the permittivity and permeability of vacuum, and σ is the electrical
conductivity. The constants ε0 and μ0 are available in COMSOL Multiphysics as
predefined physical constants. In the SI units system, ε0 has an approximate value of 1/
(36π)·10−9 F/m; μ0 has an approximate value of 4π·10−7 H/m.

The electric polarization vector P describes how the material is polarized when an
electric field E is present. It can be interpreted as the volume density of electric dipole
moments. P is generally a function of E. Some materials can have a nonzero P when
there is no electric field present.

The magnetization vector M similarly describes how the material is magnetized when
a magnetic field H is present. It can be interpreted as the volume density of magnetic
dipole moments. M is generally a function of H. Permanent magnets, for instance,
have a nonzero M when there is no magnetic field present.

For linear materials, the polarization is directly proportional to the electric field,
P = ε0 χe E, where χe is the electric susceptibility. Similarly in linear materials, the
magnetization is directly proportional to the magnetic field, M = χm H, where χm is
the magnetic susceptibility. For such materials, the constitutive relations are:

D = ε 0 ( 1 + χ e )E = ε 0 ε r E = εE
B = μ 0 ( 1 + χ m )H = μ 0 μ r H = μH

The parameter εr is the relative permittivity and μr is the relative permeability of the
material. Usually these are scalar properties but can, in the general case, be 3-by-3

MAXWELL’S EQUATIONS | 43
 tensors when the material is anisotropic. The properties ε and μ (without subscripts)
are the permittivity and permeability of the material, respectively.

GENERALIZED CONSTITUTIVE RELATIONS

For nonlinear materials, a generalized form of the constitutive relationships is useful.
The relationship used for electric fields is D = εoεrE + Dr, where Dr is the remanent
displacement, which is the displacement when no electric field is present.

Similarly, a generalized form of the constitutive relation for the magnetic field is

B = μ0 μr H + Br

where Br is the remanent magnetic flux density, which is the magnetic flux density
when no magnetic field is present.

For some materials, there is a nonlinear relationship between B and H such that

B = f( H )

The relation defining the current density is generalized by introducing an externally

generated current Je. The resulting constitutive relation is J = σE + Je.

Boundary Conditions
To get a full description of an electromagnetics problem, boundary conditions must
be specified at material interfaces and physical boundaries. At interfaces between two
media, the boundary conditions can be expressed mathematically as

n2 ⋅ ( D1 – D2 ) = ρs
n2 × ( E1 – E2 ) = 0
(2-4)
n2 ⋅ ( B1 – B2 ) = 0
n2 × ( H1 – H2 ) = Js

44 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

where ρs and Js denote surface charge density and surface current density, respectively,
and n2 is the outward normal from medium two.

n2

Medium 1

Medium 2

The boundary condition for the current density, derived from Equation 2-4, is
expressed as

∂ρ s
n 2 ⋅ ( J 1 – J 2 ) = – --------
∂t

INTERFACE BETWEEN A DIELECTRIC AND A PERFECT CONDUCTOR

A perfect conductor has infinite electrical conductivity and thus no internal electric
field. Otherwise, it would produce an infinite current density according to the third
fundamental constitutive relation. At an interface between a dielectric and a perfect
conductor, the boundary conditions for the E and D fields are simplified. Assume that
subscript 1 corresponds to a perfect conductor; then D1 = 0 and E1 = 0 in the
relationships just given. If it is a time-varying case, then B1 = 0 and H1 = 0 as well, as
a consequence of Maxwell’s equations. The result is the following set of boundary
conditions for the fields in the dielectric medium for the time-varying case:

–n2 ⋅ D2 = ρs
–n2 × E2 = 0
(2-5)
–n2 ⋅ B2 = 0
–n2 × H2 = Js

Potentials
Under certain circumstances, it can be helpful to formulate the problems in terms of
the electric scalar potential V and the magnetic vector potential A. They are given by
the equalities

MAXWELL’S EQUATIONS | 45
 B = ∇×A
∂A
E = – ∇V – -------
∂t

The defining equation for the magnetic vector potential is a direct consequence of the
magnetic Gauss’ law. The electric potential results from Faraday’s law.

Electromagnetic Energy
The electric and magnetic energies are defined as

D T
∂D
We = V  0 E ⋅ dD dV = V  0 E ⋅ -------
∂t 
dt dV

B T
∂B
Wm = V  0 H ⋅ dB dV = V  0 H ⋅ ------
∂t 
- dt dV

The time derivatives of these expressions are the electric and magnetic power:

∂D
Pe = V E ⋅ -------
∂t
dV

∂B
Pm = V H ⋅ ------
∂t
- dV

These quantities are related to the resistive and radiative energy, or energy loss,
through Poynting’s theorem (Ref. 3):

∂D ∂B
– V  E ⋅ -------
∂t
+ H ⋅ ------- dV =  J ⋅ E dV +  ( E × H ) ⋅ n dS
∂t  V °S
where V is the computation domain and S is the closed boundary of V.

The first term on the right-hand side represents the resistive losses,

Ph =  V J ⋅ E dV
which result in heat dissipation in the material. (The current density J in this
expression is the one appearing in Maxwell–Ampère’s law.)

The second term on the right-hand side of Poynting’s theorem represents the radiative
losses

Pr =
°S ( E × H ) ⋅ n dS

46 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

The quantity S = E × H is called the Poynting vector.

Under the assumption that the material is linear and isotropic, it holds that

∂D ∂E
E ⋅ ------- = εE ⋅ ------- = ∂  --- εE ⋅ E
1
∂t ∂t ∂t 2
∂B ∂B
H ⋅ ------- = --- B ⋅ ------- = ∂  ------- B ⋅ B
1 1
∂t μ ∂t ∂ t  2μ 

By interchanging the order of differentiation and integration (justified by the fact that
the volume is constant and the assumption that the fields are continuous in time), the
result is

–∂ V  --2- εE ⋅ E + ------
- B ⋅ B dV =
1 1
∂t 2μ  V J ⋅ E dV + °S ( E × H ) ⋅ n dS
The integrand of the left-hand side is the total electromagnetic energy density:

1 1
w = w e + w m = --- εE ⋅ E + ------- B ⋅ B
2 2μ

Material Properties
Until now, there has only been a formal introduction of the constitutive relations.
These seemingly simple relations can be quite complicated at times. There are four
main groups of materials for which they require some consideration. A given material
can belong to one or more of these groups.

INHOMOGENEOUS MATERIALS
Inhomogeneous materials are the least complicated. An inhomogeneous medium is
one in which the constitutive parameters vary with the space coordinates so that
different field properties prevail at different parts of the material structure.

ANISOTROPIC MATERIALS
For anisotropic materials, the field relationships at any point differ for different
directions of propagation. This means that a 3-by-3 tensor is necessary to properly
define the constitutive relationships. If this tensor is symmetric, the material is often
referred to as reciprocal. In such cases, rotate the coordinate system such that a
diagonal matrix results. If two of the diagonal entries are equal, the material is
uniaxially anisotropic. If none of the elements have the same value, the material is
biaxially anisotropic (Ref. 2). Anisotropic parameters are needed, for example, to

MAXWELL’S EQUATIONS | 47
 examine permittivity in crystals (Ref. 2) and when working with conductivity in
solenoids.

NONLINEAR MATERIALS
Nonlinearity is the effect of variations in permittivity or permeability with the intensity
of the electromagnetic field. Nonlinearity also includes hysteresis effects where not
only the current field intensities influence the physical properties of the material, but
also the history of the field distribution.

DISPERSIVE MATERIALS
Dispersion describes changes in a wave’s velocity with wavelength. In the frequency
domain, dispersion is expressed with a frequency dependence of the constitutive
relations.

MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND THE MATERIAL BROWSER

All interfaces in the Wave Optics Module support the use of the COMSOL
Multiphysics material libraries. The typical electromagnetic material properties that can
be stored are:

• The electrical conductivity

• The relative permittivity
• The relative permeability
The physics-specific domain material properties are by default taken from the material
specification. The material properties are inputs to material laws or constitutive
relations that are defined on the feature level below the physics interface node in the
model tree. There is one editable default domain feature that initially represents a
linear isotropic material. Domains with different material laws are specified by adding
additional features. Some of the domain parameters can either be a scalar or a matrix
(tensor) depending on whether the material is isotropic or anisotropic.

In a similar way, boundary, edge, and point settings are specified by adding the
corresponding features. A certain feature might require one or several fields to be
specified, while others generate the conditions without user-specified fields.

For detailed information about Materials and Modeling Anisotropic

Materials, including the Electromagnetic Models, see the COMSOL
Multiphysics Reference Manual.

48 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Phasors
Whenever a problem is time-harmonic the fields can be written in the form

ˆ
E ( r, t ) = E ( r ) cos ( ωt + φ )

Instead of using a cosine function for the time dependence, it is more convenient to
use an exponential function, by writing the field as

ˆ ˆ jφ jωt ˜ jωt
E ( r, t ) = E ( r ) cos ( ωt + φ ) = Re ( E ( r )e e ) = Re ( E ( r )e )
˜
The field E ( r ) is a phasor, which contains amplitude and phase information of the
field but is independent of t. One thing that makes the use of phasors suitable is that
a time derivative corresponds to a multiplication by jω:

∂------
E- ˜ jωt
= Re ( jωE ( r )e )
∂t

If the fields satisfy a linear time-dependent equation, then the corresponding phasors
must satisfy a similar equation in which the time derivatives are replaced by a factor jω.
All time-harmonic equations are expressed as equations for the phasors. (The tilde is
dropped from the variable denoting the phasor.)

The frequency domain formulation is only applicable for equations linear in the fields.
In particular, it cannot be used with materials whose properties depend on the fields
themselves (nonlinear materials).

When analyzing the solution of a time-harmonic equation, it is important

to remember that the field that has been calculated is a phasor and not a
physical field.
˜
For example, all plot functions visualize Re ( E ( r ) ) by default, which is E
at time t = 0. To obtain the solution at a given time, specify a phase factor
in all results settings and in the corresponding functions.

MAXWELL’S EQUATIONS | 49
 Special Calculations
In this section:

• S-Parameter Calculations
• Far-Field Calculations Theory
• References

S-Parameter Calculations
For high-frequency problems, voltage is not a well-defined entity, and it is necessary
to define the scattering parameters (S-parameter) in terms of the electric field. To
convert an electric field pattern on a port to a scalar complex number corresponding
to the voltage in transmission line theory an eigenmode expansion of the
electromagnetic fields on the ports needs to be performed. Assume that an eigenmode
analysis has been performed on the ports 1, 2, 3, … and that the electric field patterns
E1, E2, E3, … of the fundamental modes on these ports are known. Further, assume
that the fields are normalized with respect to the integral of the power flow across each
port cross section, respectively. This normalization is frequency dependent unless
TEM modes are being dealt with. The port excitation is applied using the fundamental
eigenmode, the mode with subscript 1. The computed electric field Ec on the port
consists of the excitation plus the reflected field. That is, on the port boundary where
there is an incident wave, the computed field can be expanded in terms of the mode
fields as

Ec = E1 +  Si1 Ei ,
i=1

whereas on all other port boundaries, the computed field is given by

Ec =  Si1 Ei
i=1

The S-parameter for the mode with index k is then given by multiplying with the
conjugate of the mode field for mode k and integrating over the port boundary. Since
the mode fields for the different modes are orthogonal, the following relations are
obtained for the S-parameters

50 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

 
*
( ( E c – E 1 ) ⋅ E 1 ) dA 1
S 11 = port 1
---------------------------------------------------------------
-

*
( E 1 ⋅ E 1 ) dA 1
port 1


*
( E c ⋅ E 2 ) dA 2
port 2
S 21 = ----------------------------------------------
-

*
( E 2 ⋅ E 2 ) dA 2
port 2


*
( E c ⋅ E 3 ) dA 3
port 3
S 31 = ----------------------------------------------
-

*
( E 3 ⋅ E 3 ) dA 3
port 3

and so on. To get S22 and S12, excite port number 2 in the same way.

POWER FLOW NORMALIZATION

The fields E1, E2, E3, and so on, should be normalized such that they represent the
same power flow through the respective ports. The power flow is given by the
time-average Poynting vector,

1 *
S av = --- Re ( E × H )
2

The amount of power flowing out of a port is given by the normal component of the
Poynting vector,

1 *
n ⋅ S av = n ⋅ --- Re ( E × H )
2

Below the cutoff frequency the power flow is zero, which implies that it is not possible
to normalize the field with respect to the power flow below the cutoff frequency. But
in this region the S-parameters are trivial and do not need to be calculated.

In the following subsections the power flow is expressed directly in terms of the electric
field for TE, TM, and TEM waves.

TE Waves
For TE waves it holds that

E = – Z TE ( n × H )

SPECIAL CALCULATIONS | 51
 where ZTE is the wave impedance

ωμ
Z TE = -------
β

ω is the angular frequency of the wave, μ the permeability, and β the propagation
constant. The power flow then becomes

1 * 1 * 1 2
n ⋅ S av = --- n ⋅ Re ( E × H ) = – --- Re ( E ⋅ ( n × H ) ) = -------------- E
2 2 2Z TE

TM Waves
For TM waves it holds that

1
H = ----------- ( n × E )
Z TM

where ZTM is the wave impedance

β
Z TM = -------
ωε

and ε is the permittivity. The power flow then becomes

1 * 1 *
n ⋅ S av = --- n ⋅ Re ( E × H ) = --------------- ( n ⋅ Re ( E × ( n × E ) ) )
2 2Z TM
1 2
= --------------- n × E
2Z TM

TEM Waves
For TEM waves it holds that

1
H = --------------- ( n × E )
Z TEM

where ZTEM is the wave impedance

μ
Z TEM = ---
ε

The power flow then becomes

1 * 1 2 1 2
n ⋅ S av = --- n ⋅ Re ( E × H ) = ------------------ n × E = ------------------ E
2 2Z TEM 2Z TEM

52 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

where the last equality holds because the electric field is tangential to the port.

Far-Field Calculations Theory

The far field from, for example, antennas can be calculated from the near field using
the Stratton–Chu formula. In 3D, this is:

jk

E p = ------ r 0 × [ n × E – ηr 0 × ( n × H ) ] exp ( jkr ⋅ r 0 ) dS
4π
S

and in 2D it looks slightly different:

jk
Ep =
4π 
λ ------ r 0 × [ n × E – ηr 0 × ( n × H ) ] exp ( jkr ⋅ r 0 ) dS
S

In both cases the integration is performed on a closed boundary. In the scattered field
formulation, where the total electric field is the sum of the background field and the
scattered field, the far field only gets contributions from the scattered field, since the
contributions from the background field cancel out when integrated over all parts of
the closed boundary.

For scattering problems, the far field in COMSOL Multiphysics is identical to what in
physics is known as the “scattering amplitude”.

The antenna is located in the vicinity of the origin, while the far-field point p is taken
at infinity but with a well-defined angular position ( θ, ϕ ) .

In the above formulas,

• E and H are the fields on the “aperture” — the surface S enclosing the antenna.
• r0 is the unit vector pointing from the origin to the field point p. If the field points
lie on a spherical surface S', r0 is the unit normal to S'.
• n is the unit normal to the surface S.
• η is the impedance:

η = μ⁄ε

• k is the wave number.

• λ is the wavelength.
• r is the radius vector (not a unit vector) of the surface S.
• Ep is the calculated far field in the direction from the origin toward point p.

SPECIAL CALCULATIONS | 53
 Thus the unit vector r0 can be interpreted as the direction defined by the angular
position ( θ, ϕ ) and Ep is the far field in this direction.

Because the far field is calculated in free space, the magnetic field at the far-field point
is given by

r0 × Ep
H p = -------------------
η0

The Poynting vector gives the power flow of the far field:

* 2
r 0 ⋅ S = r 0 ⋅ Re ( E p × H p ) ∼ E p

Thus the relative far-field radiation pattern is given by plotting |Ep|2.

References
1. D.K. Cheng, Field and Wave Electromagnetics, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, 1991.

2. Jianming Jin, The Finite Element Method in Electromagnetics, 2nd ed.,

Wiley-IEEE Press, 2002.

3. A. Kovetz, The Principles of Electromagnetic Theory, Cambridge University Press,

1990.

4. R.K. Wangsness, Electromagnetic Fields, 2nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, 1986.

54 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

S-Parameters and Ports
In this section:

• S-Parameters in Terms of Voltage and Electric Field

• S-Parameter Calculations
• S-Parameter Variables
• Port Sweeps/Manual Terminal Sweeps and Touchstone Export

S-Parameters in Terms of Voltage and Electric Field

Scattering parameters (or S-parameters) are complex-valued, frequency dependent
matrices describing the transmission and reflection of electromagnetic waves at
different ports of devices like filters, antennas, waveguide transitions, and transmission
lines. S-parameters originate from transmission-line theory and are defined in terms of
transmitted and reflected voltage waves. All ports are assumed to be connected to
matched loads/feeds, that is, there is no reflection directly at a port.

For a device with n ports, the S-parameters are

S 11 S 12 . . S 1n
S 21 S 22 . . .
S = . . . . .
. . . . .
S n1 . . . S nn

where S11 is the voltage reflection coefficient at port 1, S21 is the voltage transmission
coefficient from port 1 to port 2, and so on. The time average power reflection/
transmission coefficients are obtained as |Sij |2.

Now, for high-frequency problems, voltage is not a well-defined entity, and it is

necessary to define the scattering parameters in terms of the electric field.

For details on how COMSOL Multiphysics calculates the S-parameters,

see S-Parameter Calculations.

S-PARAMETERS AND PORTS | 55

 S-Parameter Calculations
The Optics interfaces have built-in support for S-parameter calculations. Use a Port
boundary feature for each port in the model.

See Port for instructions to set up a model.

S-Parameter Variables
This module automatically generates variables for the S-parameters. The port names
(use numbers for sweeps to work correctly) determine the variable names. If, for
example, there are two ports with the numbers 1 and 2 and Port 1 is the inport, the
software generates the variables S11 and S21. S11 is the S-parameter for the reflected
wave and S21 is the S-parameter for the transmitted wave. For convenience, two
variables for the S-parameters on a dB scale, S11dB and S21dB, are also defined using
the following relation:

S 11dB = 20 log 10 ( S 11 )

The model and physics interface names also appear in front of the variable names so
they can vary. The S-parameter variables are added to the predefined quantities in
appropriate plot lists.

Port Sweeps/Manual Terminal Sweeps and Touchstone Export

The Port Sweep Settings section in the Electromagnetic Waves interface describes how
to cycle through the ports, compute the entire S-matrix and export it to a Touchstone
file.

The Frequency Domain Source Sweep study is another way of making efficient port
sweeps. It is available as a preset study for the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency
Domain and Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interfaces.

Exporting a Touchstone file can also be performed by right-clicking the Export node
under Results and selecting Touchstone or by selecting Touchstone under Data in the
Results ribbon toolbar (Windows users) or the Results context menu (Mac and Linux
users).

56 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Jones Vectors and Polarization Plots
In this section:

• Jones Vectors for Polarization Analysis

• Polarization Plots
• Jones Vector Variables

Jones Vectors for Polarization Analysis

Periodic ports and Diffraction order ports launch and absorb plane waves propagating
in homogeneous domains (adjacent the port boundary). For a plane wave propagating
with the wave vector k, the polarization must be orthogonal to the wave vector. For
each wave vector, there are two possible orthogonal polarizations. We can select one
such set of orthogonal polarizations by first defining the out-of-plane polarization as
the field in the direction e1 = k×n, where n is the normal direction to the port. Then
the in-plane polarization direction is defined as e2 = e1×k.

Assuming now that e1 and e2 are normalized base vectors, the electric field can be
expanded as

E = E1 e1 + E2 e2 ,

where E1 and E2 are the elements of the Jones vector

 E 
 1.
 E 
 2

In COMSOL, the Jones vector elements are complex numbers and the
Jones vectors are not normalized.

If the Jones vector elements have the same phase or a π phase difference, the Jones
vector represents a linear polarization state. A phase difference of ±π/2 between the

JONES VECTORS AND POLARIZATION PLOTS | 57

 two Jones vector elements defines a circular polarization state. For other phase
differences, the Jones vector represents elliptic polarization states.

For more details about the different types of periodic ports, see

• Periodic
• Diffraction Order
• Orthogonal Polarization

Polarization Plots
Default Polarization plots are automatically generated for Periodic ports in 3D and in
2D, if the Electric field components for setting in the Components section for the physics
interface is set to Three-component vector. The Polarization plot includes polarization
ellipses for each diffraction order. The polarization ellipses are generated by plotting
the in-plane Jones vector element versus the out-of-plane Jones vector element for a
phase change of 2π.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual you can find more

information about the Polarization plot type.

For an example model including a Polarization plot, see Hexagonal

Grating: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/
Gratings_and_Metamaterials/hexagonal_grating.

Jones Vector Variables

This module automatically generates variables for the Jones vector elements. As for
Polarization Plots, the variables are created for Periodic ports in 3D and in 2D, if the
Electric field components for setting in the Components section for the physics interface
is set to Three-component vector. The variables are available for postprocessing as global
variables, with names based on what port boundary the variable is applicable for, the
polarization direction, and the mode number. The context above is encoded in a
variable name of the form tag.JXYYY_Z, where

• tag is the physics interface tag, for example ewfd.

• X is R if the port is located on the same side as the exciting port or otherwise T.

58 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

• YYY is OOP or IP for the out-of-plane and in-plane modes, respectively.
• Z is the mode number that in 2D is provided as a single signed integer and in 3D as
two signed integers separated by an underscore. The signed integers use the prefix
p for positive values and n for negative values.

Thus, the variable ewfd.JROOP_0_n1 represents the Jones vector element for the
out-of-plane mode in 3D with mode numbers m = 0 and n = -1 for a port located on
the same boundary as the exciting Periodic port.

There are also variables for the norm of the Jones vector, named as tag.normJX_Z,
where X and Z represents the boundary location and mode number, respectively. Thus,
the variable ewfd.normJR_0_n1 represents the Jones vector norm in 3D with mode
numbers m = 0 and n = -1 for a port located on the same boundary as the exciting
Periodic port.

The base vectors are available for evaluation on the port boundaries, with variable
names like tag.eJXYYY[xyz]_Z, where tag, X, YYY, and Z have the same meanings as
for the variables discussed above and [xyz] is one of the Cartesian components. Thus,
ewfd.eJTIPx_p1, is the x-component of the in-plane base vector for a 2D port, with
mode number m = +1, that is not located on the same boundary as the exciting port.

JONES VECTORS AND POLARIZATION PLOTS | 59

 Lossy Eigenvalue Calculations
In mode analysis and eigenfrequency analysis, it is usually the primary goal to find a
propagation constant or an eigenfrequency. These quantities are often real-valued
although it is not necessary. If the analysis involves some lossy part, like a nonzero
conductivity or an open boundary, the eigenvalue is complex. In such situations, the
eigenvalue is interpreted as two parts (1) the propagation constant or eigenfrequency
and (2) the damping in space and time.

In this section:

• Eigenfrequency Analysis
• Mode Analysis and Boundary Mode Analysis

Eigenfrequency Analysis
The eigenfrequency analysis solves for the eigenfrequency of a model. The
time-harmonic representation of the fields is more general and includes a complex
parameter in the phase

˜ jωt ˜ –λ t
E ( r, t ) = Re ( E ( r T )e ) = Re ( E ( r )e )

where the eigenvalue, (−λ) = −δ + jω, has an imaginary part representing the
eigenfrequency, and a real part responsible for the damping. It is often more common
to use the quality factor or Q-factor, which is derived from the eigenfrequency and
damping

ω
Q fact = ---------
2δ

VARIABLES AFFECTED BY EIGENFREQUENCY ANALYSIS

The following list shows the variables that the eigenfrequency analysis affects:

NAME EXPRESSION CAN BE COMPLEX DESCRIPTION

omega imag(-lambda) No Angular frequency

damp real(lambda) No Damping in time
Qfact 0.5*omega/abs(damp) No Quality factor
nu omega/(2*pi) No Frequency

60 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

NONLINEAR EIGENFREQUENCY PROBLEMS
For some combinations of formulation, material parameters, and boundary conditions,
the eigenfrequency problem can be nonlinear, which means that the eigenvalue enters
the equations in another form than the expected second-order polynomial form. The
following table lists those combinations:

SOLVE FOR CRITERION BOUNDARY CONDITION

E Nonzero conductivity Impedance boundary condition

E Nonzero conductivity at Scattering boundary condition
adjacent domain
E Analytical ports Port boundary condition

These situations may require special treatment, especially since it can lead to “singular
matrix” or “undefined value” messages if not treated correctly. Under normal
circumstances, the automatically generated solver settings should handle the cases
described in the table above. However, the following discussion provide some
background to the problem of defining the eigenvalue linearization point. The
complication is not only the nonlinearity itself, it is also the way it enters the equations.
For example the impedance boundary conditions with nonzero boundary conductivity
has the term

ε 0 μ 0 μ rbnd
– ( – λ ) ------------------------------------------ ( n × ( n × H ) )
σ bnd
ε rbnd + -----------------
( – λ )ε 0

where (−λ) = −δ + jω. When the solver starts to solve the eigenfrequency problem it
linearizes the entire formulation with respect to the eigenvalue around a certain
linearization point. By default this linearization point is set to the value provided to the
Search for eigenvalues around field, for the three cases listed in the table above.
Normally, this should be a good value for the linearization point. For instance, for the
impedance boundary condition, this avoids setting the eigenvalue λ to zero in the
denominator in the equation above. For other cases than those listed in the table
above, the default linearization point is zero.

If the default values for the linearization point is not suitable for your particular
problem, you can manually provide a “good” linearization point for the eigenvalue
solver. Do this in the Eigenvalue node (not the Eigenfrequency node) under the Solver
Sequence node in the Study branch of the Model Builder. A solver sequence can be
generated first. In the Linearization Point section, select the Transform point check box

LOSSY EIGENVALUE CALCULATIONS | 61

 and enter a suitable value in the Point field. For example, if it is known that the
eigenfrequency is close to 1 GHz, enter the eigenvalue 1[GHz] in the field.

In many cases it is enough to specify a good linearization point and then solve the
problem once. If a more accurate eigenvalue is needed, an iterative scheme is necessary:

1 Specify that the eigenvalue solver only searches for one eigenvalue. Do this either
for an existing solver sequence in the Eigenvalue node or, before generating a solver
sequence, in the Eigenfrequency node.
2 Solve the problem with a “good” linearization point. As the eigenvalue shifts, use
the same value with the real part removed from the eigenvalue or, equivalently, use
the real part of the eigenfrequency.
3 Extract the eigenvalue from the solution and update the linearization point and the
shift.
4 Repeat until the eigenvalue does not change more than a desired tolerance.

• For a list of the studies available by physics interface, see The Wave
Optics Module Physics Interface Guide
• Studies and Solvers in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

Band-Gap Analysis of a Photonic Crystal: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Gratings_and_Metamaterials/
bandgap_photonic_crystal

Mode Analysis and Boundary Mode Analysis

In mode analysis and boundary mode analysis COMSOL Multiphysics solves for the
propagation constant. The time-harmonic representation is almost the same as for the
eigenfrequency analysis, but with a known propagation in the out-of-plane direction

˜ jωt – αz
E ( r, t ) = Re ( E ( r )e )

The spatial parameter, α = −λ, can have a real part and an imaginary part. For mode
analysis the propagation constant, β, is equal to the imaginary part and the real part,
δz, represents the damping along the propagation direction. Thus,

α = δ z + jβ = – λ ,

62 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

where λ is the eigenvalue.

For boundary mode analysis, the propagation constant, β, is complex,

α = jβ = – λ .

VARIABLES INFLUENCED BY MODE ANALYSIS

The following table lists the variables that are influenced by the mode analysis:

NAME EXPRESSION CAN BE COMPLEX DESCRIPTION

beta imag(-lambda) No Propagation constant

dampz real(-lambda) No Attenuation constant
dampzdB 20*log10(exp(1))* No Attenuation per meter in dB
dampz
neff j*lambda/k0 Yes Effective mode index

In the table above, lambda is the eigenvalue and k0 is the vacuum wave number.

VARIABLES INFLUENCED BY BOUNDARY MODE ANALYSIS

The table below lists the variables that are influenced by the boundary-mode analysis:

NAME EXPRESSION CAN BE COMPLEX DESCRIPTION

beta_i j*lambda Yes Propagation constant

neff_i beta_i/k0 Yes Effective mode index

The name suffix indicates that the variables are defined for the port named i.

For an example of Boundary Mode Analysis, see the model Directional

Coupler: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/
Waveguides_and_Couplers/directional_coupler.

• For a list of the studies available by physics interface, see The Wave
Optics Module Physics Interface Guide
• Studies and Solvers in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

LOSSY EIGENVALUE CALCULATIONS | 63

 Material Libraries
The Wave Optics Module features a Material Library with material properties for
optical glasses, metals, polymers, gases, and other compounds to assist in wave optics
simulation.

For an example of how to use the Optical Material Library, see Optical
Scattering off a Gold Nanosphere: Application Library path
Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/scattering_nanosphere

The Optical Material Library contains material property data from the following
companies’ products:

CDGM GLASS CO., LTD

H-FK61, H-FK61B, H-FK71, H-FK95N, H-QK1, H-QK3L, H-K1, H-K2, H-K3,
H-K5, H-K6, H-K7, H-K8, H-K9L, H-K9LGT, H-K9L*, H-K9LA, H-K10, H-K11,
H-K12, H-K50, H-K51, H-ZPK1A, H-ZPK2A, H-ZPK3, H-ZPK5, H-ZPK7,
H-BaK1, H-BaK2, H-BaK3, H-BaK4, H-BaK5, H-BaK6, H-BaK7, H-BaK7GT,
H-BaK7A, H-BaK8, H-ZK1, H-ZK2, H-ZK3, H-ZK3A, H-ZK4, H-ZK5, H-ZK6,
H-ZK7, H-ZK7A, H-ZK8, H-ZK9B, H-ZK9A, H-ZK10, H-ZK10L, H-ZK11,
H-ZK14, H-ZK20, H-ZK21, H-ZK50, H-ZK50GT, H-LaK1, H-LaK2A, H-LaK3,
H-LaK4L, H-LaK5A, H-LaK6A, H-LaK7A, H-LaK8B, H-LaK8A, H-LaK10,
H-LaK11, H-LaK12, H-LaK50A, H-LaK51A, H-LaK52, H-LaK53B, H-LaK53A,
H-LaK54, H-LaK59A, H-LaK61, H-LaK67, H-KF6, H-QF1, H-QF3, H-QF6A,
H-QF8, H-QF14, H-QF50, H-QF50A, H-QF56, H-F1, H-F2, H-F3, H-F4, H-F5,
H-F13, H-F51, H-BaF2, H-BaF3, H-BaF4, H-BaF5, H-BaF6, H-BaF7, H-BaF8,
H-ZBaF1, H-ZBaF3, H-ZBaF4, H-ZBaF5, H-ZBaF16, H-ZBaF20, H-ZBaF21,
H-ZBaF50, H-ZBaF52, H-ZF1A, H-ZF1, H-ZF2, H-ZF3, H-ZF4A, H-ZF4AGT,
H-ZF5, H-ZF6, H-ZF7LA, H-ZF7LAGT, H-ZF10, H-ZF11, H-ZF12, H-ZF13,
H-ZF13GT, H-ZF39, H-ZF50, H-ZF52, H-ZF52GT, H-ZF52TT, H-ZF62,
H-ZF62GT, H-ZF71, H-ZF71GT, H-ZF72A, H-ZF72AGT, H-ZF73, H-ZF73GT,
H-ZF88, H-ZF88GT, H-LaF1, H-LaF2, H-LaF3B, H-LaF4, H-LaF4GT, H-LaFL5,
H-LaF6LA, H-LaF7, H-LaF10LA, H-LaF50B, H-LaF51, H-LaF52, H-LaF53,
H-LaF54, H-LaF55, H-LaF62, H-ZLaF1, H-ZLaF2A, H-ZLaF3, H-ZLaF4LA,
H-ZLaF4LB, H-ZLaF50E, H-ZLaF50D, H-ZLaF51, H-ZLaF52A, H-ZLaF52,
H-ZLaF53B, H-ZLaF53BGT, H-ZLaF55D, H-ZLaF56B, H-ZLaF66,
H-ZLaF66GT, H-ZLaF68C, H-ZLaF68N, H-ZLaF69, H-ZLaF69A, H-ZLaF71,

64 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

H-ZLaF71AGT, H-ZLaF73, H-ZLaF75A, H-ZLaF75B, H-ZLaF76, H-ZLaF76A,
H-ZLaF78B, H-ZLaF89L, H-ZLaF90, H-ZLaF92, H-TF3L, H-TF5, D-FK61,
D-FK61A, D-FK95, D-QK3L, D-K9, D-K9GT, D-K59, D-PK3, D-ZPK1A,
D-ZPK3, D-ZPK5, D-ZPK7, D-ZK2, D-ZK3, D-ZK79, D-LaK5, D-LaK6,
D-LaK52, D-LaK70, D-ZF10, D-ZF93, D-LaF50, D-LaF050, D-LaF53, D-LaF79,
D-ZLaF50, D-ZLaF52LA, D-ZLaF61, D-ZLaF67, D-ZLaF81, D-ZLaF85A,
D-ZLaF85L, H-QK3LGTi, H-K90GTi, QF50GTi, HWS1, HWS2, HWS3, HWS4,
HWS5, HWS6, HWS7, HWS9, and HWS27.

The foregoing materials are the property of CDGM GLASS CO., LTD. For product
information concerning these materials, see http://www.cdgmgd.com/. For other
questions concerning the materials, please contact gmgd@cdgmgd.com.

Product catalog: www.cdgmglass.com/Glass-Finder.

CORNING INCORPORATED
Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 6,
Antimicrobial Corning® Gorilla® Glass, Corning® Astra™ Glass, Corning® Lotus™
NXT Glass, Corning® Eagle XG® Glass, ULE® Corning Code 7972 Ultra Low
Expansion Glass, Corning® Unicrown Glass, Corning® UV Clear Glass, Corning®
1.6/41 White High Index Glass, Corning® 1.7/35 White High Index Glass,
Corning® 1.7/42 White High Index Glass, Corning® 1.8/35 White High Index
Glass, Corning® 1.9/31 White High Index Glass, Corning® Calcium Fluoride
(CaF2) - Code 9575, Corning® HPFS® 8655 Fused Silica, and Corning® HPFS®
7980 Fused Silica.

Material Data supplied by Corning Incorporated, corning.com. ASTRA, CORNING,

EAGLE XG, HPFS, GORILLA, LOTUS, and ULE are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Corning Incorporated.

OHARA INC.
S-FPL51, S-FPL53, S-FPL55, S-FPM 2, S-FPM 3, S-FPM 4, S-FPM 5, S-FSL 5,
S-BSL 7, S-BSM 2, S-BSM10, S-BSM14, S-BSM15, S-BSM16, S-BSM18, S-BSM25,
S-BSM28, S-BSM71, S-BSM81, S-NSL 3, S-NSL36, S-BAL 2, S-BAL 3, S-BAL12,
S-BAL14, S-BAL35, S-BAL41, S-BAL42, S-BAM 4, S-BAM12,S-BAH10, S-BAH11,
S-BAH27, S-BAH28, S-PHM52, S-PHM52Q, S-PHM53, S-TIL 1, S-TIL 2,
S-TIL 6, S-TIL25, S-TIL26, S-TIL27, S-TIM 2, S-TIM 5, S-TIM 8, S-TIM22,
S-TIM25, S-TIM27, S-TIM28, S-TIM35, S-TIH 1, S-TIH 3, S-TIH 4, S-TIH 6,
S-TIH10, S-TIH11, S-TIH13, S-TIH14,S-TIH18, S-TIH23, S-TIH53, S-TIH53W,
S-TIH57, S-LAL 7, S-LAL 7Q, S-LAL 8, S-LAL 9, S-LAL10, S-LAL12, S-LAL12Q,

MATERIAL LIBRARIES | 65
 S-LAL13, S-LAL14, S-LAL18, S-LAL19, S-LAL20, S-LAL21, S-LAL54, S-LAL54Q,
S-LAL58, S-LAL59, S-LAL61, S-LAM 2, S-LAM 3, S-LAM 7, S-LAM54, S-LAM55,
S-LAM60, S-LAM61, S-LAM66, S-LAM73, S-LAH51, S-LAH52, S-LAH52Q,
S-LAH53, S-LAH53V, S-LAH55V, S-LAH55VS, S-LAH58, S-LAH59, S-LAH60,
S-LAH60MQ, S-LAH60V, S-LAH63, S-LAH63Q, S-LAH64, S-LAH65V,
S-LAH65VS, S-LAH66, S-LAH71, S-LAH79, S-LAH88, S-LAH89, S-LAH92,
S-LAH93,S-LAH95, S-LAH96, S-LAH97, S-LAH98, S-LAH99, S-FTM16,
S-NBM51, S-NBH 5, S-NBH 8, S-NBH51, S-NBH52V, S-NBH53V, S-NBH55,
S-NBH56, S-NBH57, S-NBH58, S-NPH 1, S-NPH 1W, S-NPH 2, S-NPH 3,
S-NPH 4, S-NPH 5, S-NPH 7, L-BSL 7, L-BAL35, L-BAL35P, L-BAL42,
L-BAL42P, L-BAL43, L-TIM28, L-TIM28P, L-LAL13, L-LAL15, L-LAM60,
L-LAM69, L-LAH53, L-LAH84, L-LAH85V, L-LAH90, L-LAH91, and L-LAH94.

The foregoing Material are the property of Ohara Inc. For product information
concerning these Material, see www.ohara-inc.co.jp/en/product/catalog/. For other
questions concerning the Material, please contact Ohara Inc. through
www.ohara-inc.co.jp/en/contact/.

Product catalog: www.oharacorp.com/catalog.html.

SCHOTT AG
F2, F2HT, F5, FK5HTi, K10, K7, LAFN7, LASF35, LF5, LF5HTi, LLF1, LLF1HTi,
N-BAF10, N-BAF4, N-BAF51, N-BAF52, N-BAK1, N-BAK2, N-BAK4,
N-BAK4HT, N-BALF4, N-BALF5, N-BASF2, N-BASF64, N-BK10, N-BK7,
N-BK7HT, N-BK7HTi, N-F2, N-FK5, N-FK51A, N-FK58, N-K5,
N-KF9,N-KZFS11, N-KZFS2, N-KZFS4, N-KZFS4HT, N-KZFS5, N-KZFS8,
N-LAF2, N-LAF21, N-LAF33, N-LAF34, N-LAF35, N-LAF7, N-LAK10,
N-LAK12, N-LAK14, N-LAK21, N-LAK22, N-LAK33B, N-LAK34, N-LAK7,
N-LAK8, N-LAK9, N-LASF31A, N-LASF40, N-LASF41, N-LASF43, N-LASF44,
N-LASF45, N-LASF45HT, N-LASF46A, N-LASF46B, N-LASF9, N-LASF9HT,
N-PK51, N-PK52A, N-PSK3, N-PSK53A, N-SF1, N-SF10, N-SF11, N-SF14,
N-SF15, N-SF2, N-SF4, N-SF5, N-SF57, N-SF57HT, N-SF57HTultra, N-SF6,
N-SF66, N-SF6HT, N-SF6HTultra, N-SF8, N-SK11, N-SK14, N-SK16, N-SK2,
N-SK2HT, N-SK4, N-SK5, N-SSK2, N-SSK5, N-SSK8, N-ZK7, N-ZK7A, P-BK7,
P-LAF37, P-LAK35, P-LASF47, P-LASF50, P-LASF51, P-SF68, P-SF69, P-SF8,
P-SK57, P-SK57Q1, P-SK58A, P-SK60, SF1, SF10, SF11, SF2, SF4, SF5, SF56A,
SF57, SF57HTultra, SF6, and SF6HT.

66 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

The foregoing materials are the property of Schott AG. For product information
concerning these materials, see https://www.schott.com/advanced_optics/. For
other questions concerning the materials, please contact info.optics@schott.com.

Product catalog: www.schott.com/products/optical-glass.

ORGANIC, INORGANIC, AND MISCELLANEOUS

The remaining categories of Organic, Inorganic, and Miscellaneous are derived from the
refractive index database. Authors: Mikhail Polyanskiy. Availability: https://
refractiveindex.info/. License: Public Domain through CCO 1.0 Universal.

MATERIAL LIBRARIES | 67
 Part Libraries
In wave optics simulations, it is often necessary to set up complex dielectric waveguide
geometries. This can be conveniently accomplished using the Part Library for the Wave
Optics Module.

The Part Library contains slab waveguide shapes for 2D geometries and rectangular
waveguide shapes for 3D geometries, including the following parts:

• Straight waveguides
• Tapered waveguides
• Bent (ring) waveguides
• S-bend waveguides
• Couplers

The parts are built from fully parameterized sequences of geometry instructions. For
example, you can load the slab_waveguide_straight part into a model and then
specify the core and cladding widths, the element length, and the core offset. Wave
Optics parts include selections for the core and the cladding domains that can be used
when defining the material properties. Furthermore, there are also other selections
defined for setting up ports and other boundary conditions and to simplify the
definition of the mesh sequences.

The 3D rectangular waveguide structures define work planes, to easily connect

different waveguide elements.

The following Wave Optics tutorials use the Part Library to create their
geometry sequences:

• Mach–Zehnder Modulator: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Waveguides_and_Couplers/
mach_zehnder_modulator
• Optical Ring Resonator Notch Filter: Application Library path
Wave_Optics_Module/Waveguides_and_Couplers/optical_ring_resonator

Part Libraries in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

68 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Reduced Order Modeling
When designing bandpass-filter type high-Q devices in the frequency domain, it may
be necessary to apply many frequency samples to describe the passband accurately. The
reduced order modeling technique can help accelerate the modeling of such devices as
a fine frequency resolution can be used for a modest simulation time.

Two simulation methods: the asymptotic waveform evaluation (AWE) and

frequency-domain modal methods, both are designed to help overcome the
conventional issue of a longer simulation time when using a very fine frequency
resolution or running a very wideband simulation. The AWE is efficient when it comes
to describing smooth frequency responses with a single resonance or no resonance at
all. The frequency-domain modal method, meanwhile, is useful for quickly analyzing
multistage filters or filters of a high number of elements that have multiple resonances
in a target passband.

In this section:

• Adaptive Frequency Sweep Using Asymptotic Waveform Evaluation (AWE)

Method
• Frequency Domain, Modal Method

Adaptive Frequency Sweep and Frequency Domain, Modal in the

COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual

Adaptive Frequency Sweep Using Asymptotic Waveform Evaluation

(AWE) Method
The AWE method is very useful when simulating resonant circuits, especially
single-resonance bandpass-filter type devices with many frequency points. When using
the Adaptive Frequency Sweep study, the simulation time with a much finer frequency
resolution can be almost the same as a coarse resolution regular Frequency Domain
simulation.

REDUCED ORDER MODELING | 69

 CHOOSING APPROPRIATE ASYMPTOTIC WAVEFORM EVALUATION (AWE)
EXPRESSIONS
The simulation time may vary depending on the user input for the AWE expressions.
Any model variable works as an AWE expression, so long as it has a smooth curve shape
like a Gaussian pulse as a function of frequency. The absolute value of S21,
abs(comp1.ewfd.S21), often works as the input for the AWE expression in the case
of two-port bandpass filters. For one-port devices like antennas, the absolute value of
S11 is a good choice. If the frequency response of the AWE expression contains an
infinite gradient — the case for the S11 value of an antenna with excellent impedance
matching at a single frequency point — the simulation will take longer to complete
because it requires many data points to describe the sharp dip. When the loss in a
one-port device is negligible, an alternative expression such as
sqrt(1-abs(comp1.ewfd.S11)^2) may work more efficiently than using
abs(comp1.ewfd.S11) directly.

DATA MANAGEMENT
With a very fine frequency step simulation, the solutions contain a lot of data. As a
result, the model file size will increase tremendously when it is saved. By selecting the
Store fields in output check box in the Values of Dependent Variables section of the
Frequency Domain study step settings, it is possible to define for what part of the model
the computed solution should be saved. When only S-parameters are of interest, it is
not necessary to store all of the field solutions. Instead, only store the field on the
selections for the port boundaries, as those will be used for the S-parameter
calculations.

In the Values of Dependent Variables section, change the selection in the Store fields in
output combo box from All to For selections and then add the explicit selections that
include the port boundaries. The explicit selection can be easily created from the port
feature by clicking Create Selection icon in the Boundary Selection settings once the
selection is specified.

AWE CONFIGURATION IN FREQUENCY DOMAIN STUDY STEP SETTINGS

The solver performs fast adaptive frequency sweeping using an AWE method. To
trigger the AWE in a Frequency Domain study, the following steps are required:

• Expand Study Extensions section in Frequency Domain study step settings.

• Click the Use asymptotic waveform evaluation check box in the Study Extensions
section.
• Specify the user input for the AWE expressions.

70 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

Frequency Domain, Modal Method
Bandpass-frequency responses of a passive circuit often result from a combination of
multiple resonances. Eigenfrequency analysis is used for capturing the resonance
frequencies of a device. In a subsequent step, the information from the Eigenfrequency
solutions can be reused in a Frequency Domain, Modal study to generate a solution for
the driven problem.

EIGENFREQUENCY STUDY STEP SETTINGS

To perform a Frequency Domain, Modal analysis, it is necessary to configure the
Eigenfrequency study step properly. As the output of the Eigenfrequency study may
include unphysical results (so called spurious modes), appropriate settings help refine
the Eigenfrequency study results.

• Set Eigenfrequency search method to Manual

• Adjust Desired number of eigenfrequencies if necessary.
• Set Search for eigenfrequencies around to the estimate of the lowest passband
frequency.
• Set Eigenfrequency search method around shift to Larger real part.

DATA MANAGEMENT
The Store fields in output check box in the Values of Dependent Variables section can be
applied to the Frequency Domain, Modal study — if you are interested only in
S-parameters. By storing solutions only on port boundaries, the saved model file size
will decrease a lot.

Note that the phase of the computed S-parameters in the Frequency

Domain, Modal study can be different from that of the regular frequency
sweep model due to that all relevant eigenmodes might not be included
in the simulation. It is recommended to perform an initial eigenfrequency
investigation, to find all relevant eigenfrequencies contributing to the
frequency response. If not all relevant eigenfrequencies are included in
the simulation, the results are compatible only for phase-independent
S-parameter values, such as dB-scaled, absolute value, reflectivity, or
transmittivity.

REDUCED ORDER MODELING | 71

 Electromagnetic Quantities
Table 2-3 shows the symbol and SI unit for most of the physical quantities that are
included with this module.
TABLE 2-3: ELECTROMAGNETIC QUANTITIES

QUANTITY SYMBOL UNIT ABBREVIATION

Angular frequency ω radian/second rad/s

Attenuation constant α meter-1 m-1
Capacitance C farad F
Charge q coulomb C
2
Charge density (surface) ρs coulomb/meter C/m2
3
Charge density (volume) ρ coulomb/meter C/m3
Current I ampere A
Current density (surface) Js ampere/meter A/m
2
Current density (volume) J ampere/meter A/m2
2
Electric displacement D coulomb/meter C/m2
Electric field E volt/meter V/m
Electric potential V volt V
Electric susceptibility χe (dimensionless) −
Electrical conductivity σ siemens/meter S/m
Energy density W joule/meter3 J/m3
Force F newton N
Frequency ν hertz Hz
Impedance Z, η ohm Ω
Inductance L henry H
Magnetic field H ampere/meter A/m
Magnetic flux Φ weber Wb
Magnetic flux density B tesla T
Magnetic potential (scalar) Vm ampere A
Magnetic potential (vector) A weber/meter Wb/m
Magnetic susceptibility χm (dimensionless) −
Magnetization M ampere/meter A/m

72 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING

TABLE 2-3: ELECTROMAGNETIC QUANTITIES

QUANTITY SYMBOL UNIT ABBREVIATION

Permeability μ henry/meter H/m

Permittivity ε farad/meter F/m
Polarization P coulomb/meter2 C/m2
Poynting vector S watt/meter2 W/m2
Propagation constant β radian/meter rad/m
Reactance X ohm Ω
Relative permeability μr (dimensionless) −
Relative permittivity εr (dimensionless) −
Resistance R ohm W
Resistive loss Q watt/meter3 W/m3
Torque T newton-meter Nm
Velocity v meter/second m/s
Wavelength λ meter m
Wave number k radian/meter rad/m

ELECTROMAGNETIC QUANTITIES | 73
74 | CHAPTER 2: WAVE OPTICS MODELING
 3

Wave Optics Interfaces

This chapter describes the physics interfaces found under the Optics>Wave Optics
branch ( ) when adding a physics interface.

In this chapter:

• The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface

• The Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface
• The Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface
• The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface
• The Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface
• Theory for the Electromagnetic Waves Interfaces
• Theory for the Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface

75
 The Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain (ewfd) interface ( ) is used to solve for
time-harmonic electromagnetic field distributions. It is found under the Wave Optics
branch ( ) when adding a physics interface,

For this physics interface, the maximum mesh element size should be limited to a
fraction of the wavelength. The domain size that can be simulated thus scales with the
amount of available computer memory and the wavelength. The physics interface
supports the Frequency Domain, Wavelength Domain, Eigenfrequency, Mode
Analysis, and Boundary Mode Analysis study types. The Frequency Domain and
Wavelength Domain study types are used for source driven simulations for a single
frequency/wavelength or a sequence of frequencies/wavelengths. The
Eigenfrequency study type is used to find resonance frequencies and their associated
eigenmodes in resonant cavities.

This physics interface solves the time-harmonic wave equation for the electric field.

When this physics interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model
Builder — Wave Equation, Electric, Perfect Electric Conductor, and Initial Values. Then,
from the Physics toolbar, add other nodes that implement, for example, boundary
conditions. You can also right-click Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain to select
physics features from the context menu.

The Mode analysis study type is applicable only for 2D and 2D axisymmetric cross
sections of waveguides and transmission lines where it is used to find allowed
propagating modes. Boundary mode analysis is used for the same purpose in 2D, 2D
axisymmetry, and 3D and applies to boundaries representing waveguide ports.

Physics-Controlled Mesh
The physics-controlled mesh is controlled from the Settings window for the Mesh node
(if the Sequence type is Physics-controlled mesh). In the table in the Physics-Controlled
Mesh section, find the physics interface in the Contributor column and select or clear
the check box in the Use column on the same row for enabling (the default) or
disabling contributions from the physics interface to the physics-controlled mesh.

When the Use check box for the physics interface is selected, this invokes a parameter
for the maximum mesh element size in free space. The physics-controlled mesh

76 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

automatically scales the maximum mesh element size as the wavelength changes in
different dielectric and magnetic regions. If the model is configured by any periodic
conditions, identical meshes are generated on each pair of periodic boundaries.
Perfectly matched layers are built with a structured mesh, specifically, a swept mesh in
3D and a mapped mesh in 2D.

When the Use check box is selected for the physics interface, in the section for the
physics interface below the table, choose one of the four options for the Maximum mesh
element size control parameter — From study (the default), User defined, Frequency, or
Wavelength. When From study is selected, 1/5 of the vacuum wavelength from the
highest frequency defined in the study step is used for the maximum mesh element
size. For the option User defined, enter a suitable Maximum element size in free space.
For example, 1/5 of the vacuum wavelength or smaller. When Frequency is selected,
enter the highest frequency intended to be used during the simulation. The maximum
mesh element size in free space is 1/5 of the vacuum wavelength for the entered
frequency. For the Wavelength option, enter the smallest vacuum wavelength intended
to be used during the simulation. The maximum mesh element size in free space is 1/
5 of the entered wavelength.

When Resolve wave in lossy media is selected, the outer boundaries of lossy media
domains are meshed with a maximum mesh element size in free space given by the
minimum value of half a skin depth and 1/5 of the vacuum wavelength.

The maximum mesh element size in dielectric media is equal to the maximum mesh
element size in vacuum divided by the square root of the product of the relative
permittivity and permeability.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see the

Physics-Controlled Mesh section for more information about how to
define the physics-controlled mesh.

SETTINGS
The Label is the default physics interface name.

The Name is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics
interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 77

 different physics interfaces, the name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and
underscores (_) are permitted in the Name field. The first character must be a letter.

The default Name (for the first physics interface in the model) is ewfd.

FORMULATION
From the Formulation list, select whether to solve for the Full field (the default) or the
Scattered field.

For Scattered field select a Background wave type according to the following table:
TABLE 3-1: BACKGROUND WAVE TYPE BASED ON COMPONENT DIMENSION

COMPONENT BACKGROUND WAVE TYPE

2D User defined (default), Gaussian beam

2D Axisymmetric User defined (default), Circularly polarized plane wave
3D User defined (default), Gaussian beam, Linearly polarized plane wave

User Defined
Enter the component expressions for the Background electric field Eb (SI unit: V/m).
The entered expressions must be differentiable.

Notice that expressions including coupling operators are not

differentiable and cannot be used as background fields.

Gaussian Beam
For Gaussian beam select the Gaussian beam type — Paraxial approximation (the default)
or Plane wave expansion.

When selecting Paraxial approximation, the Gaussian beam background field is a

solution to the paraxial wave equation, which is an approximation to the Helmholtz
equation solved for by the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain (ewfd) interface.
The approximation is valid for Gaussian beams that have a beam radius that is much
larger than the wavelength. Since the paraxial Gaussian beam background field is an
approximation to the Helmholtz equation, for tightly focused beams, you can get a
nonzero scattered field solution, even if you do not have any scatterers. The option
Plane wave expansion means that the electric field for the Gaussian beam is
approximated by an expansion of the electric field into a number of plane waves. Since
each plane wave is a solution to the Helmholtz equation, the plane wave expansion of
the electric field is also a solution to the Helmholtz equation. Thus, this option can be
used also for tightly focused Gaussian beams.

78 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

If the beam spot radius is smaller than the wavelength, evanescent plane waves need to
be included in the expansion. The evanescent waves decay exponentially in the
propagation direction, why it only makes sense to model such tightly focused beams if
the focal plane coincides with the input boundary. If the focal plane is located inside
the modeled domain, the field can be dominated by the exponentially decaying
evanescent waves. Those waves can have a very high field strength before the focal
plane even though they only provide a small contribution to the field at the focal plane.

For Plane wave expansion select Wave vector distribution type — Automatic (the default)
or User defined. For Automatic also check Allow evanescent waves, to include evanescent
waves in the plane wave expansion. For User defined also enter values for the Wave
vector count Nk (the default value is 13) and Maximum transverse wave number kt,max
(SI unit: rad/m, default value is (2*(sqrt(2*log(10))))/ewfd.w0). Use an odd
number for the Wave vector count Nk to make sure that a wave vector pointing in the
main propagation direction is included in the plane-wave expansion. The Wave vector
count Nk specifies the number of wave vectors that will be included per transverse
dimension. So for 3D the total number of wave vectors will be Nk·Nk.

Evanescent waves are included in the plane wave expansion if the

Maximum transverse wave number kt,max is larger that the specified Wave
number k. When the Wave vector distribution type is set to Automatic,
evanescent waves are included in the expansion if the Allow evanescent
waves check box is selected.

A plane wave expansion with a finite number of plane waves included will make the
field periodic in the plane orthogonal to the main propagation direction. If the
separation between the transverse wave vector components, given by 2kt,max/
(Nk − 1), is too small, replicas of the Gaussian beam background field can appear. To
avoid that, increase the value for the Wave vector count Nk.

The number of plane waves included in the expansion can be quite large, especially for
3D. For instance, using the default settings, 2·13·13 = 338 plane waves will be
included (the factor 2 accounts for the two possible polarizations for each wave
vector). Thus, initializing the plane-wave expansion for the Gaussian beam
background field can take some time in 3D.

For more information about the Gaussian beam theory, see Gaussian Beams as
Background Fields and Input Fields.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 79

 Define the Gaussian beam background field using the parameters below:

• Select a Beam orientation: Along the x-axis (the default), Along the y-axis, or for 3D
components, Along the z-axis.
• Enter a Beam radius w0 (SI unit: m). The default is 20π/ewfd.k0 m (10 vacuum
wavelengths).
• Enter a Focal plane along the axis p0 (SI unit: m). The default is 0 m.
• Select an Input quantity: Electric field amplitude (the default) or Power.
• Enter the component expressions for the Transverse background electric field
amplitude, Gaussian beam ETbg0 (SI unit: V/m) if the Input quantity is Electric field
amplitude. Notice that this is the transverse Gaussian beam amplitude in the focal
plane. When the Gaussian beam type is set to Paraxial approximation the background
field is always orthogonal (transverse) to Beam orientation. However, when the
Gaussian beam type is set to Plane wave expansion, the background field amplitude
can also have a component in the propagation direction. Specify here only the field
amplitude components that are orthogonal to the propagation direction. COMSOL
computes automatically the component in the propagation direction, if needed.
• If the Input quantity is set to Power, enter the Input power (SI unit: W in 2D
axisymmetry and 3D and W/m in 2D) and the component expressions for the
Non-normalized transverse electric field amplitude, Gaussian beam ETbg0 (SI unit: V/
m).
• Enter a Wave number k (SI unit: rad/m). The default is ewfd.k0 rad/m. The wave
number must evaluate to a value that is the same for all the domains the scattered
field is applied to. Setting the Wave number k to a positive value, means that the wave
is propagating in the positive x-, y-, or z-axis direction, whereas setting the Wave
number k to a negative value means that the wave is propagating in the negative x-,
y-, or z-axis direction.

Nanorods: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Optical_Scattering/nanorods demonstrates how to set up the Gaussian
background field, based on the plane-wave expansion.

Linearly Polarized Plane Wave

The initial background wave is predefined as E0 = exp(−jkxx)z. This field is
transformed by three successive rotations along the roll, pitch, and yaw angles, in that

80 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

order. For a graphic representation of the initial background field and the definition of
the three rotations compare with Figure 3-1 below.

• Enter an Electric field amplitude E0 (SI unit: V/m). The default is 1 V/m.
• Enter a Roll angle (SI unit: rad), which is a right-handed rotation with respect to the
+x direction. The default is 0 rad, corresponding to polarization along the
+z direction.
• Enter a Pitch angle (SI unit: rad), which is a right-handed rotation with respect to
the +y direction. The default is 0 rad, corresponding to the initial direction of
propagation pointing in the +x direction.
• Enter a Yaw angle (SI unit: rad), which is a right-handed rotation with respect to the
+z direction.
• Enter a Wave number k (SI unit: rad/m). The default is ewfd.k0 rad/m. The wave
number must evaluate to a value that is the same for the domains the scattered field
is applied to.

Figure 3-1: Schematic of the directions for the wave vector k, the electric field E0, and the
roll, pitch and yaw rotations. The top image represents an initial wave propagating in the
x direction with a polarization along the z direction.

Circularly Polarized Plane Wave

The background wave is defined as

– jmϕ
E b ( r, ϕ, z ) = Ẽ b ( r, z )e ,

where

˜ ( r, z ) = E ( r̂ – jmϕ̂ )e –jkz ,
E b 0

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 81

 m is the azimuthal mode number (+1 or -1) varying depending on the Circular
polarization type and Direction of propagation settings, and r̂ and ϕ̂ are the unit vectors
in the r and ϕ directions, respectively.

• Select the Circular polarization type — Right handed or Left handed.

• Select the Direction of propagation — +z or -z.
• Enter an Electric field amplitude E0 (SI unit: V/m). The default is 1 V/m.
• Enter an Wave number k (SI unit: rad/m). The default is ewfd.k0 rad/m.

COMPONENTS
This section is available for 2D and 2D axisymmetric components.

Select the Electric field components solved for — Three-component vector, Out-of-plane
vector, or In-plane vector. Select:

• Three-component vector (the default) to solve using a full three-component vector

for the electric field E.
• Out-of-plane vector to solve for the electric field vector component perpendicular to
the modeling plane, assuming that there is no electric field in the plane.
• In-plane vector to solve for the electric field vector components in the modeling
plane assuming that there is no electric field perpendicular to the plane.

OUT-OF-PLANE WAVE NUMBER

This section is available for 2D and 2D axisymmetric components, when solving for
Three-component vector or In-plane vector.

For 2D components, assign a wave vector component to the Out-of-plane wave number
field. For 2D axisymmetric components, assign an integer constant or an integer
parameter expression to the Azimuthal mode number field.

PORT SWEEP SETTINGS

Select the Use manual port sweep check box to enable the port sweep. When selected,
this invokes a parametric sweep over the ports in addition to the frequency/
wavelength sweep already added. The generated lumped parameters are in the form of
an S-parameter matrix.

For Use manual port sweep enter a Sweep parameter name to assign a specific name to
the parameter that controls the port number solved for during the sweep. Before
making the port sweep, the parameter must also have been added to the list of
parameters in the Parameters section of the Parameters node under the Global

82 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Definitions node. This process can be automated by clicking the Configure Sweep
Settings button. The Configure Sweep Settings button helps add a necessary port sweep
parameter and a Parametric Sweep study step in the last study node. If there is already
a Parametric Sweep study step, the sweep settings are adjusted for the port sweep.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see the Frequency

Domain Source Sweep section for a discussion of how to use the
Frequency Domain Source Sweep study type to perform efficient port
sweeps.

Select Export Touchstone file and the S-parameters are subject to Touchstone file export.
Click Browse to locate the file, or enter a file name and path. Select an Parameter format
(value pair): Magnitude angle, Magnitude (dB) angle, or Real imaginary.

Enter a Reference impedance for Touchstone file export Zref (SI unit: Ω) that is used only
for the header in the exported Touchstone file. The default is 50 Ω.

It is also possible to export Touchstone files during postprocessing under

the Results node. In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual, see
the Touchstone section for more information on how to export
Touchstone files as a postprocessing step.

PORT OPTIONS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box.

The electric field on port boundaries is expanded as

E ( r ) = E inc ( r ) +  Si Ei ( r ) exp ( –αi n ⋅ ( r – r0 ) ) ,

i

where E, r, Einc, Si, Ei, αi, n, r0 are, respectively, the electric field on the port
boundary, the position vector, the incident electric field, the expansion coefficient (or
S-parameter), the mode field, the propagation constant for the mode, the normal
vector, and a position on the port boundary.

Select the Use constraint-free ports check box to calculate the expansion coefficients as
overlap integrals

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 83

 1

S i = --------- ( E – E inc ) × H i* ⋅ n dS ,
2P i
S

where Pi, S, and Hi are the mode power, the port boundary area, and the magnetic
mode field, respectively.

In the default port formulation, when the Use constraint-free port check box is disabled
(the default setting), the expansion coefficients (or S-parameters) are calculated by
adding a scalar dependent variable for each coefficient and then adding a constraint to
enforce the series expansion above.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES
The dependent variables (field variables) are for the Electric field E and its components
(in the Electric field components fields). The name can be changed but the names of
fields and dependent variables must be unique within a model.

DISCRETIZATION
Select the shape order for the Electric field dependent variable — Linear, Linear type 2,
Quadratic (the default), Quadratic type 2, Cubic, or Cubic type 2. For more information
about the Discretization section, see Settings for the Discretization Sections in the
COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

• Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the

Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface
• Theory for the Electromagnetic Waves Interfaces

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the

Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface has these domain,
boundary, edge, point, and pair nodes and subnodes. The nodes are listed in
alphabetical order and are available from the Physics ribbon toolbar (Windows users),

84 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Physics context menu (Mac or Linux users), or by right-clicking to access the context
menu (all users).

In general, to add a node, go to the Physics toolbar, no matter what

operating system you are using. Subnodes are available by clicking the
parent node and selecting it from the Attributes menu.

DOMAIN

• External Current Density • Initial Values

• Far-Field Calculation • Polarization
• Far-Field Domain • Wave Equation, Electric

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
With no surface currents present, the boundary conditions

n2 × ( E1 – E2 ) = 0
n2 × ( H1 – H2 ) = 0

need to be fulfilled. Because E is being solved for, the tangential component of the
electric field is always continuous, and thus the first condition is automatically fulfilled.
The second condition is equivalent to the natural boundary condition

–1 –1
– n × [ ( μ r ∇ × E ) 1 – ( μ r ∇ × E ) 2 ] = n × jωμ 0 ( H 1 – H2 ) = 0

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 85

 and is therefore also fulfilled. The following conditions are available (listed in
alphabetical order):

• Diffraction Order • Perfect Magnetic Conductor

• Electric Field • Periodic Condition
• Impedance Boundary Condition • Port
• Layered Transition Boundary • Scattering Boundary Condition
Condition • Surface Current Density
• Magnetic Field • Surface Magnetic Current Density
• Orthogonal Polarization • Transition Boundary Condition
• Perfect Electric Conductor

EDGE, POINT, AND PAIR

• Circular Port Reference Axis • Magnetic Point Dipole

• Edge Current • Perfect Electric Conductor
• Electric Field • Perfect Magnetic Conductor
• Electric Point Dipole • Periodic Port Reference Point
• Line Current (Out-of-Plane) • Reference Point
• Magnetic Current • Surface Current Density
• Surface Magnetic Current Density
• Symmetry Axis Reference Point

For 2D axisymmetric components, COMSOL Multiphysics takes the axial

symmetry boundaries (at r = 0) into account and automatically adds an
Axial Symmetry node to the component that is valid on the axial symmetry
boundaries only.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see Table 2-4 for links
to common sections and Table 2-5 to common feature nodes. You can
also search for information: press F1 to open the Help window or Ctrl+F1
to open the Documentation window.

86 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Wave Equation, Electric
Wave Equation, Electric is the main feature node for this physics interface. The
governing equation can be written in the form

2
∇ × ( μ r– 1 ∇ × E ) – k 0 ε rc E = 0

for the time-harmonic and eigenfrequency problems. The wave number of free space
k0 is defined as

ω
k 0 = ω ε 0 μ 0 = -----
c0

where c0 is the speed of light in vacuum.

In 2D the electric field varies with the out-of-plane wave number kz as

˜
E ( x, y, z ) = E ( x, y ) exp ( – ik z z ) .

The wave equation is thereby rewritten as

˜ 2 ˜
( ∇ – ik z z ) × [ μ r–1 ( ∇ – ik z z ) × E ] – k 0 ε rc E = 0 ,

where z is the unit vector in the out-of-plane z direction.

Notice that the ansatz above just explains how the wave equation is modified when the
out-of-plane wave vector component kz is not zero. As an example, for a plane wave
with a nonzero out-of-plane wave vector component, the electric field is of course
given by

˜
E ( x, y, z ) = E ( x, y ) exp ( – ik z z ) = A exp ( – i ( k x x + k y y + k z z ) ) ,

where A is a constant amplitude and kx, ky, and kz are the wave vector components.

In 2D axisymmetry, the electric field varies with the azimuthal mode number m as

˜
E ( r, ϕ, z ) = E ( r, z ) exp ( – imϕ ) .

For this case, the wave equation is rewritten as

∇ – im ˜ ˜
----- ϕ × μ r–1  ∇ – i m
----- ϕ × E – k 0 ε rc E = 0 ,
2
 r   r 

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 87

 where ϕ is the unit vector in the out-of-plane ϕ direction.

When solving the equations as an eigenfrequency problem the eigenvalue is the

complex eigenfrequency λ = −jω + δ, where δ is the damping of the solution. The
Q-factor is given from the eigenvalue by the formula

ω
Q fact = ---------
2δ

Using the relation εr = n2, where n is the refractive index, the equation can
alternatively be written

2 2
∇ × ( ∇ × E ) – k0 n E = 0

When the equation is written using the refractive index, the assumption is that μr = 1
and σ = 0 and only the constitutive relations for linear materials are available. When
solving for the scattered field the same equations are used but E = Esc + Ei and Esc is
the dependent variable.

88 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

ELECTRIC DISPLACEMENT FIELD
Select an Electric displacement field model — Relative permittivity, Refractive index (the
default), Loss tangent, loss angle, Loss tangent, dissipation factor, Dielectric loss,
Drude-Lorentz dispersion model, Debye dispersion model, or Sellmeier dispersion model.

Note that the following material models can automatically be

synchronized to any of the other Electric displacement field model settings:

• Relative permittivity
• Refractive index
• Loss tangent, loss angle
• Loss tangent, dissipation factor
• Dielectric loss

As an example, the material can be specified to use a Refractive index

material model. Then the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index
can be synchronized to compute the complex relative permittivity, if the
Electric displacement field model is set to Relative permittivity.

When synchronizing to the Refractive index Electric displacement field

model, the source material model is assumed to be isotropic.

When synchronizing to the Loss tangent, loss angle and Loss tangent,
dissipation factor Electric displacement field models, the loss angle δ and the
dissipation factor tanδ, respectively, must be converted to isotropic values.

Relative Permittivity
When Relative permittivity is selected, the default Relative permittivity εr takes values
From material. For User defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full and enter
values or expressions in the field or matrix.

Refractive Index
When Refractive index is selected, the default Refractive index n and Refractive index,
imaginary part k take the values From material. To specify the real and imaginary parts
of the refractive index and assume a relative permeability of unity and zero

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 89

 conductivity, for one or both of the options, select User defined then choose Isotropic,
Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full. Enter values or expressions in the field or matrix.

The diagonal components of the input refractive index matrix correspond

to the semi-axes of the so called index ellipsoid. You can orient the index
ellipsoid by first creating a suitably oriented coordinate system below the
Definitions node for the model component. Then select the created
coordinate system in the Coordinate system setting in the Coordinate
System Selection section in the settings for the Wave Equation, Electric
feature.

Beware of the time-harmonic sign convention requiring a lossy material

having a negative imaginary part of the refractive index (see Introducing
Losses in the Frequency Domain).

Loss Tangent, Loss Angle

When Loss tangent, loss angle is selected, the default Relative permittivity (real part) ε′
and Loss tangent, loss angle δ take values From material. For User defined select Isotropic,
Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full and enter values or expressions in the field or matrix. Then
if User defined is selected for Loss tangent, loss angle δ, enter a value to specify a loss
angle for dielectric losses. This assumes zero conductivity.

Loss Tangent, Dissipation Factor

When Loss tangent, dissipation factor is selected, the default Relative permittivity (real
part) ε′ and Loss tangent, dissipation factor tanδ take values From material. For User
defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full and enter values or expressions in
the field or matrix. Then if User defined is selected for Loss tangent, dissipation factor
tanδ, enter a value to specify a dissipation for dielectric losses. This assumes zero
conductivity.

Dielectric Loss
When Dielectric loss is selected, the default Relative permittivity ε′ and Relative
permittivity (imaginary part) ε″ take values From material. For User defined select

90 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full and enter values or expressions in the field or
matrix.

Beware of the time-harmonic sign convention requiring a lossy material

having a negative imaginary part of the relative permittivity (see
Introducing Losses in the Frequency Domain).

Drude-Lorentz Dispersion Model

The Drude-Lorentz dispersion model is defined by the equation

M 2
fj ωP
εr ( ω ) = ε∞ +  ---------------------------------------
2
ω 0j – ω + iΓ j ω
2
-
j=1

where ε∞ is the high-frequency contribution to the relative permittivity, ωP is the

plasma frequency, fj is the oscillator strength, ω0j is the resonance frequency, and Γj is
the damping coefficient.

When Drude-Lorentz dispersion model is selected, the default Relative permittivity, high
frequency ε∞ (dimensionless) takes its value From material. For User defined select
Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full and enter a value or expression in the field or
matrix.

Enter a Plasma frequency ω∞ (SI unit: rad/s). The default is 0 rad/s.

In the table, enter values or expressions in the columns for the Oscillator strength,
Resonance frequency (rad/s), and Damping in time (rad/s).

Debye Dispersion Model

The Debye dispersion model is given by

Δε k
ε ( ω ) = ε∞ +  ---------------------
1 + iωτ k
-
k

where ε∞ is the high-frequency contribution to the relative permittivity, Δεk is the

contribution to the relative permittivity, and τk is the relaxation time.

When Debye dispersion model is selected, the default Relative permittivity, high
frequency ε∞ (dimensionless) takes its value From material. For User defined select
Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full and enter a value or expression in the field or
matrix.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 91

 In the table, enter values or expressions in the columns for the Relative permittivity
contribution and Relaxation time (s).

Sellmeier Dispersion Model

The Sellmeier dispersion model is often used for characterizing the refractive index of
optical glasses. The model is given by

2
Bk λ

2
n (λ) = 1 + ------------------
-
2
k λ – Ck

where the coefficients Bk and Ck determine the dispersion properties.

When Sellmeier dispersion model is selected, in the table, enter values or expressions in
the columns for B and C (m^2).

MAGNETIC FIELD
Select the Constitutive relation — Relative permeability (the default) or Magnetic losses.

For magnetic losses, beware of the time-harmonic sign convention

requiring a lossy material having a negative imaginary part of the relative
permeability (see Introducing Losses in the Frequency Domain).

• For Relative permeability the relative permeability μr uses values From material. For
User defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full based on the characteristics
of the magnetic field, and then enter values or expressions in the field or matrix.
• For Magnetic losses the default values for Relative permeability (real part) μ′ and
Relative permeability (imaginary part) μ″ are taken From material. For User defined
enter different values.

CONDUCTION CURRENT
By default, the Electrical conductivity σ (SI unit: S/m) uses values From material.

• For User defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full based on the
characteristics of the current and enter values or expressions in the field or matrix.
• For Linearized resistivity the default values for the Reference temperature Tref (SI
unit: K), Resistivity temperature coefficient α (SI unit: 1/K), and Reference resistivity
ρ0 (SI unit: Ω⋅m) are taken From material. For User defined enter other values or
expressions for any of these variables.

92 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 For an example using the Drude-Lorentz dispersion model, see Nanorods:
Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/nanorods.

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds an initial value for the electric field that can serve as an
initial guess for a nonlinear solver. Add additional Initial Values nodes from the Physics
toolbar.

INITIAL VALUES
Enter values or expressions for the initial values of the components of the Electric field
E (SI unit: V/m). The default values are 0 V/m.

External Current Density

The External Current Density node adds an externally generated current density Je,
which appears in Ohm’s law

J = σE + J e

and in the equation that the physics interface defines.

EXTERNAL CURRENT DENSITY

Based on space dimension, enter the components (x, y, and z for 3D components for
example) of the External current density Je (SI unit: A/m2).

Far-Field Domain
To set up a far-field calculation, add a Far-Field Domain node and specify the far-field
domains in its Settings window. Use Far-Field Calculation subnodes (one is added by
default) to specify all other settings needed to define the far-field calculation. If a
Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) node has been added before adding the Far-Field
Domain, all of the domains in the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain interface
adjacent to the PML are automatically selected by default. If there is no PML, all of
the domains are selected. The selection can be modified. In that case, select only a

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 93

 homogeneous domain or domain group that is outside of all radiating and scattering
objects and which has the material settings of the far-field medium.

Modeling with Far-Field Calculations

Optical Scattering off a Gold Nanosphere: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/scattering_nanosphere

Far-Field Calculation
A Far-Field Calculation subnode is added by default to the Far-Field Domain node and
is used to select boundaries corresponding to a single closed surface surrounding all
radiating and scattering objects. By default, all exterior boundaries of the Far-Field
Domain are selected. If a Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) node has been added before
adding the Far-Field Domain, all exterior boundaries of the Far-Field Domain adjacent
to the PML are selected. Symmetry reduction of the geometry makes it relevant to
select boundaries defining a nonclosed surface. Also use this feature to indicate
symmetry planes and symmetry cuts applied to the geometry, and whether the selected
boundaries are defining the inside or outside of the far field domain; that is, to say
whether they are facing away from infinity or toward infinity.

FAR-FIELD CALCULATION
Enter a Far-field variable name. The default is Efar.

Select as needed the Symmetry in the x=0 plane, Symmetry in the y=0 plane, or
Symmetry in the z=0 plane check boxes to use it your model when calculating the
far-field variable. The symmetry planes have to coincide with one of the Cartesian
coordinate planes.

When a check box is selected, also choose the type of symmetry to use from the
Symmetry type list that appears — Symmetry in E (PMC) or Symmetry in H (PEC). The
selection should match the boundary condition used for the symmetry boundary.
Using these settings, include the parts of the geometry that are not in the model for
symmetry reasons in the far-field analysis.

94 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

From the Boundary relative to domain list, select Inside or Outside (the default) to define
if the selected boundaries are defining the inside or outside of the far-field domain (that
is, whether facing away from infinity or toward infinity).

If perfectly matched layers are added to the model after the Far-Field
Domain is configured, then it is necessary to press the Reset Far-Field
Boundaries button to reassign all exterior boundaries.

Optical Scattering off a Gold Nanosphere: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/scattering_nanosphere

Polarization
The Polarization node adds an externally generated polarization Pi, which contributes
to the total polarization

P = ε 0 ( ε r – 1 )E +  Pi .
i

As indicated above, each Polarization node adds a contribution to the total

polarization.

Add Polarization nodes from the Physics toolbar or by right-clicking the physics
interface and selecting the Polarization item from the context menu.

POLARIZATION
Enter the components (x, y, and z for 3D components for example) of the Polarization
Pi (SI unit: C/m2).

Second Harmonic Generation in the Frequency Domain: Application

Library path Wave_Optics_Module/Verification_Examples/
second_harmonic_generation_frequency_domain

Perfect Electric Conductor

The Perfect Electric Conductor boundary condition

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 95

 n×E = 0

is a special case of the electric field boundary condition that sets the tangential
component of the electric field to zero. It is used for modeling of a lossless metallic
surface (for example, a ground plane) or as a symmetry type boundary condition. It
imposes symmetry for magnetic fields and “magnetic currents” and antisymmetry for
electric fields and electric currents. It supports induced electric surface currents and
thus any prescribed or induced electric currents (volume, surface, or edge currents)
flowing into a perfect electric conductor boundary is automatically balanced by
induced surface currents.

Js
J
I'
I

Js

Figure 3-2: The perfect electric conductor boundary condition is used on exterior and
interior boundaries representing the surface of a lossless metallic conductor or (on exterior
boundaries) representing a symmetry cut. The shaded (metallic) region is not part of the
model but still carries effective mirror images of the sources. Note also that any current
flowing into the boundary is perfectly balanced by induced surface currents. The
tangential electric field vanishes at the boundary.

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box. For information about the
Constraint Settings section, see Constraint Settings in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

Self-Focusing: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Nonlinear_Optics/self_focusing

Perfect Magnetic Conductor

The Perfect Magnetic Conductor boundary condition

n×H = 0

96 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

is a special case of the surface current boundary condition that sets the tangential
component of the magnetic field and thus also the surface current density to zero. On
external boundaries, this can be interpreted as a “high surface impedance” boundary
condition or used as a symmetry type boundary condition. It imposes symmetry for
electric fields and electric currents. Electric currents (volume, surface, or edge
currents) are not allowed to flow into a perfect magnetic conductor boundary as that
would violate current conservation. On interior boundaries, the perfect magnetic
conductor boundary condition literally sets the tangential magnetic field to zero,
which in addition to setting the surface current density to zero also makes the
tangential electric field discontinuous.

Js=0

I'
I
J=0

Figure 3-3: The perfect magnetic conductor boundary condition is used on exterior
boundaries representing the surface of a high impedance region or a symmetry cut. The
shaded (high impedance) region is not part of the model but nevertheless carries effective
mirror images of the sources. Note also that any electric current flowing into the boundary
is forbidden as it cannot be balanced by induced electric surface currents. The tangential
magnetic field vanishes at the boundary. On interior boundaries, the perfect magnetic
conductor boundary condition literally sets the tangential magnetic field to zero which in
addition to setting the surface current density to zero also makes the tangential electric
field (and in dynamics the tangential electric field) discontinuous.

Optical Scattering off a Gold Nanosphere: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/scattering_nanosphere

Self-Focusing: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Nonlinear_Optics/self_focusing

Port
Use the Port node where electromagnetic energy enters or exits the model. A port can
launch and absorb specific modes. Use the boundary condition to specify wave type

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 97

 ports. Ports support S-parameter calculations but can be used just for exciting the
model. This node is not available with the Electromagnetic Waves, Transient interface.

A port assumes that the cross section’s geometry and material is constant in the normal
direction. Furthermore, the port boundary is assumed to be flat, resulting in a constant
normal across the boundary.

In 3D, the following subnodes are available from the context menu, by right-clicking
the Port node, or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu:

• Circular Port Reference Axis to determine a reference direction for the modes. This
subnode is selected from the Points submenu when Circular is selected as the type of
port.
• Periodic Port Reference Point to uniquely determine reciprocal lattice vectors. This
subnode is selected from the Points submenu when Periodic is selected as the type of
port.

PORT PROPERTIES
Enter a unique Port name. Only nonnegative integer numbers can be used as Port name
as it is used to define the elements of the S-parameter matrix and numeric port names
are also required for port sweeps and Touchstone file export.

Select the Type of Port — User defined, Numeric, Rectangular, Coaxial, Circular, or
Periodic.

Periodic ports are available in 3D and 2D. Circular and Coaxial ports are available in 3D
and 2D axisymmetry.

Numeric ports require a Boundary Mode Analysis study type. It should appear before the
frequency or wavelength domain study node in the study branch of the model tree. If
more than one numeric port is needed, use one Boundary Mode Analysis node per
port and assign each to the appropriate port. Then, it is best to add all the studies;
Boundary Mode Analysis 1, Boundary Mode Analysis 2, …, Frequency Domain 1 (or
Wavelength Domain 1), manually. Numeric ports are by default computed for the

98 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

deformed mesh whereas other types of ports compute the mode shape using geometry
information.

The Boundary Mode Analysis study step stores the frequency fref and
propagation constant βref for which it was run. For a TE, TM, or TEM
mode, the propagation constant β for an arbitrary frequency f is given by

2 2 2 2
β = β ref + k ( 1 – ( f ref ⁄ f ) ) .

In addition, for TE, TM, and TEM modes, the mode field shape is
independent of the frequency. Thus, when making a frequency sweep
including only TE, TM, and TEM modes, the Boundary Mode Analysis
study steps can be done for just one frequency, with the propagation
constants obtained from the expression above for the other frequencies.
For waveguides consisting of multiple dielectric materials, like optical
fibers, where there are no TE, TM, or, TEM modes, the Boundary Mode
Analysis steps must be recomputed for each frequency.

It is only possible to excite one port at a time if the purpose is to compute

S-parameters. In other cases (for example, when studying laser heating)
more than one excited port might be wanted, but the S-parameter
variables cannot be correctly computed, so when several ports are excited,
the S-parameter output is turned off.

Wave Excitation at this Port

To set whether it is an inport or a listener port, select On or Off from the Wave excitation
at this port list. If On is selected, enter a Port input power Pin (SI unit: W in 3D and
2D axisymmetry and W/m in 2D).

The Port Sweep Settings section in the Electromagnetic Waves,

Frequency Domain interface cycles through the ports, computes the
entire S-matrix and exports it to a Touchstone file. When using port
sweeps, the local setting for Wave excitation at this port is overridden by
the solver so only one port at a time is excited.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 99

 Activate Slit Condition
Select the Activate slit condition on interior port check box to use the Port boundary
condition on interior boundaries.

Then select a Slit type — PEC-backed (the default) or Domain-backed. The PEC-backed
type makes the port on interior boundaries perform as it does on exterior boundaries.
The Domain-backed type can be combined with perfectly matched layers to absorb the
excited mode from a source port and other higher order modes.

Click Toggle Power Flow Direction button to define the power flow for the port. For an
excited port, the power flow should point in to the excited domain and for a listener
port the power flow should point out from the excited domain. The power flow
direction is visualized with a red arrow on the port boundary in the Graphics window.

When the Slit type is set to Domain-backed, there must be no waves

reflected from the domain backing the port. Thus, the backing domain
must have homogeneous material and geometric properties and it should
be truncated by a PML domain or a nonreflecting boundary condition.

When an active slit port is adjacent to a periodic condition, the periodic

condition needs to be split at the active port, as the field is discontinuous
at the point (in 2D) or edge (in 3D) where the slit port and the periodic
condition meet.

PORT MODE SETTINGS

The input is based on the Type of Port selected above — User Defined, Rectangular,
Circular, or Periodic. No entry is required if Numeric or Coaxial are selected.

Set the Mode phase θin (SI unit: rad) for the port mode field. The default is 0 radians.
For instance, if the inspected port mode field is polarized in the opposite direction
compared to the expected direction, a Mode phase of π (enter pi in the field) can be
used for polarizing the mode field in the expected direction. Notice that a change of
the Mode phase, either on the exciting or the listener port, changes also the S-parameter
coupling the exciting and the listener port. However, a change of the Mode phase on
the exciting port does not modify the reflection coefficient (normally denoted S11)
associated with the exciting port.

100 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

User Defined
For User defined specify the eigenmode of the outgoing wave at the port. Even if Wave
excitation at this port is set to On, the mode field should represent the outgoing wave.
The mode field can be entered with an arbitrary amplitude and is normalized internally.

• Enter the components of the Electric mode field E0 (SI unit: V/m) or the Magnetic
mode field H0 (SI unit: A/m). The entered expressions must be differentiable.
• Enter the Propagation constant β (SI unit: rad/m). This is frequency dependent for
all but TEM modes and a correct frequency-dependent expression must be used.

Notice that for models saved before COMSOL 6.0, the mode field
represented the incoming (exciting) wave. When opening such a model,
the mode field is now automatically migrated to represent the outgoing
wave.

Notice that expressions including coupling operators are not

differentiable and cannot be used as mode fields.

Rectangular
For Rectangular specify a unique rectangular mode.

For 3D components, select a Mode type — Transverse electric (TE) or Transverse

magnetic (TM). Enter the Mode number, for example, 10 for a TE10 mode, or 11 for a
TM11 mode.

For 2D components, to excite the fundamental mode, select the mode type Transverse
electromagnetic (TEM), since the rectangular port represents a parallel-plate waveguide
port that can support a TEM mode. Only TE modes are possible when solving for the
out-of-plane vector component, and only TM and TEM modes are possible when
solving for the in-plane vector components. There is only a single mode number,
which is selected from a list.

Coaxial
In 2D axisymmetry, Coaxial does not support nonzero azimuthal mode number. The
Azimuthal mode number in the Physics interface should be defined as zero.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 101

 Circular
For Circular specify a unique circular mode.

• Select a Mode type — Transverse electric (TE) or Transverse magnetic (TM).

• Select the Mode number from the list.

For 3D components, enter the Mode number, for example, 11 for a TE11 mode, or 01
for a TM01 mode. When Circular is selected as the type of port in 3D, the Circular Port
Reference Axis subnode is available from the context menu (right-click the parent
node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu. It defines the orientation of fields
on a port boundary.

For 2D axisymmetry components, select whether the Azimuthal mode number is

defined in the Physics interface or if it is User defined. For User defined define an integer
constant or an integer parameter expression for the Azimuthal mode number. Note that
the absolute value of the Azimuthal mode number must be less than 11.

Periodic
For Periodic, specify parameters for the mode field. When Periodic is selected, the
Diffraction Order port subnode is available from the context menu (right-click the
parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

Select an Input quantity — Electric field or Magnetic field — and define the mode field
amplitude for the outgoing wave at the port. Even if Wave excitation at this port is set
to On, the mode field amplitude should represent the outgoing wave that corresponds
to the actual incoming wave.

• For 2D components and if the Input quantity is set to Electric field, define the Electric
mode field amplitude. For example, for a TE wave set the x, y, and z components to
0, 0, 1. Similarly, if the Input quantity is set to Magnetic field, define the Magnetic
mode field amplitude. For a TM wave set the x, y, and z components to 0, 0, and 1.
• Define the Angle of incidence, if Wave excitation at this port is On.

For 3D components, if Wave excitation at this port is On, define the Elevation angle of
incidence and Azimuth angle of incidence. The Elevation angle of incidence α1 and Azimuth
angle of incidence α2 are used in the relations

k = k parellel + k perpendicular

k parallel = k F = k sin α 1 ( a 1 cos α 2 + n × a 1 sin α 2 )

102 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

where k is the wave vector, kparallel is the projection of k onto the port, kF is the
k-vector for Floquet periodicity, n is the outward unit normal vector to the boundary,
and a 1 is one of the normalized primitive unit cell vectors from the periodic structure
defined from Periodic Port Reference Point.

The Elevation angle of incidence α1 is the angle between n and k.

The Azimuth angle of incidence is the counterclockwise rotating angle from the
primitive vector a1 around the axis built with Periodic Port Reference Point and n.

For periodic ports with hexagonal port boundaries, the definition of the vector a1 is
slightly different from the default definition. In this case, the unit cell is actually a
rhomboid, with primitive vectors pointing in other directions than the side vectors of
the hexagon. Thus, for a hexagonal periodic port, the vector a1 is defined along one
of the sides of the hexagon, and it is not one of the primitive vectors of the hexagonal
point lattice. The Azimuth angle of incidence α2 is still measured from the vector a1,
even though this vector now refers to a side vector of the hexagonal port boundary and
not a primitive vector.

Hexagonal Grating: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Gratings_and_Metamaterials/hexagonal_grating

For 2D components define the Angle of incidence. The Angle of incidence α is defined
by the relation

k × n = k sin αz

where k is the projection of the wave vector in the xy-plane, n is the normalized
normal vector to the boundary, k is the magnitude of the projected wave vector in the
xy-plane, and z is the unit vector in the z direction.

Notice that for models saved before COMSOL 6.0, the mode field
represented the incoming (exciting) wave. When opening such a model,
the mode field is now automatically migrated to represent the outgoing
wave.

Notice that the mode field defined for the Periodic port assumes
homogeneous isotropic material properties in the domain adjacent to the
selected port boundary.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 103

 The propagation directions for listener Periodic ports are deduced from
the angle setting(s) for the source Periodic port and the refractive indices
defined for the source and the listener ports. Thus, adding source Periodic
ports with different propagation angles will give ambiguous propagation
directions for the listener Periodic ports.

Default Polarization plots are automatically generated for Periodic ports in 3D and in
2D, if the Electric field components solved for setting in the Components section for the
physics interface is set to Three-component vector. The Polarization plot includes
polarization ellipses for each diffraction order. The polarization ellipse line graphs are
generated by plotting the in-plane Jones vector element versus the out-of-plane Jones
vector element.

For more information about Jones Vectors and Polarization plots, see
Jones Vectors and Polarization Plots.

AUTOMATIC DIFFRACTION ORDER CALCULATION

This section is only available for Periodic ports to provide parameter settings that are
used when automatically adding Diffraction Order subnodes to Periodic ports.

• Select the Include in automatic diffraction order calculation check box to add
Diffraction Order subnodes to the selected Periodic port, when the Add Diffraction
Orders button is clicked from the exciting Periodic port.
• Define the Refractive index, real part at the boundary.
• Define the Maximum frequency — From study (the default) or User defined. When
From study is selected, the Maximum frequency is taken from the study step associated
with the physics interface. For User defined, enter the maximum frequency fmax (SI
unit: Hz). The default value is 0 Hz. If a single frequency is used, insert the
frequency, or if a frequency sweep is performed, insert the maximum frequency of
the sweep. This parameter is only available when Wave excitation at this port is On.
When all parameters are defined, click the Add Diffraction Orders button from the
exciting Periodic port to automatically create Diffraction Order ports as subnodes to all
Periodic ports having the Include in automatic diffraction order calculation check box
selected.

104 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

CALCULATOR
This utility is available for Rectangular and Circular port types. Enter a Relative
permittivity (default is 1) of the material fully filled in a waveguide and then click the
Compute Waveguide Cutoff Frequency button to compute the cutoff frequency for the
particular waveguide geometry and the selected Mode type. The result is displayed in
the Messages window.

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box. For information about the
Constraint Settings section, see Constraint Settings in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

• S-Parameters and Ports

• S-Parameter Variables

2D model with periodic ports — Plasmonic Wire Grating: Application

Library path Wave_Optics_Module/Gratings_and_Metamaterials/
plasmonic_wire_grating

3D model with numeric ports — Directional Coupler: Application

Library path Wave_Optics_Module/Waveguides_and_Couplers/
directional_coupler

Circular Port Reference Axis

The Circular Port Reference Axis is available only in 3D. When the Type of port is set to
Circular under Port Properties, the Circular Port Reference Axis subnode is available from
the context menu (right-click the Port parent node) or from the Physics toolbar,
Attributes menu. Two points are used to define the orientation of fields on a port
boundary. If there are more than two points on the selection list, the first and last
points are used. For the fundamental TE11 mode, the direction of the reference axis
corresponds to the polarization of the electric field at the port center.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 105

 Diffraction Order
The Diffraction Order port is available in 3D and 2D. When the Type of Port is set to
Periodic under Port Properties, this subnode is available from the context menu
(right-click the Port parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

Use the Diffraction Order port to define diffraction orders from a periodic structure.
Normally a Diffraction Order node is added automatically during the Periodic port
setup. Additional Diffraction Order ports subnodes are available from the context menu
(right-click the parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

PORT PROPERTIES
Enter a unique Port name. Only nonnegative integer numbers can be used as Port name
as it is used to define the elements of the S-parameter matrix and numeric port names
are also required for port sweeps and Touchstone file export.

The Diffraction Order port is a listener port feature.

PORT MODE SETTINGS

These settings define the diffracted plane wave.

Components
Select the Components setting for the port — In-plane vector (the default) or
Out-of-plane vector.

Diffraction Order
Specify an integer constant or an integer parameter expression for the Diffraction order
m (the default is 0) and in 3D n (the default is 0).

Note that In-plane vector and Out-of-plane vector are based on the plane of diffraction
which is constructed with the diffraction wave vector and the outward normal vector
of the port boundary. The diffraction wave vector is defined by

k diffraction,parallel = k F + mG 1 + nG 2

k diffraction = k diffraction,parallel + nk diffraction,perpendicular

2 2
k diffraction,perpendicular = k – k diffraction,parallel

where m and n are diffraction orders, k ≥ kdiffraction,parallel, k is the magnitude of the

wave vector and kdiffraction,parallel is the magnitude of kdiffraction,parallel. The reciprocal
lattice vectors, G1 and G2 are defined from Periodic Port Reference Point.

106 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

In-plane vector lies on the plane of diffraction while Out-of-plane vector is normal to the
plane of diffraction.

For a 2D component, In-plane vector is available when the settings for the physics
interface is set to either In-plane vector or Three-component vector under Components.
Out-of-plane vector is available when the settings for the physics interface is set to either
Out-of-plane vector or Three-component vector under Components.

In 2D, the diffraction wave vector is defined by

k diffraction,parallel = k F + mG 1 ,

where the reciprocal lattice vector is defined by

2π
G 1 = ------ n × z ,
a

where n is the port boundary normal and z is the unit vector in the out-of-plane
direction. Since the normal n points in opposite directions for the exciting port
boundary and the transmission side port boundary, G1 will point in different directions
on the two opposing port boundaries. Thereby, also the mode numbers for the two
port boundaries will be different. For example, mode m = 1 on the excitation side,
corresponds to mode m = -1 on the transmission side.

Enter a value or expression for the Mode phase θin (SI unit: rad). The default is
0 radians. The Mode phase setting is further discussed for the Port feature.

Notice that the mode field defined for the Diffraction Order feature
assumes isotropic material properties in the domain adjacent to the
selected feature boundary.

• S-Parameters and Ports

• S-Parameter Variables

Plasmonic Wire Grating: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Gratings_and_Metamaterials/plasmonic_wire_grating

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 107

 Orthogonal Polarization
The Orthogonal Polarization port is available in 3D and 2D. When the Type of Port is
set to Periodic under Port Properties, this subnode is available from the context menu
(right-click the Port parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

Use the Orthogonal Polarization port to define port with a mode that is orthogonal to
the mode of the parent Periodic Port. Normally a Orthogonal Polarization node is added
automatically during the Periodic port setup, but the Orthogonal Polarization port
subnode is also available from the context menu (right-click the parent node) or from
the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu. Only one Orthogonal Polarization node can be
added per parent Periodic Port.

PORT PROPERTIES
Enter a unique Port name. Only nonnegative integer numbers can be used as Port name
as it is used to define the elements of the S-parameter matrix and numeric port names
are also required for port sweeps and Touchstone file export.

The Orthogonal Polarization port is a listener port feature.

PORT MODE SETTINGS

Diffraction Order
The Orthogonal Polarization port represent a zero-order mode (same as assumed for the
parent Periodic port). Thus, the Diffraction order settings are just for information and
cannot be edited.

Enter a value or expression for the Mode phase θin (SI unit: rad). The default is
0 radians. The Mode phase setting is further discussed for the Port feature.

Notice that the mode field defined for the Orthogonal Polarization feature
assumes isotropic material properties in the domain adjacent to the
selected feature boundary.

• S-Parameters and Ports

• S-Parameter Variables

108 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Periodic Port Reference Point
The Periodic Port Reference Point subnode is available only in 3D. When the Type of
Port is set to Periodic under Port Properties, this subnode is available from the context
menu (right-click the Port parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

The Periodic Port Reference Point is used to uniquely identify two primitive unit cell
vectors, a1 and a2, and two reciprocal lattice vectors, G1 and G2. These reciprocal
vectors are defined in terms of the unit cell vectors, a1 and a2, tangent to the edges
shared between the port and the adjacent periodic boundary conditions. G1 and G2
are defined by the relation

a1 × a2
---------------------
- = n
a1 × a2

a2 × n n × a1
G 1 = 2π --------------------------- and G 2 = 2π ---------------------------
a1 ⋅ a2 × n a1 ⋅ a2 × n

where n is the outward unit normal vector to the port boundary. If there are multiple
points defined in the selection list, only the last point is used.

POINT SELECTION
The primitive unit cell vectors, a1 and a2 are defined from two edges sharing the
Periodic Port Reference Point on a port boundary. The two vectors can have unequal
lengths and are not necessarily orthogonal. They start from the Periodic Port Reference
Point.

For listener (passive, observation, and not excited) ports, if the outward normal vector
on the listener port boundary is opposite to that of the source port, the listener port
reference point needs to be mirrored from the source port reference point based on
the center coordinate of the model domain. For example, if the source port reference
point is at {−1,−1,1} in a cubic domain around the origin, the mirrored listener port
reference point is {1,1,−1}. In this example, if the first and second primitive unit cell
vectors are a1 and a2 on the source port, the first and second primitive unit cell vectors
on the listener port will be -a2 and -a1, respectively, as the cross product between the
first and second primitive unit cell vectors must point in the direction of the port
normal. On the listener port, the normal points in the opposite direction to the normal
on the source port. With the sign changes and the primitive unit cell vector index
swaps, between the source and the listener ports, also the grating vectors change sign
and swap indices, comparing the source and listener ports. Thus, the mode numbers

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 109

 will also be different on the listener port compared to the mode numbers on the source
port.

If the lattice vectors are collinear with two Cartesian axes, then the lattice vectors can
be defined without the Periodic Port Reference Point. For the port where n points along
a positive Cartesian direction, a1 and a2 are also assigned to point along positive
Cartesian directions. Conversely, for the port where n points along a negative
Cartesian direction, a1 and a2 are assigned to point along negative Cartesian
directions. The condition a1 × a2 || n is true on both ports. For example, if n = z, then
a1/|a1| = x and a2/|a2| = y and if n = −z, then a1/|a1| = −y and a2/|a2| = −x.

Plasmonic Wire Grating: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Gratings_and_Metamaterials/plasmonic_wire_grating

Electric Field
The Electric Field boundary condition

n × E = n × E0

specifies the tangential component of the electric field. It should in general not be used
to excite a model. Consider using the Port or Scattering Boundary Condition instead.
It is provided mainly for completeness and for advanced users who can recognize the
special modeling situations when it is appropriate to use. The commonly used special
case of zero tangential electric field is described in the Perfect Electric Conductor
section.

ELECTRIC FIELD
Enter the value or expression for the components of the Electric field E0 (SI unit: V/
m).

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box. For information about the
Constraint Settings section, see Constraint Settings in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

110 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Magnetic Field
The Magnetic Field node adds a boundary condition for specifying the tangential
component of the magnetic field at the boundary:

n × H = n × H0

MAGNETIC FIELD
Enter the value or expression for the components of the Magnetic field H0 (SI unit: A/
m).

Scattering Boundary Condition

Use the Scattering Boundary Condition to make a boundary transparent for a scattered
wave. The boundary condition is also transparent for an incoming plane wave. The
scattered (outgoing) wave types for which the boundary condition is perfectly
transparent are

– jk ( n ⋅ r ) – jk ( k ⋅ r )
E = E sc e + E0 e Plane scattered wave
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e – jk ( k ⋅ r )
E = E sc ------------------------ + E 0 e Cylindrical scattered wave
r
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e – jk ( k ⋅ r )
E = E sc ------------------------ + E 0 e Spherical scattered wave
rs

The field E0 is the incident plane wave that travels in the direction k. The boundary
condition is transparent for incoming (but not outgoing) plane waves with any angle
of incidence. In addition, to an incident plane wave, E0 can also be the electric field
distribution for a Gaussian beam that propagates in the direction k.

If there is an incident field, a Reference Point subnode can be added by right-clicking

the context menu (right-click the parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes
menu. The Reference Point subnode redefines the incident field to be expressed as

– jk ( k ⋅ ( r – r ref ) )
E0 e ,

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 111

 where rref is a reference point determined by the Reference Point subnode. If no
reference point subnode is added, the reference point is calculated as the average
position boundary selection.

In 2D axisymmetry, when incident field can be specified, the default

subnode Symmetry Axis Reference Point is available. This subnode
defines a reference point at the intersection between the symmetry axis
and the Scattering boundary condition’s boundary selection.

The boundary is only perfectly transparent for scattered (outgoing) waves of the
selected type at normal incidence to the boundary. That is, a plane wave at oblique
incidence is partially reflected and so is a cylindrical wave or spherical wave unless the
wave fronts are parallel to the boundary. For the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency
Domain interface, the Perfectly Matched Layer feature is available as a general way of
modeling an open boundary.

• For cylindrical waves, specify around which cylinder axis the waves are cylindrical.
Do this by specifying one point at the cylinder axis and the axis direction.
• For spherical waves, specify the center of the sphere around which the wave is
spherical.

The domain material adjacent to the boundary where the Scattering Boundary
Condition is applied can be lossy.

If the problem is solved for the eigenfrequency or the scattered field, the boundary
condition does not include the incident wave.

– jk ( n ⋅ r )
E sc = E sc e Plane scattered wave
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e
E sc = E sc ------------------------ Cylindrical scattered wave
r
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e
E sc = E sc ------------------------ Spherical scattered wave
rs

SCATTERING BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select an Incident field — No incident field (the default), Wave given by E field, Wave
given by H field, or Gaussian beam. Enter the expressions for the components for the
Incident electric field E0 or Incident magnetic field H0.

112 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

If the Incident field is set to Gaussian beam, select an Input quantity: Electric field
amplitude (the default) or Power. If the Input quantity is Electric field amplitude, enter
the component expressions for the Gaussian beam electric field amplitude Eg0 (SI unit:
V/m). If the Input quantity is set to Power, enter the Input power (SI unit: W in 2D
axisymmetry and 3D and W/m in 2D) and the component expressions for the Gaussian
beam non-normalized electric field amplitude Eg0 (SI unit: V/m). Also edit the Beam
radius w0 (SI unit: m) and the Distance to focal plane p0 (SI unit: m). The default values
are ((10*2)*pi)/ewfd.k0 and 0 m, respectively. The optical axis for the Gaussian
beam is defined by a line including a reference point on the feature selection with a
direction specified by the Incident wave direction (see below). By default, the reference
point is the average position for the feature selection. However, by adding a Reference
Point subnode any available point (or the average of several selected points) on the
feature selection can be used as the reference point. The focal plane for the Gaussian
beam is located the Distance to focal plane p0 from the reference point in the Incident
wave direction.

If the Incident field is not set to No incident field, edit the Incident wave direction kdir
for the vector coordinates. The default direction is in the opposite direction to the
boundary normal. For 2D axisymmetry, the Incident wave direction kdir should be
parallel or anti-parallel to the symmetry axis.

Select a Scattered wave type for which the boundary is absorbing — Plane wave (the
default), Spherical wave, or Cylindrical wave.

• For the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain interface, select an Order —First
order (the default) or Second order.
• For Cylindrical wave also enter coordinates for the Source point r0 (SI unit: m) and
Source axis direction raxis (dimensionless). For 2D the Source axis direction is
assumed to be in the z direction, whereas in 2D axisymmetry it is assumed to be
along the axis of rotation.
• For Spherical wave enter coordinates for the Source point r0 (SI unit: m).

MODE ANALYSIS
Expand the Mode Analysis section and check the Subtract propagation constant from
material wave number check box to calculate the wave number for the scattered wave as

2 2
kn = k –β ,

where kn is the wave number for the scattered wave propagating in the normal
direction, k is the material wave number, and β is the propagation constant,

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 113

 determined from the mode analysis. If the check box is unchecked (the default),
kn = k.

For more information about the Gaussian beam theory, see Gaussian
Beams as Background Fields and Input Fields.

Beam Splitter: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Optical_Scattering/beam_splitter

Leaky Modes in a Microstructured Optical Fiber: Application Library

path Wave_Optics_Module/Verification_Examples/
microstructured_optical_fiber

INITIAL VALUES FOR INCIDENT WAVE

For the Electromagnetic Waves, Transient interface enter the components for the
initial value of the Magnetic vector potential A0 (SI unit: Wb/m).

Second Harmonic Generation of a Gaussian Beam: Application Library

path Wave_Optics_Module/Nonlinear_Optics/second_harmonic_generation

DISPERSION AND ABSORPTION

This section is only available for the Electromagnetic Waves, Transient interface. To
display it, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced Physics Options
in the Show More Options dialog box.

Select the Dispersion and absorption model that will be used when calculating the wave
number and attenuation constant for the incident and scattered waves — Low loss

114 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

approximation (the default), or High loss. For High loss also enter a Carrier frequency f0
(SI unit: Hz). The default is 300 THz.

When the Dispersion and absorption model is set to Low loss approximation
the refractive index is calculated from the relative permittivity and the
relative permeability as

n = εr μr .

Similarly, the absorption coefficient is calculated as

1 μ0 μr 1
γ = --- σ -----------
- = --- σZ c ,
2 ε0 εr 2

where Zc is the characteristic impedance.

When the Dispersion and absorption model is set to High loss, the real and
the imaginary parts of the complex refractive index is solved for from the
real and the imaginary parts of the relative permittivity, using the relations

2 2
n – κ = ε' r μ r

and

σμ r
2nκ = ε'' r μ r = --------- .
ωε 0

The absorption coefficient is then given by

ω
γ = ---- κ .
c

Reference Point
The Reference Point subnode is available only when there is an available incident field
defined in the parent node. Then this subnode is available from the context menu
(right-click the Scattering Boundary Condition or Matched Boundary Condition
parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 115

 The Reference Point subnode defines a reference position rref that is calculated as the
average position from the point selection in the Reference Point subnode or as a
user-defined position on the parent feature boundary.

In the parent node, the incident field is then defined using the reference position:

– jk ( k ⋅ ( r – r ref ) )
E0 e .

POINT SELECTION
Select the points that should be used when calculating the reference position. The
reference position is calculated as the average position of the selected points. The point
selection is only effective when Definition in the Reference Point section is set to Point
selection.

REFERENCE POINT
Select the Definition for the reference point — Point selection (the default) or User
defined. When User defined is selected, enter the expressions for the components for the
Reference point r0. The Reference point must be a point on the parent feature’s
boundary selection.

Symmetry Axis Reference Point

The Symmetry Axis Reference Point subnode is available in 2D axisymmetry, when there
is an incident field defined in the parent node. Then this subnode is available as a
default subnode to the Scattering Boundary Condition or Matched Boundary
Condition parent node.

The Symmetry Axis Reference Point subnode defines a reference position rref at the
intersection point between the parent node’s boundary selection and the symmetry
axis. If the parent selection doesn’t intersect the symmetry axis, the reference point is
defined by the parent node’s selection or an added Reference Point subnode to the
parent node.

In the parent node, the incident field is then defined using the reference position:

– jk ( k ⋅ ( r – r ref ) )
E0 e .

Impedance Boundary Condition

The Impedance Boundary Condition

116 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 μ0 μr
------------ n × H + E – ( n ⋅ E )n = ( n ⋅ E s )n – E s
εc

is used at boundaries where the field is known to penetrate only a short distance
outside the boundary. This penetration is approximated by a boundary condition to
avoid the need to include another domain in the model. Although the equation is
identical to the one in the low-reflecting boundary condition, it has a different
interpretation. The material properties are for the domain outside the boundary and
not inside, as for low-reflecting boundaries. A requirement for this boundary condition
to be a valid approximation is that the magnitude of the complex refractive index

με c
N = -----------
-
μ1 ε1

where μ1 and ε1 are the material properties of the inner domain, is large; that is,
| N | >> 1.

When used with the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface, the
propagation direction in the exterior layer can be specified. Setting the propagation
direction to be in the normal direction is the default option and results in the behavior
as described above. However, setting the propagation direction to be given by the
wave vector direction takes the tangential wave vector components from the Wave
Vectors settings for the physics and the longitudinal component is derived to make the
wave number satisfy the wave number for the exterior layer. This option is useful if the
exterior domain is a dielectric material.

The source electric field Es can be used to specify a source surface current on the
boundary.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 117

 Js
J
I'
I

Js

Figure 3-4: The impedance boundary condition is used on exterior boundaries

representing the surface of a lossy domain. The shaded (lossy) region is not part of the
model. The effective induced image currents are of reduced magnitude due to losses. Any
current flowing into the boundary is perfectly balanced by induced surface currents as for
the perfect electric conductor boundary condition. The tangential electric field is generally
small but nonzero at the boundary.

PROPAGATION DIRECTION
This section is only available for the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes
interface. Select a Propagation direction — Normal direction (the default) or From wave
vector. The Normal direction option assumes that the wave in the exterior material
propagates essentially in the normal direction, whereas the From wave vector option
assumes that the tangential wave vector component is continuous at the boundary, as
specified by the wave vectors k1 and k2 for the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam
Envelopes interface. The normal component for the wave vector in the exterior
material is obtained from the wave number, given the material parameters of the
exterior domain. Thus, this option implements Snell’s law of refraction at the
boundary, which makes this option useful also for dielectric exterior materials.

IMPEDANCE BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select an Electric displacement field model — Relative permittivity, Refractive index (the
default), Loss tangent, loss angle, Loss tangent, dissipation factor, Dielectric loss,
Drude-Lorentz dispersion model, Debye dispersion model, or Sellmeier dispersion model.
See the Wave Equation, Electric node, Electric Displacement Field section, for all
settings.

SOURCE ELECTRIC FIELD

To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box.

118 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Enter a Source electric field Es (SI unit: V/m). The default is 0 V/m.

Fresnel Equations: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Verification_Examples/fresnel_equations

Surface Current Density

The Surface Current Density boundary condition

–n × H = Js
n2 × ( H1 – H2 ) = Js

specifies a surface current density at both exterior and interior boundaries, respectively.
The current density is specified as a three-dimensional vector, but because it needs to
flow along the boundary surface, COMSOL Multiphysics projects it onto the
boundary surface and neglects its normal component. This makes it easier to specify
the current density and avoids unexpected results when a current density with a
component normal to the surface is given.

For Transition Boundary Condition, the Surface Current Density subnode as an

one-sided surface current density is available from the context menu (right-click the
Transition Boundary Condition parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes
menu.

SURFACE CURRENT DENSITY

Enter values or expressions for the components of the Surface current density Js0
(SI unit: A/m).

For the Surface Current Density subnode, select Side — Upside (the default) or Downside
to define on which side the Surface Current Density is applied. The red arrow visualized
on the selected boundaries always indicates the upside.

Surface Magnetic Current Density

The Surface Magnetic Current Density boundary condition

n × E = J ms
n 2 × ( E 1 – E 2 ) = – J ms

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 119

 specifies a surface magnetic current density at both exterior and interior boundaries,
respectively. The magnetic current density is specified as a three-dimensional vector,
but because it needs to flow along the boundary surface, COMSOL Multiphysics
projects it onto the boundary surface and neglects its normal component. This makes
it easier to specify the magnetic current density and avoids unexpected results when a
magnetic current density with a component normal to the surface is given.

SURFACE MAGNETIC CURRENT DENSITY

Enter values or expressions for the components of the Surface magnetic current density
Jms0 (SI unit: V/m).

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box. For information about the
Constraint Settings section, see Constraint Settings in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

Transition Boundary Condition

The Transition Boundary Condition is used on interior boundaries to model a sheet of a
medium that should be geometrically thin but does not have to be electrically thin. It
represents a discontinuity in the tangential electric field. Mathematically it is described
by a relation between the electric field discontinuity and the induced surface current
density:

( Z S E t1 – Z T E t2 )
J s1 = --------------------------------------------
2 2
-
ZS – ZT
( Z S E t2 – Z T E t1 )
J s2 = --------------------------------------------
2 2
-
ZS – ZT
– jωμ 1
Z S = ------------- ----------------------
k tan ( kd )
– jωμ 1
Z T = ------------- ---------------------
k sin ( kd )
k = ω ( ε + ( σ ⁄ ( jω ) ) )μ

120 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

where indices 1 and 2 refer to the different sides of the layer. This feature is not
available with the Electromagnetic Waves, Transient interface.

The Transition Boundary Condition is based on the assumption that the

wave propagates in the normal direction in the thin layer. Thus, the wave
could be incident in the normal direction or the wave could be refracted
to propagate in a direction close to the normal direction. The latter
condition is fulfilled for a good conductor.

The thickness of the layer should also be less than the radius of curvature
for the boundary.

A consequence of the normal direction propagation assumption is that

the Transition Boundary Condition is not compatible with mode analysis, as
for mode analysis it is assumed that the wave predominantly propagates
in the out-of-plane direction whereas the normal to the boundary is in an
in-plane direction.

For the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface, the

propagation in the layer can be specified to be given from the wave
vectors specified for the physics and Snell’s law of refraction. For this
option, the assumption of normal propagation in the layer is not required.
Thus, this option is useful also when the layer is a dielectric material.

When adding a Transition Boundary Condition node, the phase specified

for the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface can be
discontinuous.

PROPAGATION DIRECTION
This section is only available for the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes
interface. Select a Propagation direction — Normal direction (the default) or From wave
vector. The Normal direction option assumes that the waves in the layer propagate
essentially in the normal direction, whereas the From wave vector option assumes that
the tangential wave vector component is continuous at the layer boundaries, as
specified by the wave vectors k1 and k2 for the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam
Envelopes interface. The normal component for the wave vector in the layer is
obtained from the wave number, given the specified material parameters. Thus, this

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 121

 option implements Snell’s law of refraction for the layer, which makes this option
useful also for dielectric layers.

TRANSITION BOUNDARY CONDITION

Select an Electric displacement field model — Relative permittivity, Refractive index (the
default), Loss tangent, loss angle, Loss tangent, dissipation factor, Dielectric loss,
Drude-Lorentz dispersion model, Debye dispersion model, or Sellmeier dispersion model.
See the Wave Equation, Electric node, Electric Displacement Field section, for all
settings.

Select the Electrically thick layer check box (unselected by default) to make the two
domains adjacent to the boundary uncoupled. Use this setting, for instance, when the
thickness is greater than three times of the skin depth. When the Electrically thick layer
check box is unselected, enter a Thickness d (SI unit: m). The default is 0.01 m.

• Beam Splitter: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Optical_Scattering/beam_splitter
• Focusing Lens: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/
Verification_Examples/focusing_lens

Layered Transition Boundary Condition

The Layered Transition Boundary Condition is an extension of the Transition Boundary
Condition that allows to model a sequence of geometrically thin layers using a Layered
Material. It represents a discontinuity in the tangential electric field. For each layer in
the Layered Material, the transfer and surface impedances are obtained from the layer
thickness and material properties. The impedances are then used to relate the
discontinuity in the tangential electric field to the current flowing on the surface of
either side (up/down) of the corresponding layer. Mathematically this reads:

122 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 ( Z S E t, i – Z T E t, i – 1 )
J s, up, i = -----------------------------------------------------
2 2
-
ZS – ZT
( Z S E t, i – 1 – Z T E t, i )
J s, down, i = -----------------------------------------------------
2 2
-
ZS – ZT
– jωμ 1
Z S = ------------- ----------------------
k tan ( kd )
– jωμ 1
Z T = ------------- ---------------------
k sin ( kd )
k = ω ( ε + ( σ ⁄ ( jω ) ) )μ

where the index i = 1, 2,..., n refers to the layer number. The system of equations above
is solved for each layer in the Layered Material. The index i has been omitted from the
expressions of the impedances and the wave vector k in order to improve their
readability.

Figure 3-5: The layered material is composed of n layers. The surface currents on the up
and downside of each layer are determined from the transfer and surface impedances and
are functions of the tangential electric fields.

• See Layered Material, Layered Material Link, Layered Material Stack,

Layered Material Link (Subnode), and Single-Layer Materials in the
COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual for details on the
definition of layered materials.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 123

 The Layered Transition Boundary Condition is based on the assumption that
the wave propagates in the normal direction in the thin layer. Thus, the
wave could be incident in the normal direction or the wave could be
refracted to propagate in a direction close to the normal direction. The
latter condition is fulfilled for a good conductor.

The thickness of the layer should be less than the radius of curvature for
the boundary.

A consequence of the normal direction propagation assumption is that

the Layered Transition Boundary Condition is not compatible with mode
analysis, as for mode analysis it is assumed that the wave predominantly
propagates in the out-of-plane direction whereas the normal to the
boundary is in an in-plane direction.

SHELL PROPERTIES
The Shell Properties section displays which layered material the Layered Transition
Boundary Condition is coupled to.

Clear the Use all layers check box in order to select a specific layered material from the
list. The Layered Transition Boundary Condition feature is then applicable only on the
boundaries where the chosen material is defined.

You can visualize the selected layered material and the layers that constitute it by
clicking the Layer Cross Section Preview and Layer 3D Preview buttons.

The thickness of the layered material should be set as follows, depending on the type
of material:

• In a Material node, the layer Thickness is set in the Material Contents section by adding
a Shell property group from the Material Properties section in the material Settings
window. This automatically adds a Shell subnode under the Material node,
transforming it into a layered material.
• When the layered material is a Single Layer Material, the Thickness is set in the Material
Contents section in the Settings window. Alternatively it can be set in the Layer
Definition section of the Shell property group Settings window.
• For a general Layered Material, added through a Layered Material Link or a Layered
Material Stack, the Thickness is set in the Layer Definition section of the Settings
window. Several layers may be defined in the table, and the Thickness should be

124 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 defined for each of them. The total thickness of the layered material is the sum of all
the layers thicknesses.

LAYERED TRANSITION BOUNDARY CONDITION

The Layered Transition Boundary Condition section lists the material properties of the
thin layered material that this boundary condition approximates:

• Relative permittivity, εr (dimensionless)

• Relative permeability, μr (dimensionless)
• Electrical conductivity, σ (SI unit: S/m)
The defaults use the values From material, taking the properties from the layered
material specified for the boundary. Otherwise, choose User defined and enter different
values or expressions. In the latter case all layers constituting the chosen layered
material will take on the same value for the selected property.

Periodic Condition
The Periodic Condition sets up a periodicity between the selected boundaries. The
Destination Selection subnode is available from the context menu (right-click the parent
node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

BOUNDARY SELECTION
The software automatically identifies the boundaries as either source boundaries or
destination boundaries This works fine for cases like opposing parallel boundaries. To
control the destination, add a Destination Selection subnode. By default it contains the
selection that COMSOL Multiphysics has identified.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 125

 PERIODICITY SETTINGS
Select a Type of periodicity — Continuity (the default), Antiperiodicity, or Floquet
periodicity. Select:

• Continuity to make the electric field periodic (equal on the source and destination),
• Antiperiodicity to make it antiperiodic, or
• Floquet periodicity (The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface and
The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface only) to use a Floquet
periodicity (Bloch-Floquet periodicity).

- For Floquet periodicity also enter the source for the k-vector for Floquet periodicity.
- For User defined specify the components of the k-vector for Floquet periodicity kF
(SI unit: rad/m).
- For From periodic port the k-vector for Floquet periodicity kF is obtained from the
Periodic Port settings.

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box. For information about the
Constraint Settings section, see Constraint Settings in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

ORIENTATION OF SOURCE
For information about the Orientation of Source section, see Orientation of Source and
Destination in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

Periodic Boundary Conditions

Fresnel Equations: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Verification_Examples/fresnel_equations

Plasmonic Wire Grating: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Gratings_and_Metamaterials/plasmonic_wire_grating

126 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Magnetic Current
The Magnetic Current node specifies a magnetic line current along one or more edges.
For a single Magnetic Current source, the electric field is orthogonal to both the line
and the distance vector from the line to the field point. For 2D and 2D axisymmetric
models the Magnetic Current node is applied to Points, representing magnetic currents
directed out of the model plane. For 3D models, the Magnetic Current is applied to
Edges.

MAGNETIC CURRENT
Enter a value for the Magnetic current Im (SI unit: V).

Edge Current
The Edge Current node specifies an electric line current along one or more edges.

EDGE CURRENT
Enter an Edge current I0 (SI unit: A).

Electric Point Dipole

Add Electric Point Dipole nodes to 3D and 2D models. This represents the limiting case
of when the length d of a current filament carrying uniform current I approaches zero
while maintaining the product between I and d. The dipole moment is a vector entity
with the positive direction set by the current flow.

DIPOLE SPECIFICATION
Select a Dipole specification — Magnitude and direction or Dipole moment.

DIPOLE PARAMETERS
Based on the Dipole specification selection:

• For Magnitude and direction enter coordinates for the Electric current dipole moment
direction np and Electric current dipole moment, magnitude p (SI unit: A·m).
• For Dipole moment enter coordinates for the Electric current dipole moment p (SI
unit: A·m).

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN INTERFACE | 127

 Magnetic Point Dipole
Add a Magnetic Point Dipole to 3D and 2D models. The point dipole source represents
a small circular current loop I in the limit of zero loop area a at a fixed product I*a.

DIPOLE SPECIFICATION
Select a Dipole specification — Magnitude and direction or Dipole moment.

DIPOLE PARAMETERS
Based on the Dipole specification selection:

• For Magnitude and direction enter coordinates for the Magnetic dipole moment
direction nm and Magnetic dipole moment, magnitude m (SI unit: m2·A).
• For Dipole moment enter coordinates for the Magnetic dipole moment m (SI unit:
m2·A).

Line Current (Out-of-Plane)

Add a Line Current (Out-of-Plane) node to 2D or 2D axisymmetric models. This
specifies a line current out of the modeling plane. In axially symmetric geometries this
is the rotational direction, in 2D geometries it is the z direction.

LINE CURRENT (OUT-OF-PLANE)

Enter an Out-of-plane current I0 (SI unit: A).

128 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

The Electromagnetic Waves,
T r a ns i e nt Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Transient (ewt) interface ( ), found under the Wave
Optics branch ( ) when adding a physics interface, is used to solve a time-domain
wave equation for the magnetic vector potential. The sources can be in the form of
point dipoles, line currents, or incident fields on boundaries or domains. It is primarily
used to model electromagnetic wave propagation in different media and structures
when a time-domain solution is required — for example, for non-sinusoidal waveforms
or for nonlinear media. Typical applications involve the propagation of
electromagnetic pulses and the generation of harmonics in nonlinear optical media.

When this physics interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model
Builder — Wave Equation, Electric, Perfect Electric Conductor, and Initial Values. Then,
from the Physics toolbar, add other nodes that implement, for example, boundary
conditions and mass sources. You can also right-click Electromagnetic Waves, Transient
to select physics features from the context menu.

Except where indicated, most of the settings are the same as for The Electromagnetic
Waves, Frequency Domain Interface.

SETTINGS
The Label is the default physics interface name.

The Name is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics
interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to
different physics interfaces, the name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and
underscores (_) are permitted in the Name field. The first character must be a letter.

The default Name (for the first physics interface in the model) is ewt.

COMPONENTS
This section is available for 2D and 2D axisymmetric components.

Select the Electric field components solved for. Select:

• Three-component vector (the default) to solve using a full three-component vector

for the electric field E.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TRANSIENT INTERFACE | 129

 • Out-of-plane vector to solve for the electric field vector component perpendicular to
the modeling plane, assuming that there is no electric field in the plane.
• In-plane vector to solve for the electric field vector components in the modeling
plane assuming that there is no electric field perpendicular to the plane.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES
The dependent variable (field variable) is for the Magnetic vector potential A. The name
can be changed but the names of fields and dependent variables must be unique within
a model.

DISCRETIZATION
Select the shape order for the Magnetic vector potential dependent variable — Linear,
Quadratic (the default), or Cubic. For more information about the Discretization
section, see Settings for the Discretization Sections in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

• Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the

Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface
• Theory for the Electromagnetic Waves Interfaces

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the

Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface shares most of its nodes with The
Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface.

The domain, boundary, edge, point, and pair nodes are available from the Physics
ribbon toolbar (Windows users), Physics context menu (Mac or Linux users), or
right-click to access the context menu (all users).

In general, to add a node, go to the Physics toolbar, no matter what

operating system you are using. Subnodes are available by clicking the
parent node and selecting it from the Attributes menu.

DOMAIN
These nodes are unique for this physics interface and described in this section:

• Wave Equation, Electric

130 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

• Initial Values
• Drude–Lorentz Polarization
• Far-Field Domain
• Far-Field Calculation

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
With no surface currents present the boundary conditions

n2 × ( E1 – E2 ) = 0
n2 × ( H1 – H2 ) = 0

need to be fulfilled. Depending on the field being solved for, it is necessary to analyze
these conditions differently. When solving for A, the first condition can be formulated
in the following way.

 ∂A 2 ∂A 
n2 × ( E1 – E2 ) = n2 ×  – ∂ t 1 = ∂ ( n2 × ( A2 – A 1 ) )
∂t  ∂t

The tangential component of the magnetic vector potential is always continuous and
thus the first condition is fulfilled. The second condition is equivalent to the natural
boundary condition.

–1 –1 –1
–n × ( μr ∇ × A1 – μr ∇ × A2 ) = –n × μr ( H1 – H2 ) = 0

and is therefore also fulfilled.

These nodes and subnodes are available and described for the Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain interface (listed in alphabetical order):

• Magnetic Field • Periodic Condition

• Perfect Electric Conductor • Scattering Boundary Condition
• Perfect Magnetic Conductor • Surface Current Density

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TRANSIENT INTERFACE | 131

 EDGE, POINT, AND PAIR
These edge, point, and pair nodes are available and described for the Electromagnetic
Waves, Frequency Domain interface (listed in alphabetical order):

• Edge Current • Magnetic Point Dipole (2D and 3D

• Electric Point Dipole (2D and 3D components)
components) • Perfect Electric Conductor
• Line Current (Out-of-Plane) (2D • Perfect Magnetic Conductor
and 2D axisymmetric components) • Surface Current Density

For axisymmetric components, COMSOL Multiphysics takes the axial

symmetry boundaries (at r = 0) into account and automatically adds an
Axial Symmetry node to the component that is valid on the axial symmetry
boundaries only.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see Table 2-4 for links
to common sections and Table 2-5 to common feature nodes. You can
also search for information: press F1 to open the Help window or Ctrl+F1
to open the Documentation window.

Wave Equation, Electric

The Wave Equation, Electric node is the main node for the Electromagnetic Waves,
Transient interface. The governing equation can be written in the form

∂A ∂ ∂A
+ μ0 ε0  εr  + ∇ × ( μr ∇ × A ) = 0
–1
μ0 σ
∂t ∂t ∂t 

for transient problems with the constitutive relations B = μ0μrH and D = ε0εrE. Other
constitutive relations can also be handled for transient problems.

ELECTRIC DISPLACEMENT FIELD

Select an Electric displacement field model — Relative permittivity, Refractive index (the
default), Polarization, Remanent electric displacement, or Drude-Lorentz dispersion
model.

132 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Relative Permittivity
When Relative permittivity is selected, the default Relative permittivity εr
(dimensionless) takes values From material. For User defined select Isotropic, Diagonal,
Symmetric, or Full and enter values or expressions in the field or matrix.

Refractive Index
When Refractive index is selected, the default Refractive index n (dimensionless) takes
the value From material. To specify the refractive index and assume a relative
permeability of unity and zero conductivity, for one or both of the options, select User
defined then choose Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full. Enter values or expressions
in the field or matrix.

Notice that only the real part of the refractive index is used for the
transient formulation.

Polarization
For Polarization enter coordinates for the Polarization P (SI unit: C/m2).

Remanent Electric Displacement

For Remanent electric displacement enter coordinates for the Remanent electric
displacement Dr (SI unit: C/m2). Then select User defined or From Material as above
for the Relative permittivity εr.

Drude–Lorentz Dispersion Model

For Drude-Lorentz Dispersion Model select User defined or From Material for the Relative
permittivity, high-frequency ε∞ and enter a value for the Plasma frequency ωp (SI unit:
rad/s).

When Drude-Lorentz Dispersion Model is selected, the Drude-Lorentz Polarization

subnode is available from the context menu (right-click the parent node) or from the
Physics toolbar, Attributes menu. Each Drude-Lorentz Polarization subnode adds
another polarization term Pn to the electric displacement field D, defined by

D = ε0 ε∞ E +  Pn ,
n=1

where the polarization is the solution to the ordinary differential equation

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TRANSIENT INTERFACE | 133

  ∂2 ∂ 2 2
 -------2- + Γ n ----- + ω n P n = ε 0 f n ω p E .
 ∂t ∂t 

For more information, see the Drude–Lorentz Polarization feature.

MAGNETIC FIELD
This section is available if Relative permittivity, Polarization, or Remanent electric
displacement are chosen as the Electric displacement field model.

Select the Constitutive relation — Relative permeability (the default), Remanent flux
density, or Magnetization.

Relative Permeability
For Relative permeability the relative permeability μr uses values From material. For User
defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full based on the characteristics of the
magnetic field, and then enter values or expressions in the field or matrix.

Remanent Flux Density

For Remanent flux density the relative permeability μr uses values From material. For
User defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full based on the characteristics of
the magnetic field, and then enter values or expressions in the field or matrix. Then
enter coordinates for the Remanent flux density Br (SI unit: T).

Magnetization
For Magnetization enter coordinates for M (SI unit: A/m).

CONDUCTION CURRENT
This section is available if Relative permittivity, Polarization, or Remanent electric
displacement are chosen as the Electric displacement field model.

By default, the Electrical conductivity σ (SI unit: S/m) uses values From material.

• For User defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full based on the
characteristics of the current and enter values or expressions in the field or matrix.
• For Linearized resistivity the default values for the Reference temperature Tref (SI
unit: K), Resistivity temperature coefficient α (SI unit: 1/K), and Reference resistivity
ρ0 (SI unit: Ωm) use values From material. For User defined enter other values or
expressions for any of these variables.

134 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds an initial value for the magnetic vector potential and its
time derivative that serves as initial conditions for the transient simulation.

INITIAL VALUES
Enter values or expressions for the initial values of the components of the magnetic
vector potential A (SI unit: Wb/m) and its time derivative ∂A/∂t (SI unit: V/m). The
default values are 0 Wb/m and 0 V/m, respectively.

Drude–Lorentz Polarization
This subfeature is available only when Drude-Lorentz Dispersion Model is selected as the
Electric displacement field model in the Wave Equation, Electric feature node. Then the
subnodes are made available from the context menu (right-click the parent node) as
well as from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu.

Each Drude-Lorentz Polarization subnode adds another polarization term Pn to the

electric displacement field D, defined by

D = ε0 ε∞ E +  Pn ,
n=1

where the polarization is the solution to the ordinary differential equation

 ∂2 ∂ 2 2
 -------2- + Γ n ----- + ω n P n = ε 0 f n ω p E .
 ∂t ∂t 

Here Γn is a damping coefficient, ωn is a resonance frequency, fn is an oscillator

strength, and ωp is the plasma frequency.

Enter values or expressions for the Oscillator strength fn (SI unit: 1), the Resonance
frequency ωn (SI unit: rad/s), and the Damping in time coefficient Γn (SI unit: rad/s).

INITIAL VALUES
Enter values or expressions for the initial values of the components of the Drude–
Lorentz polarization Pn (SI unit: C/m2) and its time derivative ∂Pn/∂t (SI unit: A/
m2).

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TRANSIENT INTERFACE | 135

 DISCRETIZATION
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select
Discretization from the Show More Options dialog box. Select the element order from
the list box for the Drude-Lorentz polarization Pn.

Time-Domain Modeling of Dispersive Drude–Lorentz Media:

Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/
Gratings_and_Metamaterials/drude_lorentz_media

136 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

The Electromagnetic Waves, Time
Explicit Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit (teew) interface ( ), found under the Wave
Optics branch ( ) when adding a physics interface, is used to model time-dependent
electromagnetic wave propagation in linear media. The sources can be in the form of
volumetric electric or magnetic currents, or electric surface currents or fields on
boundaries.

This physics interface solves two first-order partial differential equations (Faraday’s law
and Maxwell-Ampère’s law) for the electric and magnetic fields using the time explicit
discontinuous Galerkin method.

When this physics interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model
Builder — Wave Equations, Perfect Electric Conductor, and Initial Values. Then, from the
Physics toolbar, add other nodes that implement, for example, boundary conditions.
You can also right-click Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit to select physics features
from the context menu.

The interface includes absorbing layers that are used to set up effective nonreflecting
like boundary conditions. These features are added from the Definitions toolbar, by
clicking Absorbing Layer. If COMSOL Multiphysics is not running in full-screen mode
nor in a large window, Absorbing Layer is accessible on the Definitions toolbar by first
clicking Coordinate Systems and then Absorbing Layer. You can also right-click
Definitions in the Model Builder and select Absorbing Layer from the context menu.

SETTINGS
The Label is the default physics interface name.

The Name is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics
interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to
different physics interfaces, the name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and
underscores (_) are permitted in the Name field. The first character must be a letter.

The default Name (for the first physics interface in the model) is teew.

COMPONENTS
This section is available for 2D and 2D axisymmetric components.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 137

 Select the Field components solved for:

• Full wave (the default) to solve using a full three-component vector for the electric
field E and the magnetic field H.
• E in plane (TM wave) to solve for the electric field vector components in the modeling
plane and one magnetic field vector component perpendicular to the plane,
assuming that there is no electric field perpendicular to the plane and no magnetic
field components in the plane.
• H in plane (TE wave) to solve for the magnetic field vector components in the
modeling plane and one electric field vector component perpendicular to the plane.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES
The dependent variables (field variables) are for the Electric field vector E and for the
Magnetic field vector H. The name can be changed but the names of fields and
dependent variables must be unique within a model.

DISCRETIZATION
Select the shape order for the Electric and magnetic fields dependent variables (the same
order for both fields) — Linear, Quadratic, or Cubic (the default). For more information
about the Discretization section, see Settings for the Discretization Sections in the
COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

• Domain, Boundary, and Pair Nodes for the Electromagnetic Waves,

Time Explicit Interface
• Theory for the Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface

Domain, Boundary, and Pair Nodes for the Electromagnetic Waves,

Time Explicit Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface has these domain and boundary
nodes, listed in alphabetical order, available from the Physics ribbon toolbar (Windows
users), Physics context menu (Mac or Linux users), or right-click to access the context
menu (all users).

In general, to add a node, go to the Physics toolbar, no matter what

operating system you are using. Subnodes are available by clicking the
parent node and selecting it from the Attributes menu.

138 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see Table 2-4 for links
to common sections and Table 2-5 to common feature nodes. You can
also search for information: press F1 to open the Help window or Ctrl+F1
to open the Documentation window.

For axisymmetric components, COMSOL Multiphysics takes the axial

symmetry boundaries (at r = 0) into account and automatically adds an
Axial Symmetry node to the component that is valid on the axial symmetry
boundaries only.

• Background Field • Magnetic Field

• Electric Field • Perfect Electric Conductor
• Electric Current Density • Perfect Magnetic Conductor
• Flux/Source • Scattering Boundary Condition
• Initial Values • Surface Current Density
• Magnetic Current Density • Wave Equations

Wave Equations
The Wave Equations node is the main node for the Electromagnetic Waves, Time
Explicit interface. The governing transient equations can be written in the form

∂D
∇ × H = σE + -------
∂t
∂B
∇ × E = – -------
∂t

with the constitutive relations B = μ0μrH and D = ε0εrE, which reads

∂E
ε 0 ε r ------- – ∇ × H + σE = 0
∂t
∂H
μ 0 μ r -------- + ∇ × E = 0
∂t

MATERIAL PROPERTIES
The default Relative permittivity εr (dimensionless), Relative permeability μr
(dimensionless), and Electrical conductivity σ (SI unit: S/m) take values From material.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 139

 For User defined select Isotropic, Diagonal, Symmetric, or Full and enter values or
expressions in the field or matrix.

NUMERICAL PARAMETERS
The defaults for each parameter are as follows:

• Lax-Friedrichs flux parameter for E field τE (SI unit: S), the default is 0.5/Z for
Ampere’s law.
• Lax-Friedrichs flux parameter for H fieldτH (SI unit: Ω), the default is 0.5 Z for
Faraday’s law, where Z is the impedance of vacuum.
• Estimate of maximum wave speed cmax (SI unit: m/s) the default is taken from the
speed of light in a vacuum c_const.

FILTER PARAMETERS
The filter provides higher-order smoothing of nodal discontinuous Galerkin
formulations and is intended to be used for absorbing layers, but you can also use it to
stabilize linear wave problems with highly varying coefficients. The filter is constructed
by transforming the solution (in each global time step) to an orthogonal polynomial
representation, multiplying with a damping factor and then transforming back to the
(Lagrange) nodal basis. Select the Activate check box to use this filter.

The exponential filter can be described by the matrix formula

–1
VΛV

where V is a Vandermonde matrix induced by the node points, and Λ is a diagonal

matrix with the exponential damping factors on the diagonal:


 1, 0 ≤ η ≤ η c

Λ mm = σ(η) =  η – η c 2s
 --------------
-
 – α  1 – η c
 e , ηc ≤ η ≤ 1


where

im
η = η ( m ) = -------
Np

and Np is the basis function and im the polynomial order for coefficient m. α (default
value: 36), ηc (default value: 1), and s (default value: 3) are the filter parameters that

140 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

you specify in the corresponding text fields. The damping is derived from a spatial
dissipation operator of order 2s. For s = 1, you obtain a damping that is related to the
classical 2nd-order Laplacian. Higher order (larger s) gives less damping for the
lower-order polynomial coefficients (a more pronounced low-pass filter), while
keeping the damping property for the highest values of η, which is controlled by α.
The default values 36 for a correspond to maximal damping for η = 1. It is important
to realize that the effect of the filter is influenced by how much of the solution (energy)
is represented by the higher-order polynomial coefficients. For a well resolved solution
this is a smaller part than for a poorly resolved solution. The effect is stronger for
poorly resolved solutions than for well resolved ones. This is one of the reasons why
this filter is useful in an absorbing layer where the energy is transferred to the
higher-order coefficients through a coordinate transformation. See Ref. 1 (Chapter 5)
for more information.

α must be positive; α = 0 means no dissipation, and the maximum value is related to

the machine precision, −log(ε), which is approximately 36. ηc should be between 0 and
1, where ηc = 0 means maximum filtering, and ηc = 1 means no filtering, even if
filtering is active.

When using Absorbing Layer features, add an additional Wave Equations feature for the
corresponding domain selection. Select the Activate check box and add filter
parameters. An example of a filter parameter combination that can be used for a Wave
Equations feature active on an Absorbing Layer domain selection is α = 0.1, ηc = 0.01,
and s = 2. However, other combinations could work better, depending on the
particular application.

Absorbing Layers

Reference
1. J.S. Hesthaven and T. Warburton, Nodal Discontinuous Galerkin Methods —
Algorithms, Analysis, and Applications, Springer, 2008.

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds the initial values for the Electric field and Magnetic field
variables that serve as an initial condition for the transient simulation.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 141

 DOMAIN SELECTION
If there is more than one type of domain, each with different initial values defined, it
might be necessary to remove these domains from the selection. These are then
defined in an additional Initial Values node.

INITIAL VALUES
Enter values or expressions for the initial values of the components of the Electric field
E (SI unit: V/m) and Magnetic field H (SI unit: A/m). The default values are 0 for all
vector components.

Electric Current Density

The Electric Current Density node adds an external current density to the specified
domains, which appears on the right-hand side of Ampere’s law

∂E
ε 0 ε r ------- – ∇ × H + σE = – J e
∂t

ELECTRIC CURRENT DENSITY

Based on space dimension, enter the coordinates (x, y, and z for 3D components for
example) of the Electric current density Je (SI unit: A/m2).

Magnetic Current Density

The Magnetic Current Density node adds an external current density to the specified
domains, which appears on the right-hand side of Faraday’s law

∂H
μ 0 μ r -------- + ∇ × E = – J m
∂t

MAGNETIC CURRENT DENSITY

Based on space dimension, enter the coordinates (x, y, and z for 3D components for
example) of the Magnetic current density Jm (SI unit: V/m2).

Electric Field
The Electric Field boundary condition

n × E = n × E0

142 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

specifies the tangential component of the electric field. The commonly used special
case of zero tangential electric field (perfect electric conductor) is described in the next
section.

ELECTRIC FIELD
Enter values or expressions for the components of the Electric field E0 (SI unit: V/m).

Perfect Electric Conductor

The Perfect Electric Conductor boundary condition

n×E = 0

is a special case of the electric field boundary condition that sets the tangential
component of the electric field to zero. It is used for the modeling of a lossless metallic
surface, for example, a ground plane or as a symmetry type boundary condition.

It imposes symmetry for magnetic fields and antisymmetry for electric fields and
electric currents. It supports induced electric surface currents and thus any prescribed
or induced electric currents (volume, surface, or edge currents) flowing into a perfect
electric conductor boundary is automatically balanced by induced surface currents.

Magnetic Field
The Magnetic Field node adds a boundary condition for specifying the tangential
component of the magnetic field at the boundary:

n × H = n × H0

MAGNETIC FIELD
Enter values or expressions for the components of the Magnetic field H0 (SI unit: A/
m).

Perfect Magnetic Conductor

The Perfect Magnetic Conductor boundary condition

n×H = 0

is a special case of the surface current density boundary condition that sets the
tangential component of the magnetic field and thus also the surface current density

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 143

 to zero. On external boundaries, this can be interpreted as a “high surface impedance”
boundary condition or used as a symmetry type boundary condition. It imposes
symmetry for electric fields and electric currents. Electric currents (volume, surface, or
edge currents) are not allowed to flow into a perfect magnetic conductor boundary as
that would violate current conservation. On interior boundaries, the perfect magnetic
conductor boundary condition literally sets the tangential magnetic field to zero which
in addition to setting the surface current density to zero also makes the tangential
electric field discontinuous.

Surface Current Density

The Surface Current Density boundary condition

–n × H = Js
n × ( H1 – H2 ) = Js

specifies a surface current density at both exterior and interior boundaries. The current
density is specified as a three-dimensional vector, but because it needs to flow along
the boundary surface, COMSOL Multiphysics projects it onto the boundary surface
and neglects its normal component. This makes it easier to specify the current density
and avoids unexpected results when a current density with a component normal to the
surface is given.

SURFACE CURRENT DENSITY

Enter values or expressions for the components of the Surface current density Js0
(SI unit: A/m). The defaults are 0 A/m for all vector components.

Scattering Boundary Condition

The Scattering Boundary Condition

n × E = Z0 H

specifies the tangential component of both electric and magnetic fields.

IMPEDANCE
Enter the value or expression for the medium Impedance Z0 (SI unit: Ω). By default,
the Z0 uses the value of the vacuum’s impedance. Then select Isotropic, Diagonal,
Symmetric, or Full based on the material characteristics and enter values or expressions
in the field or matrix.

144 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Flux/Source
The Flux/Source boundary condition

n × E = E0
n × H = H0

specifies the tangential component of both electric and magnetic fields. This boundary
condition is available when Advanced Physics Options is selected in the Show More
Options dialog box on the Model Builder toolbar.

BOUNDARY FLUX/SOURCE
Enter values or expressions for the components of the tangential Electric field E0
(SI unit: V/m) and the tangential Magnetic field H0 (SI unit: A/m).

Background Field
The Background Field feature triggers the scattered field formulation, where the
dependent variable is the relative field. The same wave equations are used as in the full
field formulation, but the total field that enters the equations are written as the sum of
the relative field and the background field, E = Erelative + Ebackground, and it is the
dependent variable Erelative that is solved for. When the background field is a solution
of the wave equation, the relative field is the scattered field.

SETTINGS
Select a Background wave type — User defined (the default), or Modulated Gaussian
pulse.

User Defined
Enter the component expressions for the Background electric field Eb (SI unit: V/m)
and Background magnetic field Hb (SI unit: A/m). The entered expressions must be
differentiable in time domain since the derivative of the background field is used in the
governing equations.

Modulated Gaussian pulse

Select a Direction of propagation — +x (the default), -x, +y, -y, or for 3D components,
Along the +z, or -z.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 145

 Select a Polarization direction— y (the default), z, or x. The list of available polarization
varies based on the selection of Direction of propagation.

• Enter a Center frequency f0 (SI unit: Hz). The default is 1 GHz.

• Enter a Phase velocity vp (SI unit: m/s). The default is c_const.
• Enter a Wave impedance Z (SI unit: Ω). The default is Z0_const.
• Enter a Distance from origin to wave launching plane doffset (SI unit: m). The default
is 0 m.

For a modulated Gaussian pulse propagating in the positive x direction, the electric
field is expressed as

x + d offset 2
  t – μ – ------------------------ - 
  vp  
- sin  2πf 0  t – ------ 
1 - x
E ( x, t ) = ------------- exp  – --------------------------------------------------
τ 2π  2
   v 
2τ p
 

where τ is the pulse duration, defined as 1/2f0, μ is a time delay set to 2/f0, and vp is
the phase velocity. The time delay μ is used to excite a modulated Gaussian pulse whose
initial magnitude is very small when it is launched and gradually increases as it
propagates.

Far-Field Domain
To set up a far-field calculation, add a Far-Field Domain node and specify the far-field
domains in its Settings window. Use Far-Field Calculation subnodes (one is added by
default) to specify all other settings needed to define the far-field calculation. By
default, all of the domains are selected. The selection can be modified. In that case,
select only a homogeneous domain or domain group that is outside of all radiating and
scattering objects and which has the material settings of the far-field medium.

Far-Field Calculation
A Far-Field Calculation subnode is added by default to the Far-Field Domain node and
is used to select boundaries corresponding to a single closed surface surrounding all
radiating and scattering objects. By default, all exterior boundaries of the Far-Field
Domain are selected. Symmetry reduction of the geometry makes it relevant to select
boundaries defining a nonclosed surface. Also use this feature to indicate symmetry
planes and symmetry cuts applied to the geometry, and whether the selected

146 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

boundaries are defining the inside or outside of the far field domain; that is, to say
whether they are facing away from infinity or toward infinity.

FAR-FIELD CALCULATION
Enter a Far-field variable name. The default is Efar.

Select as needed the Symmetry in the x=0 plane, Symmetry in the y=0 plane, or
Symmetry in the z=0 plane check boxes to use it your model when calculating the
far-field variable. The symmetry planes have to coincide with one of the Cartesian
coordinate planes.

When a check box is selected, also choose the type of symmetry to use from the
Symmetry type list that appears — Symmetry in E (PMC) or Symmetry in H (PEC). The
selection should match the boundary condition used for the symmetry boundary.
Using these settings, include the parts of the geometry that are not in the model for
symmetry reasons in the far-field analysis.

From the Boundary relative to domain list, select Inside or Outside (the default) to define
if the selected boundaries are defining the inside or outside of the far-field domain (that
is, whether facing away from infinity or toward infinity).

A Time to Frequency FFT study step must be added after the Time Dependent
study step to generate the necessary frequency-domain data, used in the
far-field analysis.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 147

 The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam
Envelopes Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes (ewbe) interface ( ), found under the
Wave Optics branch ( ) when adding a physics interface, is used to compute electric
and magnetic field distributions for systems and devices where the field amplitude
varies slowly on a wavelength scale.

The physics interface can be used efficiently for unidirectional and bidirectional
propagation of electromagnetic beams. However, for optical scattering phenomena,
where the field is scattered into many different directions, the Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain interface is better suited.

With this physics interface the electric field is factored into a product of a slowly
varying envelope function (slowly on the scale of a wavelength) and a rapidly varying
phase function. The phase function is a priori prescribed, so the physics interface solves
the time-harmonic wave equation for the slowly varying envelope function.

The physics interface supports the study types Frequency domain, Wavelength
Domain, Eigenfrequency, and Boundary Mode Analysis. The frequency and
wavelength domain study types are used for source driven simulations for a single
frequency or wavelength or a sequence of frequencies or wavelengths. The
Eigenfrequency study type is used to find resonance frequencies and their associated
eigenmodes in cavity problems.

When this physics interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model
Builder — Wave Equation, Beam Envelopes, Perfect Electric Conductor, and Initial Values.
Then, from the Physics toolbar, add other nodes that implement, for example,
boundary conditions. You can also right-click Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes
to select physics features from the context menu.

Physics-controlled mesh
The physics-controlled mesh is controlled from the Mesh node’s Settings window (if the
Sequence type is Physics-controlled mesh). There, in the table in the Physics-Controlled
Mesh section, find the physics interface in the Contributor column and select or clear
the check box in the Use column on the same table row for enabling (the default) or
disabling contributions from the physics interface to the physics-controlled mesh.

148 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

When the Use check box for the physics interface is selected, in the section for the
physics interface below the table, choose the Mesh type — Swept mesh (default for 3D),
Mapped mesh (default for 2D), Tetrahedral mesh (3D), and Triangular mesh (2D).

When a structured Mesh type (either Swept mesh in 3D or Mapped mesh in 2D) is
selected, enter values for Number of transverse mesh elements (default is 10) and
Number of longitudinal mesh elements (default is 10). The entered Number of transverse
mesh elements will be distributed along the longest side of the input boundary. A
boundary is identified as an input boundary if there is an active feature, like a Port, a
Scattering Boundary Condition, etc, added to that boundary and the feature defines
an incident wave. The mesh will be denser in domains where the refractive index is
larger. Similarly, the entered Number of longitudinal mesh elements will be distributed
along propagation direction. Also here, the mesh will be denser in domains where the
refractive index is larger.

If no input features are defined, for instance for an eigenfrequency simulation, the
longitudinal direction is assumed to be the longest direction of the geometry and the
transverse plane is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

When an unstructured Mesh type (either Tetrahedral mesh in 3D or Triangular mesh in

2D) is selected, enter a value for the Maximum element size in free space. The
physics-controlled mesh automatically scales the maximum mesh element size as the
material wavelength changes in different dielectric and magnetic regions.

If the model is configured by any periodic conditions, identical meshes are generated
on each pair of periodic boundaries. Perfectly matched layers are built with a structured
mesh, specifically, a swept mesh in 3D and a mapped mesh in 2D.

For an example using the Physics-controlled mesh with a Swept mesh, see
Directional Coupler: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/
Waveguides_and_Couplers/directional_coupler.

For an example using the Physics-controlled mesh with a Triangular mesh,

see Gaussian Beam Incident at the Brewster Angle: Application Library
path Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/brewster_interface

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 149

 In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see the
Physics-Controlled Mesh section for more information about how to
define the physics-controlled mesh.

SETTINGS
The Label is the default physics interface name.

The Name is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics
interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to
different physics interfaces, the name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and
underscores (_) are permitted in the Name field. The first character must be a letter.

The default Name (for the first physics interface in the model) is ewbe.

COMPONENTS
This section is available for 2D and 2D axisymmetric models.

Select the Electric field components solved for — Three-component vector (the default),
Out-of-plane vector, or In-plane vector. Select:

• Three-component vector to solve using a full three-component vector for the electric
field envelope(s) E1 (and E2).
• Out-of-plane vector to solve for the electric field envelope vector component
perpendicular to the modeling plane, assuming that there is no electric field in the
plane.
• In-plane vector to solve for the electric field envelope vector components in the
modeling plane assuming that there is no electric field perpendicular to the plane.

WAVE VECTORS
Select the Number of directions — Bidirectional (the default) or Unidirectional.

Select the Type of phase specification — Wave vector (the default) or User defined.

In the tables, if Wave vector is selected for Type of phase specification, enter values or
expressions for the Wave vector, first wave k1 (SI unit: rad/m) and, if Bidirectional is
selected, for Wave vector, second wave k2 (SI unit: rad/m).

If User defined is selected for Type of phase specification, enter an expression for Phase,
first wave φ 1 (SI unit: rad) and, if Bidirectional is selected, for Phase, second wave φ 2
(SI unit: rad).

150 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

When Unidirectional is selected, the electric field is expressed as

E ( r ) = E 1 ( r ) exp ( – jφ 1 ( r ) ) ,

where E1 is the electric field envelope that is solved for and exp ( – jφ 1 ( r ) ) is the
prescribed rapidly varying phase function. When Wave vector is selected for Type of
phase specification, the phase is defined as

φ1 ( r ) = k1 ⋅ r .

Notice that the wave vector k1 is assumed to be the same for all domains selected for
the physics interface. This also means that the phase will satisfy the condition of being
continuous everywhere. If the wave is assumed to bend or there are different materials
in the domains, the phase approximation above is not good and it is better to select a
User defined Type of phase specification. When specifying the phase expression φ 1 ( r ) ,
it is important that it is continuous everywhere.

The requirement that the phase is everywhere continuous is not

applicable for the following boundary conditions:

• Transition Boundary Condition

• Field Continuity

These two boundary conditions allow that the phase is different in the
two domains adjacent to the boundary.

The solution for the electric field envelope E1 is as exact as the solution for the total
electric field E, as is done for The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain
Interface. The advantage is that the mesh only need to resolve the spatial variation of
the field envelope E1 and not the rapid variation of the phase factor. On the other
hand, for problems involving reflections and scattering there is a rapid spatial variation
also for the field envelope. Then there is a no advantage of using the Unidirectional
formulation.

When Bidirectional is selected, the electric field is expressed as

E ( r ) = E 1 ( r ) exp ( – jφ 1 ( r ) ) + E 2 ( r ) exp ( – jφ 2 ( r ) ) ,

where E2 and exp ( – jφ 2 ( r ) ) are the electric field envelope and the prescribed phase
function for the second wave. When specifying User defined phases, φ 1 and φ 2 , each
phase should be continuous across the boundaries.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 151

 The Bidirectional formulation is good to use when there are boundaries reflecting the
wave in another direction than that of the incident wave. The direction for the reflected
beam is typically in the opposite direction to the incident beam. The boundary
conditions at these internal and/or external boundaries couple the electric field
envelopes E1 and E2.

Notice, however, that there is no coupling between E1 and E2 within domains, unless
weak expressions are explicitly added to the domains in the Model Builder. For more
information about how to add weak domain expressions, see Common Physics
Interface and Feature Settings and Nodes.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see Table 2-4 for links
to common sections and Table 2-5 to common feature nodes. You can
also search for information: press F1 to open the Help window or Ctrl+F1
to open the Documentation window.

For 2D and 3D, the default value for k1 (or φ 1 ) represents a wave vector
pointing in the x direction.

The default value for k2 represents the wave vector for a plane wave
reflected from a plane normal to the x direction. Thus, the x-component
is reversed, whereas the other components are the same as for wave vector
of the incident wave.

The default value for the User defined phase for the second wave, φ 2 ,
represents a wave propagating in the opposite direction to the first wave.

For 2D axisymmetry, the default value for k1 (or φ 1 ) represents a wave

vector pointing in the z direction, whereas k2 (or φ 2 ) represents a wave
propagating in the opposite direction to the first wave.

For an example using the User defined Type of phase specification, see
Gaussian Beam Incident at the Brewster Angle: Application Library
path Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/brewster_interface.

152 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

USER DEFINED WAVE VECTOR SPECIFICATION
This section is available when the Type of phase specification is set to User defined.
Expand the section and enter values or expressions for the Wave vector, first wave k1
(SI unit: rad/m) and, if Bidirectional is selected, for Wave vector, second wave k2
(SI unit: rad/m).

The default values for the wave vectors are the gradients of the
corresponding phases defined in the Wave Vector settings. These values
will be correct for most cases. However, they will be wrong for Perfectly
Matched Layer domains. There, it is better to explicitly specify the wave
vector. For example, if the wave solution is expected to approximate a
plane wave in vacuum (or air), it would be better to enter the vacuum
wave number ewbe.k0 in the appropriate component field.

PORT SWEEP SETTINGS

Select the Activate port sweep check box to switch on the port sweep. When selected,
this invokes a parametric sweep over the ports in addition to the automatically
generated frequency or wavelength sweep.

For Activate port sweep enter a Sweep parameter name to assign a specific name to the
variable that controls the port number solved for during the sweep.

For this physics interface, the S-parameters are subject to Touchstone file export. Click
Browse to locate the file, or enter a filename and path. Select an Parameter format (value
pairs) — Magnitude angle, Magnitude (dB) angle, or Real imaginary.

Select an option from the If file exists list — Overwrite (the default) or Create new.

Enter a Reference impedance, Touchstone file export. The default is 50 Ω.

PORT OPTIONS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box.

The electric field on port boundaries is expanded as

E ( r ) = E inc ( r ) +  Si Ei ( r ) exp ( –αi n ⋅ ( r – r0 ) ) ,

i

where E, r, Einc, Si, Ei, αi, n, r0 are, respectively, the electric field on the port
boundary, the position vector, the incident electric field, the expansion coefficient (or

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 153

 S-parameter), the mode field, the propagation constant for the mode, the normal
vector, and a position on the port boundary.

Select the Use constraint-free ports check box to calculate the expansion coefficients as
overlap integrals

1

S i = --------- ( E – E inc ) × H i* ⋅ n dS ,
2P i
S

where Pi, S, and Hi are the mode power, the port boundary area, and the magnetic
mode field, respectively.

In the default port formulation, when the Use constraint-free port check box is disabled
(the default setting), the expansion coefficients (or S-parameters) are calculated by
adding a scalar dependent variable for each coefficient and then adding a constraint to
enforce the series expansion above.

LOSS CALCULATION
Select the Use averaged loss calculation check box to remove cross terms between the
two waves, when calculating the electromagnetic loss (and heat source) in the
bidirectional formulation. This setting can be useful when the cross terms create a
beating field that is not resolved by the mesh. If this spatially fast varying heat source
distribution anyhow is washed out by the heat transfer, it can be advantageous to not
include the cross terms when calculating the electromagnetic loss (and heat source). If
the cross terms are of importance when solving the associated heat transfer problem,
use a mesh that is fine enough to resolve the fast spatial variations of the heat source.

DISCRETIZATION
Select the shape order for the Electric field envelopes dependent variables — Linear,
Linear type 2, Quadratic (the default), Quadratic type 2, Cubic, or Cubic type 2. For more
information about the Discretization section, see Settings for the Discretization
Sections in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

Domain, Boundary, Edge, and Point Nodes for the Electromagnetic

Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface

154 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

DEPENDENT VARIABLES
The dependent variables (field variables) are for the:

• Electric field envelope, first wave E1 and its components (in the Electric field envelope
components, first wave fields).
• Electric field envelope, second wave E2 and its components (in the Electric field
envelope components, second wave fields). The second wave is applicable if the Wave
Vectors are bidirectional.

The name can be changed but the names of fields and dependent variables must be
unique within a model.

Domain, Boundary, Edge, and Point Nodes for the Electromagnetic

Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface has these domain, boundary,
edge, point, and pair nodes available from the Physics ribbon toolbar (Windows users),
Physics context menu (Mac or Linux users), or right-click to access the context menu
(all users).

In general, to add a node, go to the Physics toolbar, no matter what

operating system you are using. Subnodes are available by clicking the
parent node and selecting it from the Attributes menu.

DOMAIN
• Initial Values
• Polarization
• Wave Equation, Beam Envelopes

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
With no surface currents present, the following boundary conditions for the electric
and magnetic fields need to be fulfilled

n II × ( E I – E II ) = 0
,
n II × ( H I – H II ) = 0

where the roman numerals denote the fields and normals on the two sides of the
boundary.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 155

 For the unidirectional formulation, the electric field is given by the product of the
electric field envelope E1 and the phase function (see Wave Vectors). Because E1 is
being solved for and the phase function is continuous across boundaries, the tangential
component of the electric field is always continuous, and thus the first condition is
automatically fulfilled. The second condition is equivalent to the natural boundary
condition for the unidirectional formulation

–1 –1
– n × [ ( μ r ∇ × E ) I – ( μ r ∇ × E ) II ] = n × jωμ 0 ( H I – H II ) = 0

and is therefore also fulfilled.

For the bidirectional formulation the transverse electric and magnetic field envelopes
are not necessarily continuous across boundaries. Thus, the continuity of the transverse
electric and magnetic fields are enforced using weak expressions and constraints
applied on the boundary.

The following boundary conditions are available for this physics interface and
described in this section:

• Electric Field • Matched Boundary Condition

• Field Continuity • Scattering Boundary Condition
• Magnetic Field • Surface Current Density

These features are also available and described for The Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain Interface:

• Diffraction Order • Port

• Impedance Boundary Condition • Reference Point
• Perfect Electric Conductor • Symmetry Axis Reference Point
• Perfect Magnetic Conductor • Transition Boundary Condition
• Periodic Condition

Wave Equation, Beam Envelopes

The Wave Equation, Beam Envelopes node is the main node for the Electromagnetic
Waves, Beam Envelopes interface. The electric field is factorized into the product

156 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 E ( r ) = E 1 ( r ) exp ( – jϕ 1 ( r ) ) ,

for Wave Vectors set to unidirectional. Inserting this electric field formulation into the
Maxwell’s equations results in the following wave equation for the envelope function

2
( ∇ – jk 1 ) × ( ( ∇ – jk 1 ) × E 1 ) – k E 1 = 0 ,

where

k 1 = ∇ϕ 1 .

The wave number k is defined by

k = k0 n ,

where n is the refractive index and the wave number of free space k0 is defined as

ω
k 0 = ω ε 0 μ 0 = ----- .
c0

Here c0 is the speed of light in vacuum.

When Wave Vectors are set to bidirectional, the electric field is defined as the sum of
two fields

E ( r ) = E 1 ( r ) exp ( – jϕ 1 ( r ) ) + E 2 ( r ) exp ( – jϕ 2 ( r ) )

The second field adds an additional wave equation to solve

2
( ∇ – jk 2 ) × ( ( ∇ – jk 2 ) × E 2 ) – k E 2 = 0 ,

where

k 2 = ∇ϕ 2 .

When solving the equations as an eigenfrequency problem the eigenvalue is the

complex eigenfrequency λ = −jω + δ, where δ is the damping of the solution. The
Q-factor is given from the eigenvalue by the formula

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 157

 ω
Q fact = --------- .
2δ

The settings for the Wave Equation, Beam Envelopes feature node are the
same as Wave Equation, Electric.

Polarization
The Polarization node adds an externally generated polarization Pi, which contributes
to the total polarization

P = ε 0 ( ε r – 1 )E +  Pi .
i

As indicated above, each Polarization node adds a contribution to the total

polarization. For the bidirectional formulation a polarization should be input for each
wave and the polarization contribution is the sum of the two waves’ polarizations

P i = P 1i + P 2i .

POLARIZATION
Enter the components (x, y, and z for 3D components for example) of the Polarization,
first wave Pi1 (SI unit: C/m2) and, for the bidirectional formulation, the Polarization,
second wave Pi2 (SI unit: C/m2).

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds initial values for the electric field envelopes for the first and
second waves, which can serve as an initial guess for a nonlinear solver. Add more Initial
Values nodes from the Physics toolbar.

INITIAL VALUES
Enter values or expressions for the initial values of the components of the Electric field
envelope, first wave E1 and Electric field envelope, second wave E2 (SI unit: V/m). The
default values are 0 V/m. The second wave is applicable if the Wave Vectors are
bidirectional.

158 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Electric Field
The Electric Field boundary condition

n × E = n × E0

specifies the tangential component of the electric field. It should in general not be used
to excite a model. Consider using the Port or Scattering Boundary Condition instead.
It is provided mainly for completeness and for advanced users who can recognize the
special modeling situations when it is appropriate to use. The commonly used special
case of zero tangential electric field is described in the Perfect Electric Conductor
section.

ELECTRIC FIELD
Enter the value or expression for the components of the Electric field, first wave E01
(SI unit: V/m). When Wave Vectors is set to bidirectional, also set the Electric field,
second wave E02.

CONSTRAINT SETTINGS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box.

Field Continuity
To display the Field Continuity boundary condition, click the Show More Options button
( ) and select Advanced Physics Options. This boundary condition is available when
the Number of directions in the Wave Vectors section is set to Unidirectional. The
boundary condition assures that the tangential electric and magnetic fields
components are continuous on interior boundaries, also when the Phase, first wave φ1
expression is discontinuous at the boundary.

This boundary condition should not be used if there are different

materials on the two sides of the boundary. In that case, there will be
reflections at the boundary and it is probably more appropriate to use
Bidirectional propagation.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 159

 CONSTRAINT SETTINGS
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options.

Optical Ring Resonator Notch Filter: Application Library path

Wave_Optics_Module/Waveguides_and_Couplers/optical_ring_resonator

Magnetic Field
The Magnetic Field node adds a boundary condition for specifying the tangential
component of the magnetic field at the boundary:

n × H = n × H0

MAGNETIC FIELD
Enter the value or expression for the components of the Magnetic field, first wave H01
(SI unit: A/m). When Wave Vectors are set to bidirectional, also set the Magnetic field,
second wave H02.

Matched Boundary Condition

Use the Matched Boundary Condition to make a boundary transparent for a wave (or
waves) with the phase(s) as prescribed in the Wave Vectors settings of The
Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface settings.

Since the Wave Vectors settings are taken into account, this boundary condition is
low-reflecting also for waves propagating with a large angle to the normal of the
boundary, in contrast to the Scattering Boundary Condition, where the scattered beam
should propagate almost in parallel to the boundary normal to be efficiently absorbed.

If there is an incident field, a Reference Point subnode can be added by right-clicking

the context menu (right-click the parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes
menu. The Reference Point subnode redefines the incident field to be expressed as

– jk ( k ⋅ ( r – r ref ) )
E0 e ,

160 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

where rref is a reference point determined as the average point from the point selection
in the Reference Point subnode.

In 2D axisymmetry, the default subnode Symmetry Axis Reference Point

is available. This subnode defines a reference point at the intersection
between the symmetry axis and the Scattering boundary condition’s
boundary selection.

MATCHED BOUNDARY CONDITION

When Wave Vectors is set to bidirectional, select an Input wave — First wave (the
default) or Second wave — that the specified input electric field is associated with.

Select an Incident field to specify whether the input wave is specified by an Electric field,
a Magnetic field, or a Gaussian Beam.

When Wave Vectors is set to unidirectional, the default setting is No

incident field. For this case, it is assumed that the wave is propagating out
from the domain the selected boundaries are adjacent to.

Specify the Incident electric field envelope E0 (SI unit: V/m) or Incident magnetic field
envelope H0 (SI unit: A/m), depending on the Incident field selected. Notice that you
only specify the envelope factor of the incident electric or magnetic field. The envelope
function is internally multiplied by the phase function, as specified in the Wave Vectors
settings, to form the complete incident electric or magnetic fields.

If the Incident field is set to Gaussian beam, select an Input quantity: Electric field
amplitude (the default) or Power. If the Input quantity is Electric field amplitude, enter
the component expressions for the Gaussian beam electric field amplitude Eg0 (SI unit:
V/m). If the Input quantity is set to Power, enter the Input power (SI unit: W in 2D
axisymmetry and 3D and W/m in 2D) and the component expressions for the Gaussian
beam non-normalized electric field amplitude Eg0 (SI unit: V/m). Also edit the Beam
radius w0 (SI unit: m) and the Distance to focal plane p0 (SI unit: m). The default values
are ((10*2)*pi)/ewfd.k0 and 0 m, respectively. The optical axis for the Gaussian
beam is defined by a line including a reference point on the feature selection with a
direction specified by the propagation direction for the Input wave (or k1 for the
unidirectional formulation). By default, the reference point is the average position for
the feature selection. However, by adding a Reference Point subnode any available
point (or the average of several selected points) on the feature selection can be used as

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 161

 the reference point. The focal plane for the Gaussian beam is located the Distance to
focal plane p0 from the reference point in the propagation direction for the Input wave
(or k1 for the unidirectional formulation).

When Wave Vectors is set to bidirectional, if no scattered field is expected, select the
No scattered field check box. This prevents COMSOL from returning spurious
solutions that otherwise could appear between boundaries with unconstrained
scattered fields.

For more information about the Gaussian beam theory, see Gaussian
Beams as Background Fields and Input Fields.

Gaussian Beam Incident at the Brewster Angle: Application Library

path Wave_Optics_Module/Optical_Scattering/brewster_interface.

Total Internal Reflection: Application Library path Wave_Optics_Module/

Waveguides_and_Couplers/total_internal_reflection.

Scattering Boundary Condition

Use the Scattering Boundary Condition to make a boundary transparent for a scattered
wave. The boundary condition is also transparent for an incoming plane wave. The
scattered (outgoing) wave types for which the boundary condition is perfectly
transparent are

– jk ( n ⋅ r ) – jk ( k ⋅ r )
E = E sc e + E0 e Plane scattered wave
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e – jk ( k ⋅ r )
E = E sc ------------------------ + E 0 e Cylindrical scattered wave
r
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e – jk ( k ⋅ r )
E = E sc ------------------------ + E 0 e Spherical scattered wave
rs

The field E0 is the incident plane wave that travels in the direction k. In addition, to
an incident plane wave, E0 can also be the electric field distribution for a Gaussian
beam that propagates in the direction k. The boundary condition is transparent for
incoming (but not outgoing) plane waves with any angle of incidence. When Wave
Vectors are set to unidirectional, the direction k is provided automatically from the
wave vector k1 specified for the physics interface. When Wave Vectors are set to

162 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

bidirectional, the user selects whether the direction k is provided from the wave vector
for the first wave k1 or the wave vector for the second wave k2.

The boundary is only perfectly transparent for scattered (outgoing) waves

of the selected type at normal incidence to the boundary. That is, a plane
wave at oblique incidence is partially reflected and so is a cylindrical wave
or spherical wave unless the wave fronts are parallel to the boundary.

• For cylindrical waves, specify around which cylinder axis the waves are cylindrical.
Do this by specifying one point at the cylinder axis and the axis direction.
• For spherical waves, specify the center of the sphere around which the wave is
spherical.
• When Wave Vectors are set to bidirectional, specify which wave the specified input
field is associated with.

A Reference Point subnode can be added by right-clicking the context menu

(right-click the parent node) or from the Physics toolbar, Attributes menu. The
Reference Point subnode redefines the incident field to be expressed as

– jk ( k ⋅ ( r – r ref ) )
E0 e ,

where rref is a reference point determined as the average point from the point selection
in the Reference Point subnode.

If the problem is solved for the eigenfrequency or 2D axisymmetric geometry, the

boundary condition does not include the incident wave.

– jk ( n ⋅ r )
E sc = E sc e Plane scattered wave
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e
E sc = E sc ------------------------ Cylindrical scattered wave
r
– jk ( n ⋅ r )
e
E sc = E sc ------------------------ Spherical scattered wave
rs

SCATTERING BOUNDARY CONDITION

When Wave Vectors is set to bidirectional, you specify with Input wave which wave the
specified input electric field is associated with.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 163

 Select Incident field to specify whether the input wave is specified by the electric field
(Wave given by E field), the magnetic field (Wave given by H field), or as a Gaussian beam
(Gaussian beam).

Specify the Incident electric field E0 (SI unit: V/m) or Incident magnetic field H0
(SI unit: A/m), depending on the setting of Incident field.

If the Incident field is set to Gaussian beam, select an Input quantity: Electric field
amplitude (the default) or Power. If the Input quantity is Electric field amplitude, enter
the component expressions for the Gaussian beam electric field amplitude Eg0 (SI unit:
V/m). If the Input quantity is set to Power, enter the Input power (SI unit: W in 2D
axisymmetry and 3D and W/m in 2D) and the component expressions for the Gaussian
beam non-normalized electric field amplitude Eg0 (SI unit: V/m). Also edit the Beam
radius w0 (SI unit: m) and the Distance to focal plane p0 (SI unit: m). The default values
are ((10*2)*pi)/ewfd.k0 and 0 m, respectively. The optical axis for the Gaussian
beam is defined by a line including a reference point on the feature selection with a
direction specified by the propagation direction for the selected Input wave (for
unidirectional propagation it is the direction of k1). By default, the reference point is
the average position for the feature selection. However, by adding a Reference Point
subnode any available point (or the average of several selected points) on the feature
selection can be used as the reference point. The focal plane for the Gaussian beam is
located the Distance to focal plane p0 from the reference point in the propagation
direction for the selected Input wave.

Select a Wave type for which the boundary is absorbing — Spherical wave, Cylindrical
wave, or Plane wave.

• For Cylindrical wave enter coordinates for the Source point ro (SI unit: m) and Source
axis direction raxis (dimensionless).
• For Spherical wave enter coordinates for the Source point ro (SI unit: m).

For more information about the Gaussian beam theory, see Gaussian
Beams as Background Fields and Input Fields.

Surface Current Density

The Surface Current Density boundary condition

164 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 –n × H = Js
n × ( H1 – H2 ) = Js

specifies a surface current density at both exterior and interior boundaries. The current
density is specified as a three-dimensional vector, but because it needs to flow along
the boundary surface, COMSOL Multiphysics projects it onto the boundary surface
and neglects its normal component. This makes it easier to specify the current density
and avoids unexpected results when a current density with a component normal to the
surface is given.

SURFACE CURRENT DENSITY

Enter values or expressions for the components of the Surface current density, first wave
Js01 (SI unit: A/m). When Wave Vectors are set to bidirectional, also specify the
expression for the Surface current density, second wave Js02.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BEAM ENVELOPES INTERFACE | 165

 The Electromagnetic Waves,
Boundary Elements Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements (ebem) interface ( ) is used to solve
for time-harmonic electromagnetic field distributions. This interface is found under
the Wave Optics branch ( ) when adding a physics interface,. The formulation is
based on the boundary element method (BEM) and is available in 2D and 3D. The
physics interface solves the vector Helmholtz equation for piecewise-constant material
properties and uses the electric field as dependent variable.

The interface is fully multiphysics enabled and can be coupled seamlessly with the
physics interfaces that are based on the finite element method (FEM). This approach
allows modeling in a FEM-BEM framework, exploiting the strength of both
formulations to the fullest. The BEM-based interface is especially well suited for
radiation and scattering problems.

The advantage of the boundary element method is that only boundaries need to be
meshed and the degrees of freedom (DOFs) solved for are restricted to the boundaries.
This introduces some clear ease-of-use for handling complex geometries. However, the
BEM technique results in fully populated or dense matrices that need dedicated
numerical methods. The BEM method is so to speak more expensive per DOF than
the FEM method, but has fewer DOFs. Assembling and solving these can be very
demanding. This means that when solving models of small and medium size, The
Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface will often be faster, than solving
the same problem with the BEM interface. The challenge for the FEM interface is to
set up open boundaries, for example, using Perfectly Matched Layers (PMLs) in an
efficient way. When the geometries are complex or two structures are far apart, large
air domains need to be meshed. This costs a lot on the computational side as the
frequency is increased.

For large models (problems that contain many wavelengths, at high frequency or for
large domains) the stabilized formulation option (see Stabilization) ensures efficient
convergence at the cost of some additional degrees of freedom. For low to medium
frequencies (small to medium models), running without stabilization is more efficient.
The stabilized formulation only gives a benefit in computing time for the large models.

For this physics interface, the maximum mesh element size should well resolve the
complex electric field on the boundaries. Thus, if the wave propagates tangentially to

166 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

the boundary, the maximum mesh size should be a fraction of the wavelength.
However, if the wave propagates essentially in the normal direction to the boundary,
the maximum mesh element size can be larger. The physics interface supports the
Frequency Domain and Wavelength Domain study types. The Frequency Domain and
Wavelength Domain study types are used for source driven simulations for a single
frequency/wavelength or a sequence of frequencies/wavelengths.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see the Theory for the
Boundary Elements PDE section for more information about the
Boundary Element Method.

When this physics interface is added, these default nodes are also added to the Model
Builder — Wave Equation, Electric, Perfect Electric Conductor, and Initial Values. Then,
from the Physics toolbar, add other nodes that implement, for example, boundary
conditions. You can also right-click Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements to select
physics features from the context menu.

If both The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface and

The Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface are available,
the Electric Field Coupling node is available from the Multiphysics menu
in the Physics toolbar or by right-clicking the Multiphysics Couplings node
in Model Builder.

The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface and The

Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface can also be
coupled by using the same name for the dependent variable for both
interfaces. Then Electric Field Coupling is not needed. How to set the
name for the dependent variable is described in the Dependent Variables
section.

Physics-Controlled Mesh
The physics-controlled mesh only defines mesh settings for the boundaries. It is
controlled from the Settings window for the Mesh node (if the Sequence type is
Physics-controlled mesh). In the table in the Physics-Controlled Mesh section, find the
physics interface in the Contributor column and select or clear the check box in the Use
column on the same row for enabling (the default) or disabling contributions from the
physics interface to the physics-controlled mesh.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BOUNDARY ELEMENTS INTERFACE | 167

 When the Use check box for the physics interface is selected, this invokes a parameter
for the maximum mesh element size in free space. The physics-controlled mesh
automatically scales the maximum mesh element size as the wavelength changes in
different dielectric and magnetic regions.

When the Use check box is selected for the physics interface, in the section for the
physics interface below the table, choose one of the four options for the Maximum mesh
element size control parameter — From study (the default), User defined, Frequency, or
Wavelength. When From study is selected, 1/5 of the vacuum wavelength from the
highest frequency defined in the study step is used for the maximum mesh element
size. For the option User defined, enter a suitable Maximum element size in free space.
For example, 1/5 of the vacuum wavelength or smaller. When Frequency is selected,
enter the highest frequency intended to be used during the simulation. The maximum
mesh element size in free space is 1/5 of the vacuum wavelength for the entered
frequency. For the Wavelength option, enter the smallest vacuum wavelength intended
to be used during the simulation. The maximum mesh element size in free space is 1/
5 of the entered wavelength.

The maximum mesh element size in dielectric media is equal to the maximum mesh
element size in vacuum divided by the square root of the product of the relative
permittivity and permeability.

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see the

Physics-Controlled Mesh section for more information about how to
define the physics-controlled mesh.

SETTINGS
The Label is the default physics interface name.

The Name is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics
interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to
different physics interfaces, the name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and
underscores (_) are permitted in the Name field. The first character must be a letter.

The default Name (for the first physics interface in the model) is ebem.

DOMAIN SELECTION
From the Selection list, select any of the options — Manual, All domains, All voids, or All
domains and voids (the default). The geometric entity list displays the selected domain

168 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

entity numbers. Edit the list of selected domain entity numbers using the selection
toolbar buttons to the right of the list or by selecting the geometric entities in the
Graphics window. Entity numbers for voids can be entered by clicking the Paste ( )
button in the selection toolbar and supplying the entity numbers in the dialog box.
The entity number for the infinite void is 0, and finite voids have negative entity
numbers.

Selections can also be entered using the Selection List window, available from the
Windows menu on the Home toolbar.

For more information about making selections, see Working with

Geometric Entities in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

COMPONENTS
This section is available for 2D components.

Select the Electric field components solved for — Three-component vector, Out-of-plane
vector, or In-plane vector. Select:

• Three-component vector (the default) to solve using a full three-component vector

for the electric field E.
• Out-of-plane vector to solve for the electric field vector component perpendicular to
the modeling plane, assuming that there is no electric field in the plane.
• In-plane vector to solve for the electric field vector components in the modeling
plane assuming that there is no electric field perpendicular to the plane.

FORMULATION
From the Formulation list, select whether to solve for the Full field (the default) or the
Scattered field.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BOUNDARY ELEMENTS INTERFACE | 169

 For Scattered field select a Background wave type according to the following table:
TABLE 3-2: BACKGROUND WAVE TYPE BASED ON COMPONENT DIMENSION

COMPONENT BACKGROUND WAVE TYPE

2D User defined (default), Gaussian beam

3D User defined (default), Gaussian beam, Linearly polarized plane wave

Notice that only metallic PEC scatterers are supported in the scattered
field formulation. Thus, in the scattered field formulation, there can only
be one Wave Equation, Electric node, representing the infinite void.

User Defined
Enter the component expressions for the Background electric field Eb (SI unit: V/m).
The entered expressions must be differentiable.

Notice that expressions including coupling operators are not

differentiable and cannot be used as background fields.

Gaussian Beam
For Gaussian beam select the Gaussian beam type — Paraxial approximation (the default)
or Plane wave expansion.

When selecting Paraxial approximation, the Gaussian beam background field is a

solution to the paraxial wave equation, which is an approximation to the Helmholtz
equation solved for by the Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements (ebem) interface.
The approximation is valid for Gaussian beams that have a beam radius that is much
larger than the wavelength. Since the paraxial Gaussian beam background field is an
approximation to the Helmholtz equation, for tightly focused beams, you can get a
nonzero scattered field solution, even if you do not have any scatterers. The option
Plane wave expansion means that the electric field for the Gaussian beam is
approximated by an expansion of the electric field into a number of plane waves. Since
each plane wave is a solution to the Helmholtz equation, the plane wave expansion of
the electric field is also a solution to the Helmholtz equation. Thus, this option can be
used also for tightly focused Gaussian beams.

If the beam spot radius is smaller than the wavelength, evanescent plane waves need to
be included in the expansion. The evanescent waves decay exponentially in the
propagation direction, why it only makes sense to model such tightly focused beams if
the focal plane coincides with the input boundary. If the focal plane is located inside

170 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

the modeled domain, the field can be dominated by the exponentially decaying
evanescent waves. Those waves can have a very high field strength before the focal
plane even though they only provide a small contribution to the field at the focal plane.

For Plane wave expansion select Wave vector distribution type — Automatic (the default)
or User defined. For Automatic also check Allow evanescent waves, to include evanescent
waves in the plane wave expansion. For User defined also enter values for the Wave
vector count Nk (the default value is 13) and Maximum transverse wave number kt,max
(SI unit: rad/m, default value is (2*(sqrt(2*log(10))))/ebem.w0). Use an odd
number for the Wave vector count Nk to make sure that a wave vector pointing in the
main propagation direction is included in the plane-wave expansion. The Wave vector
count Nk specifies the number of wave vectors that will be included per transverse
dimension. So for 3D the total number of wave vectors will be Nk·Nk.

Evanescent waves are included in the plane wave expansion if the

Maximum transverse wave number kt,max is larger that the specified Wave
number k. When the Wave vector distribution type is set to Automatic,
evanescent waves are included in the expansion if the Allow evanescent
waves check box is selected.

A plane wave expansion with a finite number of plane waves included will make the
field periodic in the plane orthogonal to the main propagation direction. If the
separation between the transverse wave vector components, given by 2kt,max/
(Nk − 1), is too small, replicas of the Gaussian beam background field can appear. To
avoid that, increase the value for the Wave vector count Nk.

The number of plane waves included in the expansion can be quite large, especially for
3D. For instance, using the default settings, 2·13·13 = 338 plane waves will be
included (the factor 2 accounts for the two possible polarizations for each wave
vector). Thus, initializing the plane-wave expansion for the Gaussian beam
background field can take some time in 3D.

For more information about the Gaussian beam theory, see Gaussian Beams as
Background Fields and Input Fields.

Define the Gaussian beam background field using the parameters below:

• Select a Beam orientation: Along the x-axis (the default), Along the y-axis, or for 3D
components, Along the z-axis.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BOUNDARY ELEMENTS INTERFACE | 171

 • Enter a Beam radius w0 (SI unit: m). The default is 20π/ebem.k0 m (10 vacuum
wavelengths).
• Enter a Focal plane along the axis p0 (SI unit: m). The default is 0 m.
• Select an Input quantity: Electric field amplitude (the default) or Power.
• Enter the component expressions for the Transverse background electric field
amplitude, Gaussian beam ETbg0 (SI unit: V/m) if the Input quantity is Electric field
amplitude. Notice that this is the transverse Gaussian beam amplitude in the focal
plane. When the Gaussian beam type is set to Paraxial approximation the background
field is always orthogonal (transverse) to Beam orientation. However, when the
Gaussian beam type is set to Plane wave expansion, the background field amplitude
can also have a component in the propagation direction. Specify here only the field
amplitude components that are orthogonal to the propagation direction. COMSOL
computes automatically the component in the propagation direction, if needed.
• If the Input quantity is set to Power, enter the Input power (SI unit: W in 2D
axisymmetry and 3D and W/m in 2D) and the component expressions for the
Non-normalized transverse electric field amplitude, Gaussian beam ETbg0 (SI unit: V/
m).
• Enter a Wave number k (SI unit: rad/m). The default is ebem.k0 rad/m. The wave
number must evaluate to a value that is the same for all the domains the scattered
field is applied to. Setting the Wave number k to a positive value, means that the wave
is propagating in the positive x-, y-, or z-axis direction, whereas setting the Wave
number k to a negative value means that the wave is propagating in the negative x-,
y-, or z-axis direction.

Linearly Polarized Plane Wave

The initial background wave is predefined as E0 = exp(−jkxx)z. This field is
transformed by three successive rotations along the roll, pitch, and yaw angles, in that
order. For a graphic representation of the initial background field and the definition of
the three rotations compare with Figure 3-1 below.

• Enter an Electric field amplitude E0 (SI unit: V/m). The default is 1 V/m.
• Enter a Roll angle (SI unit: rad), which is a right-handed rotation with respect to the
+x direction. The default is 0 rad, corresponding to polarization along the
+z direction.
• Enter a Pitch angle (SI unit: rad), which is a right-handed rotation with respect to
the +y direction. The default is 0 rad, corresponding to the initial direction of
propagation pointing in the +x direction.

172 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

• Enter a Yaw angle (SI unit: rad), which is a right-handed rotation with respect to the
+z direction.
• Enter a Wave number k (SI unit: rad/m). The default is ebem.k0 rad/m. The wave
number must evaluate to a value that is the same for the domains the scattered field
is applied to.

Figure 3-6: Schematic of the directions for the wave vector k, the electric field E0, and the
roll, pitch and yaw rotations. The top image represents an initial wave propagating in the
x direction with a polarization along the z direction.

STABILIZATION
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Stabilization
in the Show More Options dialog box.

For large models (problems that contain many wavelengths, at high frequency or for
large domains) enable the Use stabilization option (enable by default) to ensure
efficient convergence at the cost of some additional degrees of freedom.

When Use stabilization is selected, a text field for the Stabilization parameter is enabled
with the default value sqrt(abs(ebem.k[m])). This is a parameter that should scale
inversely with the wavelength. The default gives good performance in most cases.

FAR-FIELD APPROXIMATION
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box.

For more information about the Far Field Approximation settings, see
Far-Field Approximation Settings in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BOUNDARY ELEMENTS INTERFACE | 173

 When Use far-field approximation for matrix assembly is selected, a text field for the
Minimum near field range in vacuum for preconditioning is enabled with the default value
((2*pi)/ebem.k0)/10 (one tenth of a wavelength). For problems having a wide
distribution of mesh element sizes, including mesh elements that are much smaller
than the wavelength, a smaller value for this parameter may make the iterative solver
convergence faster.

Using a smaller value for this parameter, may make problems having a large
distribution of mesh element sizes, including mesh elements that are much smaller
than the wavelength, converge faster with the iterative solver. However, a smaller value
use more memory.

QUADRATURE
To display this section, click the Show More Options button ( ) and select Advanced
Physics Options in the Show More Options dialog box.

For more information about the Quadrature settings, see Quadrature in

the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

DISCRETIZATION
From the Electric field/Flux field list, choose from predefined options for the boundary
element discretization order for the electric field variable and the flux field (magnetic
field) variable, respectively. The predefined options represent the suitable
combinations of element orders such as Quadratic/Linear (the default). For more
information about the Discretization section, see Settings for the Discretization
Sections in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES
The dependent variables (field variables) are for the Electric field E and its components
(in the Electric field components fields). The name can be changed but the names of
fields and dependent variables must be unique within a model.

Domain, Boundary, Edge, Point, and Pair Nodes for the

Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface has these domain,
boundary, edge, point, and pair nodes and subnodes. The nodes are listed in
alphabetical order and are available from the Physics ribbon toolbar (Windows users),

174 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Physics context menu (Mac or Linux users), or by right-clicking to access the context
menu (all users).

In general, to add a node, go to the Physics toolbar, no matter what

operating system you are using. Subnodes are available by clicking the
parent node and selecting it from the Attributes menu.

DOMAIN

• Initial Values • Wave Equation, Electric

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
With no surface currents present, the boundary conditions

n2 × ( E1 – E2 ) = 0
n2 × ( H1 – H2 ) = 0

need to be fulfilled. Because E is being solved for, the tangential component of the
electric field is always continuous, and thus the first condition is automatically fulfilled.
The second condition is equivalent to the natural boundary condition

–1 –1
– n × [ ( μ r ∇ × E ) 1 – ( μ r ∇ × E ) 2 ] = n × jωμ 0 ( H 1 – H2 ) = 0

and is therefore also fulfilled. The Far-Field Calculation condition is described in this
section.

The following features are also available and described for The Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain Interface:

• Electric Field • Perfect Magnetic Conductor

• Perfect Electric Conductor • Surface Current Density

In the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual see Table 2-4 for links
to common sections and Table 2-5 to common feature nodes. You can
also search for information: press F1 to open the Help window or Ctrl+F1
to open the Documentation window.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BOUNDARY ELEMENTS INTERFACE | 175

 Wave Equation, Electric
Wave Equation, Electric is the main feature node for this physics interface. The
governing equation can be written in the form

2
μ r– 1 ∇ × ( ∇ × E ) – k 0 ε rc E = 0

for the time-harmonic and eigenfrequency problems. The wave number of free space
k0 is defined as

ω
k 0 = ω ε 0 μ 0 = -----
c0

where c0 is the speed of light in vacuum.

MATERIAL PROPERTIES
The default Relative permittivity εr, Relative permeability μr, and Electrical conductivity
σ take values From material. For User defined enter a value or expression in the field.

Notice that the boundary element method is based on the availability of

an analytic Green’s function for the domain. Thus, the Relative
permittivity, the Relative permeability, and the Electrical conductivity must
all evaluate to constant values for each Wave Equation, Electric node.

Initial Values
The Initial Values node adds an initial value for the electric field that can serve as an
initial guess for a nonlinear solver. Add additional Initial Values nodes from the Physics
toolbar.

INITIAL VALUES
Enter values or expressions for the initial values of the components of the Electric field
E (SI unit: V/m). The default values are 0 V/m.

Far-Field Calculation
Use a Far-Field Calculation to select boundaries corresponding to a single closed surface
surrounding all radiating and scattering objects. By default, all exterior boundaries of
the simulation domain are selected. Also use this feature to indicate symmetry planes
and symmetry cuts applied to the geometry.

176 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

FAR-FIELD CALCULATION
Enter a Far-field variable name. The default is Efar.

Select, as applicable for your model, the Symmetry in the x=0 plane, Symmetry in the
y=0 plane, or Symmetry in the z=0 plane check boxes to simplify the calculation of the
far-field variable. The symmetry planes must coincide with one of the Cartesian
coordinate planes.

When a check box is selected, also choose the type of symmetry to use from the
Symmetry type list that appears: Symmetry in E (PMC) or Symmetry in H (PEC). The
selection should match the boundary condition used for the symmetry boundary.
Using these settings includes the parts of the geometry that are not in the model for
symmetry reasons in the far-field analysis.

Electric Field Coupling

The Electric Field Coupling multiphysics node assures continuity of the electric potential
across boundaries between The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface
and The Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface. The Electric Field
Coupling node is available from the Multiphysics menu in the Physics toolbar or by
right-clicking the Multiphysics Couplings node in Model Builder, if both The
Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface and The Electromagnetic
Waves, Boundary Elements Interface are available.

The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface and The

Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements Interface can also be
coupled by using the same name for the dependent variable for both
interfaces. Then Electric Field Coupling is not needed. How to set the name
for the dependent variable is described in the Dependent Variables
section.

BOUNDARY SELECTION
Select Manual or All boundaries from the Selection list. Make additional edits to the list
of boundary entity numbers using the Selection toolbar buttons. When All boundaries
is selected from the Selection list, the boundaries exterior to the Electromagnetic
Waves, Frequency Domain interface that intersect the exterior boundaries to the
Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements interface are available in the boundary
entity number list.

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, BOUNDARY ELEMENTS INTERFACE | 177

 COUPLED INTERFACES
Select Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain as Primary interface and
Electromagnetic Waves, Boundary Elements as Secondary interface.

178 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Theory for the Electromagnetic
Waves Interfaces
The Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain Interface, The Electromagnetic
Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface, and The Electromagnetic Waves, Transient
Interface theory is described in this section:

• Introduction to the Physics Interface Equations

• Frequency Domain Equation
• Time Domain Equation
• Curl Elements
• Eigenfrequency Calculations
• Gaussian Beams as Background Fields and Input Fields

Introduction to the Physics Interface Equations

Formulations for high-frequency waves can be derived from Maxwell–Ampère’s and
Faraday’s laws,

∂D
∇ × H = J + -------
∂t
∂B
∇ × E = – -------
∂t

Using the constitutive relations for linear materials D = εE and B = μH as well as a

current J = σE, these two equations become

∂εE
∇ × H = σE + ----------
∂t
∂-------
H-
∇ × E = –μ
∂t

Frequency Domain Equation

Writing the fields on a time-harmonic form, assuming a sinusoidal excitation and linear
media,

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES INTERFACES | 179

 jωt
E ( x, y, z, t ) = E ( x, y, z )e
jωt
H ( x, y, z, t ) = H ( x, y, z )e

the two laws can be combined into a time harmonic equation for the electric field, or
a similar equation for the magnetic field

∇ × ( μ – 1 ∇ × E ) – ω 2 εE = 0
–1
∇ × ( ε ∇ × H ) – ω 2 μH = 0

The first of these, based on the electric field is used in The Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain Interface.

Using the relation εr = n2, where n is the refractive index, the equation can
alternatively be written

2 2
∇ × ( ∇ × E ) – k0 n E = 0 (3-1)

The wave number in vacuum k0 is defined by

ω
k 0 = ω ε 0 μ 0 = -----
c0

where c0 is the speed of light in vacuum.

When the equation is written using the refractive index, the assumption is that μr = 1
and σ = 0 and only the constitutive relations for linear materials are available. When
solving for the scattered field the same equations are used but E = Esc + Ei and Esc is
the dependent variable.

For The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface the electric field is written
as a product of an envelope function E1 and a rapidly varying phase factor with a
prescribed wave vector k1,

E ( r ) = E 1 ( r ) exp ( – jϕ 1 ( r ) ) .

When inserting this expression into Equation 3-1, the following wave equation for the
electric field envelope E1 is obtained

2 2
( ∇ – jk 1 ) × ( ( ∇ – jk 1 ) × E 1 ) – k 0 n E 1 = 0 , (3-2)

where

180 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 k 1 = ∇ϕ 1 .

It is assumed that the envelope function E1 has a much slower spatial variation than
the exponential phase factor. Thus, the mesh can be much coarser when solving
Equation 3-2 than when solving Equation 3-1. Thereby it is possible do simulation on
domains that are much larger than the wavelength. Notice, however, that the
assumption of a slowly varying envelope function is never implemented in
Equation 3-2. Thus, the solution of Equation 3-2 is as exact as the solution of
Equation 3-1.

EIGENFREQUENCY ANALYSIS
When solving the frequency domain equation as an eigenfrequency problem the
eigenvalue is the complex eigenfrequency λ = jω + δ, where δ is the damping of the
solution. The Q-factor is given from the eigenvalue by the formula

ω
Q fact = ---------
2δ

MODE ANALYSIS AND BOUNDARY MODE ANALYSIS

In mode analysis and boundary mode analysis, the COMSOL Multiphysics software
solves for the propagation constant. The time-harmonic representation is almost the
same as for the eigenfrequency analysis, but with a known propagation in the
out-of-plane direction

˜ jωt – jβz ˜ jωt – αz

E ( r, t ) = Re ( E ( r T )e ) = Re ( E ( r )e )

The spatial parameter, α = δz + jβ = −λ, can have a real part and an imaginary part. The
propagation constant is equal to the imaginary part, and the real part, δz, represents
the damping along the propagation direction. When solving for all three electric field
components the allowed anisotropy of the optionally complex relative permittivity and
relative permeability is limited to:

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES INTERFACES | 181

 ε rxx ε rxy 0 μ rxx μ rxy 0
ε rc = ε ryx ε ryy 0 μ r = μ ryx μ ryy 0
0 0 ε rzz 0 0 μ rzz

Limiting the electric field component solved for to the out-of-plane

component for TE modes requires that the medium is homogeneous;
that is, μ and ε are constant. When solving for the in-plane electric field
components for TM modes, μ can vary but ε must be constant. It is
strongly recommended to use the most general approach, that is solving
for all three components which is sometimes referred to as “perpendicular
hybrid-mode waves”.

Variables Influenced by Mode Analysis

The following table lists the variables that are influenced by the mode analysis:

NAME EXPRESSION CAN BE COMPLEX DESCRIPTION

beta imag(-lambda) No Propagation constant

dampz real(-lambda) No Attenuation constant
dampzdB 20*log10(exp(1))* No Attenuation per meter in dB
dampz
neff j*lambda/k0 Yes Effective mode index

PROPAGATING WAVES IN 2D
In 2D, different polarizations can be chosen by selecting to solve for a subset of the
3D vector components. When selecting all three components, the 3D equation applies
with the addition that out-of-plane spatial derivatives are evaluated for the prescribed
out-of-plane wave vector dependence of the electric field.

In 2D, the electric field varies with the out-of-plane wave number kz as (this
functionality is not available for The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes
Interface)

˜
E ( x, y, z ) = E ( x, y ) exp ( – ik z z ) .

The wave equation is thereby rewritten as

˜ 2 ˜
( ∇ – ik z z ) × [ μ r– 1 ( ∇ – ik z z ) × E ] – k 0 ε rc E = 0 ,

182 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

where z is the unit vector in the out-of-plane z direction.

Similarly, in 2D axisymmetry, the electric field varies with the azimuthal mode number
m as

˜
E ( r, ϕ, z ) = E ( r, z ) exp ( – imϕ )

and the wave equation is expressed as

∇ – im ˜ ˜
----- ϕ × μ r–1  ∇ – i m
----- ϕ × E – k 20 ε rc E = 0 ,
 r   r 

where ϕ is the unit vector in the out-of-plane ϕ direction.

In-plane Hybrid-Mode Waves

Solving for all three components in 2D is referred to as “hybrid-mode waves”. The
equation is formally the same as in 3D with the addition that out-of-plane spatial
derivatives are evaluated for the prescribed out-of-plane wave vector dependence of the
electric field

In-plane TM Waves
The TM waves polarization has only one magnetic field component in the z direction,
and the electric field lies in the modeling plane. Thus the time-harmonic fields can be
obtained by solving for the in-plane electric field components only. The equation is
formally the same as in 3D, the only difference being that the out-of-plane electric field
component is zero everywhere and that out-of-plane spatial derivatives are evaluated
for the prescribed out-of-plane wave vector dependence of the electric field.

In-plane TE Waves
As the field propagates in the modeling xy-plane a TE wave has only one nonzero
electric field component, namely in the z direction. The magnetic field lies in the
modeling plane. Thus the time-harmonic fields can be simplified to a scalar equation
for Ez,

2
– ∇ ⋅ ( μ̃ r ∇E z ) – ε rzz k 0 E z = 0

where

T
μr
μ̃ r = -------------------
det ( μ r )

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES INTERFACES | 183

 To be able to write the fields in this form, it is also required that εr, σ, and μr are
nondiagonal only in the xy-plane. μr denotes a 2-by-2 tensor, and εrzz and σzz are the
relative permittivity and conductivity in the z direction.

Axisymmetric Hybrid-Mode Waves

Solving for all three components in 2D is referred to as “hybrid-mode waves”. The
equation is formally the same as in 3D with the addition that spatial derivatives with
respect to ϕ are evaluated for the prescribed azimuthal mode number dependence of
the electric field.

Axisymmetric TM Waves
A TM wave has a magnetic field with only a ϕ component and thus an electric field
with components in the rz-plane only. The equation is formally the same as in 3D, the
only difference being that the ϕ component is zero everywhere and that spatial
derivatives with respect to ϕ are evaluated for the prescribed azimuthal mode number
dependence of the electric field.

Axisymmetric TE Waves
A TE wave has only an electric field component in the ϕ direction, and the magnetic
field lies in the modeling plane. Given these constraints, the 3D equation can be
simplified to a scalar equation for E ϕ . To write the fields in this form, it is also required
that εr and μr are nondiagonal only in the rz-plane. μr denotes a 2-by-2 tensor, while
ε rϕϕ and σ ϕϕ are the relative permittivity and conductivity in the ϕ direction.

INTRODUCING LOSSES IN THE FREQUENCY DOMAIN

Electric Losses
The frequency domain equations allow for several ways of introducing electric losses.
Finite conductivity results in a complex permittivity,

σ
ε c = ε – j ----
ω

The conductivity gives rise to ohmic losses in the medium.

A more general approach is to use a complex permittivity,

ε c = ε 0 ( ε' – jε'' )

where ε' is the real part of εr, and all losses (dielectric and conduction losses) are given
by ε''. The dielectric loss model can also single out the losses from finite conductivity
(so that ε'' only represents dielectric losses) resulting in:

184 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 σ
ε c = ε 0  ε' – j  --------- + ε'' 
  ωε 0 

The complex permittivity can also be introduced as a loss tangent:

ε c = ε 0 ε' ( 1 – j tan δ )

When specifying losses through a loss tangent, conductivity is not allowed

as an input.

For the physics interfaces in the Wave Optics Module, the refractive index is the default
electric displacement field model . In materials where μr is 1, the relation between the
complex refractive index

n = n – jκ

and the complex relative permittivity is

2
ε rc = n

that is

2 2
ε' r = n – κ
ε'' r = 2nκ

The inverse relations are

2 1 2 2
n = --- ( ε' r + ε' r + ε'' r )
2
2 1 2 2
κ = --- ( – ε' r + ε' r + ε'' r )
2

The parameter κ represents a damping of the electromagnetic wave. When specifying

the refractive index, conductivity is not allowed as an input.

In the physics and optics literature, the time harmonic form is often written with a
minus sign (and “i” instead of “j”):

– i ωt
E ( x, y, z, t ) = E ( x, y, z )e

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES INTERFACES | 185

 This makes an important difference in how loss is represented by complex material
coefficients like permittivity and refractive index, that is, by having a positive imaginary
part rather than a negative one. Therefore, material data taken from the literature
might have to be conjugated before using it in a model.

Magnetic Losses
The frequency domain equations allow for magnetic losses to be introduced as a
complex relative permeability.

μ r = ( μ' – jμ'' )

The complex relative permeability can be combined with any electric loss model except
refractive index.

Time Domain Equation

The relations μH = ∇ × A and E = −∂A/∂t (using the gauge for which the scalar electric
potential vanishes) make it possible to rewrite Maxwell-Ampère’s law using the
magnetic potential.

∂A ∂ ∂A ∇ μ –1
μ0 σ + μ0 ε + × ( r ∇ × A) = 0
∂t ∂t ∂t

This is the equation used by The Electromagnetic Waves, Transient Interface. It is

suitable for the simulation of nonsinusoidal waveforms or nonlinear media.

Using the relation εr = n2, where n is the refractive index, the equations can
alternatively be written

2 ∂A
μ 0 ε 0 ∂  n + ∇ × (∇ × A) = 0
∂t ∂t 

WAVES IN 2D
In 2D, different polarizations can be chosen by selecting to solve for a subset of the
3D vector components. When selecting all three components, the 3D equation applies
with the addition that out-of-plane spatial derivatives are set to zero.

In-plane Hybrid-Mode Waves

Solving for all three components in 2D is referred to as “hybrid-mode waves”. The
equation form is formally the same as in 3D with the addition that out-of-plane spatial
derivatives are set to zero.

186 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

In-plane TM Waves
The TM waves polarization has only one magnetic field component in the z direction,
and thus the electric field and vector potential lie in the modeling plane. Hence it is
obtained by solving only for the in-plane vector potential components. The equation
is formally the same as in 3D, the only difference being that the out-of-plane vector
potential component is zero everywhere and that out-of-plane spatial derivatives are
set to zero.

In-plane TE Waves
As the field propagates in the modeling xy-plane a TE wave has only one nonzero
vector potential component, namely in the z direction. The magnetic field lies in the
modeling plane. Thus the equation in the time domain can be simplified to a scalar
equation for Az:

∂A z ∂ ∂A z
+ μ 0 ε 0  ε r
–1
μ0 σ + ∇ ⋅ ( μ r ( ∇A z ) ) = 0
∂t ∂t ∂t 

Using the relation εr = n2, where n is the refractive index, the equation can
alternatively be written

∂  n 2 ∂A z
μ0 ε0 + ∇ ⋅ ( ∇A z ) = 0
∂t ∂t 

When using the refractive index, the assumption is that μr = 1 and σ = 0 and only the
constitutive relations for linear materials can be used.

Axisymmetric Hybrid-Mode Waves

Solving for all three components in 2D is referred to as “hybrid-mode waves”. The
equation form is formally the same as in 3D with the addition that spatial derivatives
with respect to ϕ are set to zero.

Axisymmetric TM Waves
TM waves have a magnetic field with only a ϕ component and thus an electric field
and a magnetic vector potential with components in the rz-plane only. The equation
is formally the same as in 3D, the only difference being that the ϕ component is zero
everywhere and that spatial derivatives with respect to ϕ are set to zero.

Axisymmetric TE Waves
A TE wave has only a vector potential component in the ϕ direction, and the magnetic
field lies in the modeling plane. Given these constraints, the 3D equation can be
simplified to a scalar equation for A ϕ . To write the fields in this form, it is also required

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES INTERFACES | 187

 that εr and μr are nondiagonal only in the rz-plane. μr denotes a 2-by-2 tensor, while
ε rϕϕ and σ ϕϕ are the relative permittivity and conductivity in the ϕ direction.

Curl Elements
Whenever solving for more than a single vector component, it is not possible to use
Lagrange elements for electromagnetic wave modeling. The reason is that they force
the fields to be continuous everywhere. This implies that the physics interface
conditions, which specify that the normal components of the electric fields and the
tangential components of the magnetic fields are discontinuous across interior
boundaries between media with different permittivity and permeability, cannot be
fulfilled. To overcome this problem, the Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain
interface uses curl elements, which do not have this limitation. The curl element is also
named as vector element or edge element.

The solution obtained when using curl elements also better fulfills the divergence
conditions ∇ · D = 0 and ∇ · B = 0 than when using Lagrange elements.

For more information about the curl element, read the blog post:
www.comsol.com/blogs/what-is-the-curl-element-and-why-is-it-used/

Eigenfrequency Calculations
When making eigenfrequency calculations, there are a few important things to note:

• Nonlinear eigenvalue problems appear for impedance boundary conditions with

nonzero conductivity and for scattering boundary conditions adjacent to domains
with nonzero conductivity. Such problems have to be treated specially.
• Some of the boundary conditions, such as the surface current density condition and
the electric field condition, can specify a source in the eigenvalue problem. These
conditions are available as a general tool to specify arbitrary expressions between the
H field and the E field. Avoid specifying solution-independent sources for these
conditions because the eigenvalue solver ignores them anyway.

Using the default parameters for the eigenfrequency study, it might find a large
number of false eigenfrequencies, which are almost zero. This is a known consequence
of using vector elements. To avoid these eigenfrequencies, change the parameters for
the eigenvalue solver in the Study Settings. Adjust the settings so that the solver
searches for eigenfrequencies closer to the lowest eigenfrequency than to zero.

188 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Gaussian Beams as Background Fields and Input Fields
When solving for the scattered field, the background wave type can be set to a
predefined Gaussian beam from within the Settings of The Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain Interface. Additionally, Gaussian beams can be specified as the
input field for the Scattering Boundary Condition and the Matched Boundary
Condition.

In the paraxial approximation, the field for a Gaussian beam propagating along the
z-axis is

w0 2 2
ρ ρ -
E G ( x, y, z ) = E G0 ------------ exp – --------------
- – jkz – jk --------------- + jη(z) ,
w(z) w (z)
2 2R ( z )

where w0 is the beam radius, p0 is the focal plane on the z-axis, EG0 is the Gaussian
beam electric field amplitude, and the spot radius for different positions along the
propagation axis is given by

z – p0 2
w ( z ) = w 0 1 +  --------------- .
z0

z0 2
R ( z ) = ( z – p 0 ) 1 +  ---------------
 z – p 0

defines the radius of curvature for the phase of the field and the so-called Gouy phase
shift is given by

z–p
η ( z ) = atan  --------------0- .
z0

The equations above are expressed using the Rayleigh range z0 and the transverse
coordinate ρ, defined by

2
kw 0 2 2 2
z 0 = -----------, ρ = x + y .
2

Note that the time-harmonic ansatz in COMSOL Multiphysics is ejωt, and with this
convention, the beam above propagates in the +z direction. The equations are
modified accordingly for beams propagating along the other coordinate axes.

The field for a Gaussian beam is defined in a similar way for 2D components. In the
particular case where the beam propagates along the x-axis, the field is defined as

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES INTERFACES | 189

 2 2
w0 y η(x)
y - -----------
E G ( x, y ) = E G0 ------------ - – jkx – jk ---------------
exp – -------------- +j .
w(x) w (x)
2 2R ( x ) 2

For a beam propagating along the y-axis, the coordinates x and y are interchanged.

Notice that the expressions above for Gaussian beams are not solutions to the
Helmholtz equation, but to the so called paraxial approximation of the Helmholtz
equation. This means that these equations become less accurate the smaller the spot
radius is and should not be used when the spot radius is of the same size as or smaller
than the wavelength.

To circumvent the problem that the paraxial approximation formula is not a solution
to the Helmholtz equation, a plane wave expansion can be used to approximate a
Gaussian beam background field. Since each plane wave is a solution to Helmholtz
equation, also the expansion is a solution to Helmholtz equation.

The plane wave expansion approximates the Gaussian distribution in the focal plane

 x 2 + y 2
E b, Gauss ( r ) = E 0 exp  – -----------------
2
- e =
 w0 
L M 1

   almn un ( klm ) exp ( –iklm ⋅ r ),

l = –L m = –M n = 0

where the beam is assumed to be propagating in the z direction, the focal plane is
spanned by the x and y coordinates, e is the unit magnitude transverse polarization in
the focal plane, l and m denote the indices for the wave vectors, the index n accounts
for the two polarizations per wave vector klm, almn is the amplitude, un(klm) is the
unit magnitude polarization, and r is the position vector.

Multiplying with the conjugate of the exponential factor above and the polarization
factor un(klm) and applying a surface integral over the entire focal plane allows us to
extract the amplitudes as

2 2 2
E 0 w 0 ( e ⋅ u n ( k lm ) )  k t, lm w 0
a lmn = -------------------------------------------------- exp  – --------------------- ,
4π  4 

where kt,lm is the magnitude of the transverse wave vector component.

190 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

Theory for the Electromagnetic
Waves, Time Explicit Interface
The Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface theory is described in this section:

• The Equations
• In-Plane E Field or In-Plane H Field
• Fluxes as Dirichlet Boundary Conditions
• Absorbing Layers

The Equations
Maxwell’s equations are a set of equations, written in differential or integral form,
stating the relationships between the fundamental electromagnetic quantities. These
quantities are the:

• Electric field intensity E

• Electric displacement or electric flux density D
• Magnetic field intensity H
• Magnetic flux density B
• Current density J
• Electric charge density ρ

For general time-varying fields, the differential form of Maxwell’s equations can be
written as

∂D
∇ × H = J + -------
∂t
∂B
∇ × E = – ------- (3-3)
∂t
∇⋅D = ρ
∇⋅B = 0

The first two equations are also called Maxwell-Ampère’s law and Faraday’s law,
respectively. Equation three and four are two forms of Gauss’ law, the electric and
magnetic form, respectively.

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 191

 CONSTITUTIVE RELATIONS
To obtain a closed system of equations, the constitutive relations describing the
macroscopic properties of the medium are included. These are given as

D = ε0 E + P
B = μ0 ( H + M ) (3-4)

J = σE
Here ε0 is the permittivity of a vacuum, μ0 is the permeability of a vacuum, and σ the
electric conductivity of the medium. In the SI system, the permeability of a vacuum is
chosen to be 4π·10−7 H/m. The velocity of an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum is
given as c0 and the permittivity of a vacuum is derived from the relation

1 – 12 1 –9
ε 0 = ----------
2
= 8.854 ⋅ 10 F/m ≈ --------- ⋅ 10 F/m
c0 μ0 36π

The electric polarization vector P describes how the material is polarized when an
electric field E is present. It can be interpreted as the volume density of electric dipole
moments. P is generally a function of E. Some materials might have a nonzero P also
when there is no electric field present.

The magnetization vector M similarly describes how the material is magnetized when
a magnetic field H is present. It can be interpreted as the volume density of magnetic
dipole moments. M is generally a function of H. Permanent magnets, for example,
have a nonzero M also when there is no magnetic field present.

To get a wave equation for the E field, for example, take the curl of the second
equation in Equation 3-3 (previously divided by μ0), and insert it into the time
derivative of the first row in Equation 3-3

2 2
∂M ∂E ∂ E- ∂ P
– ∇ ×  ----- ∇ × E + -------- = σ ------- + ε 0 ---------
1
+ ----------
μ0 ∂t ∂t ∂t 2 ∂t 2

this is referred as curl-curl formulation in the literature (second order time derivatives
and second order space derivatives).

LINEAR MATERIALS
In the simplest case linear materials, the polarization is directly proportional to the
electric field, that is

∂P ⁄ ∂E = ε 0 χ e and P = ε 0 χ e E

192 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

where χe is the electric susceptibility (which can be a scalar or a second-rank tensor).
Similarly, the magnetization is directly proportional to the magnetic field, or

∂M ⁄ ∂H = χ m and M = χ m H

where χm is the magnetic susceptibility.

As a consequence, for linear materials, the constitutive relations in Equation 3-4 can
be written as

D = ε 0 E + P = ε 0 ( 1 + χ e )E = ε 0 ε r E
B = μ 0 ( H + M ) = μ 0 ( 1 + χ m )H = μ 0 μ r H

Here, ε = ε0εr and μ = μ0μr are the permittivity and permeability of the material. The
relative permittivity εr and the relative permeability μr are usually scalar properties but
these can be second-rank symmetric (Hermitian) tensors for a general anisotropic
material.

For general time-varying fields, Maxwell’s equations in linear materials described in

Equation 3-3 can be simplified to Maxwell-Ampère’s law and Faraday’s law:

∂E
∇ × H = σE + ε 0 ε r -------
∂t
(3-5)
∂-------
H-
∇ × E = –μ0 μr
∂t

The electric conductivity σ can also be a scalar or a second-rank tensor. Another

important assumption is that the relative permittivity εr, the relative permeability μr
and the electric conductivity σ might change with position and orientation
(inhomogeneous or anisotropic materials) but not with time.

FIRST-ORDER IMPLEMENTATION OF MAXWELL’S EQUATIONS

In order to accommodate Maxwell’s equations in the coefficients for the Wave Form
PDE interface in the form

∂u
da + ∇ ⋅ Γ(u) = f
∂t

the curl of a vector is written in divergence form as

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 193

 0 u3 –u2
∇ × u = ∇ ⋅ –u3 0 u1 (3-6)
u2 –u1 0

where the divergence is applied on each row of the flux Γ(u).

Maxwell’s equations in 3D

∂E
ε 0 ε r ------- – ∇ × H = – σE
∂t
∂H
μ 0 μ r -------- + ∇ × E = 0
∂t

are then accommodated to the Wave Form PDE as

∂E
d E ------- + ∇ ⋅ Γ E ( H ) = f
∂t
∂-------
H
dH - + ∇ ⋅ ΓH ( E ) = 0
∂t

with the “mass” coefficients

d E = ε 0 ε r and d H = μ 0 μ r

the “flux” terms

0 h3 –h2 0 e3 –e2
ΓE ( H ) = – –h3 0 h1 and Γ H ( E ) = – e 3 0 e1
h2 –h1 0 e2 –e1 0

and the “source” term f = −σE.

THE LAX-FRIEDRICHS FLUX PARAMETERS

When using SI units (or other) for the electromagnetic fields and material
properties, the Lax-Friedrichs flux parameter is not dimensionless and
must have units of τE = 1/(2Z) for Ampère’s law and τH = Z/2 for
Faraday’s law, where Z is the impedance of the medium.

194 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

In-Plane E Field or In-Plane H Field
In the general case, in 2D and 2D axisymmetric, solving for three variables for each
field is still required. The “in-plane H” or “in-plane E” assumption simplifies the
problem to only three dependent variables.

TM WAVES IN 2D
For TM waves in 2D, solve for an in-plane electric field vector and one out-of-plane
variable for the magnetic field. Maxwell’s equations then read

∂E
ε 0 ε r ------- + ∇ ⋅ Γ E ( H ) = – σ ⋅ E
∂t
(3-7)
∂H
μ 0 μ r -------- + ∇ ⋅ Γ H ( E ) = 0
∂t

with the flux terms

0 –h3
ΓE ( H ) = and Γ H ( E ) = e 2 – e 1 (3-8)
h3 0

The divergence on ΓE(H) is applied row-wise. The conductivity and permittivity

tensors σ and εr represent in-plane material properties, while the relative permeability
μr is an out-of-plane scalar property.

The default Lax-Friedrichs flux parameters are τE = 1/(2Z) for Ampère’s law, and the
scalar τH = Z/2 for Faraday’s law, where Z is the impedance of a vacuum.

TE WAVES IN 2D
For TE waves in 2D, solve for an in-plane magnetic field vector and one out-of-plane
variable for the electric field. Maxwell’s equations then read

∂E
ε 0 ε r ------- + ∇ ⋅ Γ E ( H ) = – σE
∂t
(3-9)
∂H
μ 0 μ r -------- + ∇ ⋅ Γ H ( E ) = 0
∂t

with the flux terms

0 e3
Γ E ( H ) = – h 2 h 1 and Γ H ( E ) = (3-10)
–e3 0

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 195

 The divergence of ΓH(E) is applied row-wise. The tensor of relative permeability μr
represents in-plane material properties, while the relative permittivity εr and
conductivity σ are out-of-plane scalar properties.

The default Lax-Friedrichs flux parameters are τE = 1/(2Z) for Ampère’s law, and two
scalar τH = Z/2 for Faraday’s law, where Z is the impedance of a vacuum.

Fluxes as Dirichlet Boundary Conditions

Consider Maxwell’s equations in 3D

∂E
ε 0 ε r ------- + ∇ ⋅ Γ E ( H ) = – σE
∂t
∂H
μ 0 μ r -------- + ∇ ⋅ Γ H ( E ) = 0
∂t

with the flux terms

0 –h3 h2 0 e3 –e2
ΓE ( H ) = h3 0 – h 1 and Γ H ( E ) = – e 3 0 e1
–h2 h1 0 e2 –e1 0

and the divergence on ΓE(H) and ΓH(E) applied row-wise.

For Ampère’s law, the normal to the flux term on exterior boundaries reads

n ⋅ ΓE ( H ) = –n × H

and for Faraday’s law

n ⋅ ΓH ( E ) = n × E

which means that normal fluxes on external boundaries can only prescribe tangential
components for the fields.

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
The boundary conditions for outer boundaries are computed from the normal fluxes
n · ΓH(E) and n · ΓE(H).

• Perfect electric conductor n × E = 0 , or zero tangential components for E, is

obtained by setting n · ΓH(E) = 0.

196 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

• Perfect magnetic conductor n × H = 0 , or zero tangential components for H, is
obtained by prescribing n ⋅ Γ E ( H ) = 0 .
• Electric field n × E = n × E 0 , or n · ΓH(E) = n × E0.
• Magnetic field n × H = n × H 0 , or −n · ΓE(H) = n × H0.
• For external boundaries, the surface currents BC means n × H = J s , or
−n · ΓE(H) = Js.

ABSORBING BOUNDARY CONDITION

A simple absorbing boundary can be implemented by setting n × E = ZH .

Absorbing Layers
The Electromagnetic Waves, Time Explicit Interface includes so-called absorbing
layers, also often referred to as sponge layers. The layers work by combining three
techniques: a scaling system, filtering, and simple nonreflecting conditions. For a
review of the method see, for example, Ref. 1.

The layers are set up by adding the Absorbing Layer under the Definitions node. This
adds a special scaled system. The scaling effectively slows down the propagating waves
and ensures that they hit the outer boundary in the normal direction. For the
Absorbing Layer domain selection, add an additional Wave Equations feature, mark
the Activate check box under the Filter Parameters section, and enter filter parameters.
Filtering attenuates and filters out high-frequency components of the wave. Finally, at
the outer boundary of the layer add a simple Scattering Boundary Condition
condition, which will work well to remove all remaining waves as normal incidence has
been ensured.

For more detailed information about the filter see the Filter Parameters
section under Wave Form PDE in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference
Manual.

THEORY FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, TIME EXPLICIT INTERFACE | 197

 For the Absorbing Layers select the Type (Cartesian, cylindrical, spherical, or user
defined) under the Geometry section. Enter values for the Physical Width and Pole
Distance under the Scaling section.

For more detailed on the Geometry and Scaling see the Infinite Elements,
Perfectly Matched Layers, and Absorbing Layers in the COMSOL
Multiphysics Reference Manual.

For the layers to work optimally the filter should not be too aggressive. Moreover, the
scaled coordinates in the layer domain should also vary smoothly. To inspect the scaled
system you can plot the coordinate variables x_absorb_ab1, y_absorb_ab1, and
z_absorb_ab1. Using the absorbing layers with the three combined techniques will
enable the reduction of spurious reflections by a factor between 100 and 1000
compared to the incident amplitude.

For an example of a filter parameter combination that can be used for a

Wave Equations feature on an Absorbing Layer domain selection see the
Filter Parameters section for the Wave Equations feature.

Reference
1. P.G. Petropoulos, L. Zhao, and A.C. Cangellaris, “A Reflectionless Sponge Layer
Absorbing Boundary Condition for the Solution of Maxwell’s Equations with
High-Order Staggered Finite Difference Schemes,” J. Comp. Phys., vol. 139, pp. 184–
208, 1998.

198 | CHAPTER 3: WAVE OPTICS INTERFACES

 4

Heat Transfer Interfaces

This chapter describes The Laser Heating Interface found under the Heat
Transfer>Electromagnetic Heating branch ( ) when adding a physics interface.

See The Heat Transfer Interfaces and The Joule Heating Interface in the COMSOL
Multiphysics Reference Manual for other Heat Transfer interface and feature node
settings.

199
 The Laser Heating Interface
The Laser Heating interface ( ) is used to model electromagnetic heating for systems
and devices where the electric field amplitude varies slowly on a wavelength scale. This
multiphysics interface adds an Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface and
a Heat Transfer in Solids interface. The multiphysics couplings add the
electromagnetic losses from the electromagnetic waves as a heat source, and the
electromagnetic material properties can depend on the temperature. The modeling
approach is based on the assumption that the electromagnetic cycle time is short
compared to the thermal time scale.

Combinations of frequency-domain modeling for the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam

Envelopes interface and stationary modeling for the Heat Transfer in Solids interface,
called frequency-stationary and, similarly, frequency-transient modeling, are supported
in 2D and 3D. For these study types, the coupling between the frequency-domain
modeling of the electromagnetic part and the stationary or transient modeling of the
heat transfer part is bidirectional: the electromagnetic part defines a heat source for the
heat transfer problem and the temperature distribution from the heat transfer problem
can influence the material properties in the electromagnetic problem.

If the coupling is unidirectional — that is, if the electromagnetic problem does not
depend on the temperature — Frequency-Stationary, One-Way Electromagnetic Heating
and Frequency-Transient, One-Way Electromagnetic Heating studies can be added from
the Model Wizard. These studies give, respectively, a Frequency Domain study step for
the electromagnetic problem followed by a Stationary or Time Dependent study step for
the heat transfer problem.

When a predefined Laser Heating interface is added from the

Heat Transfer>Electromagnetic Heating branch ( ) of the Model Wizard or Add Physics
window, Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes and Heat Transfer in Solids interfaces
are added to the Model Builder.

In addition, a Multiphysics node is added, which automatically includes the

multiphysics coupling feature Electromagnetic Heat Source.

On the Constituent Physics Interfaces

The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes interface computes electric and
magnetic field distributions for systems and devices where the field amplitude varies
slowly on a wavelength scale. The physics interface can be used efficiently for
unidirectional and bidirectional propagation of electromagnetic beams. In this physics

200 | CHAPTER 4: HEAT TRANSFER INTERFACES

 interface, the electric field is factored into a product of a slowly varying envelope
function (slowly on the scale of a wavelength) and a rapidly varying phase function.
The phase function is a priori prescribed, so the physics interface solves the
time-harmonic wave equation for the slowly varying envelope function.

The Heat Transfer in Solids interface provides features for modeling heat transfer by
conduction, convection, and radiation. A Heat Transfer in Solids model is active by
default on all domains. All functionality for including other domain types, such as a
fluid domain, is also available. The temperature equation defined in solid domains
corresponds to the differential form of Fourier’s law that may contain additional
contributions like heat sources.

SETTINGS FOR PHYSICS INTERFACES AND COUPLING FEATURE

When physics interfaces are added using the predefined couplings, for example Laser
Heating, specific settings are included with the physics interfaces and the coupling
features.

However, if physics interfaces are added one at a time, followed by the coupling
features, these modified settings are not automatically included.

For example, if single Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes and Heat Transfer in Solids
interfaces are added, COMSOL Multiphysics adds an empty Multiphysics node. You
can add the Electromagnetic Heating coupling feature, but no modified settings are
included.

Coupling features are available from the context menu (right-click the
Multiphysics node) or from the Physics toolbar, Multiphysics menu.

TABLE 4-1: MODIFIED SETTINGS FOR A LASER HEATING INTERFACE

PHYSICS INTERFACE OR MODIFIED SETTINGS (IF ANY)

COUPLING FEATURE

Electromagnetic Waves, No changes.

Beam Envelopes

THE LASER HEATING INTERFACE | 201

 TABLE 4-1: MODIFIED SETTINGS FOR A LASER HEATING INTERFACE

PHYSICS INTERFACE OR MODIFIED SETTINGS (IF ANY)

COUPLING FEATURE

Heat Transfer in Solids No changes.

Electromagnetic Heating The Domain Selection is the same as that of the participating
physics interfaces.
The Boundary Selection is the same as the exterior and interior
boundaries of the Domain Selection of the participating physics
interfaces.
The corresponding Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes and
Heat Transfer in Solids interfaces are preselected in the Coupled
Interfaces section (described in the COMSOL Multiphysics
Reference Manual).

A side effect of adding physics interfaces one at a time is that four study
types — Frequency-Stationary; Frequency-Transient;
Frequency-Stationary, One-Way Electromagnetic Heating; and
Frequency-Transient, One-Way Electromagnetic Heating — are not
available for selection until after at least one coupling feature is added. In
this case, it is better to initially not add any study at all, then add the
coupling features to the Multiphysics node, and lastly, open the Add Study
window and add a study sequence below the Preset Studies for Selected
Multiphysics heading.

PHYSICS INTERFACES AND COUPLING FEATURE

Use the online help in COMSOL Multiphysics to locate and search all the
documentation. All these links also work directly in COMSOL
Multiphysics when using the Help system.

Coupling Feature
The Electromagnetic Heating coupling feature node is described for The Joule
Heating Interface in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual.

202 | CHAPTER 4: HEAT TRANSFER INTERFACES

Physics Interface Features
Physics nodes are available from the Physics ribbon toolbar (Windows users), Physics
context menu (Mac or Linux users), or right-click to access the context menu (all
users).

In general, to add a node, go to the Physics toolbar, no matter what

operating system you are using. Subnodes are available by clicking the
parent node and selecting it from the Attributes menu.

• The available physics features for The Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes
Interface are listed in the section Domain, Boundary, Edge, and Point Nodes for
the Electromagnetic Waves, Beam Envelopes Interface.
• The available physics features for The Heat Transfer Interfaces are listed in the
section Feature Nodes for the Heat Transfer in Solids Interface in the COMSOL
Multiphysics Reference Manual.

THE LASER HEATING INTERFACE | 203

204 | CHAPTER 4: HEAT TRANSFER INTERFACES
 5

Glossary

This Glossary of Terms contains finite element modeling terms in an

electromagnetic waves context. For mathematical terms as well as geometry and
CAD terms specific to the COMSOL Multiphysics® software and documentation,
please see the glossary in the COMSOL Multiphysics Reference Manual. For
references to more information about a term, see the index.

205
 Glossary of Terms
absorbing boundary A boundary that lets an electromagnetic wave propagate through
the boundary without reflections.

anisotropy Variation of material properties with direction.

constitutive relation The relation between the D and E fields and between the B and
H fields. These relations depend on the material properties.

cutoff frequency The lowest frequency for which a given mode can propagate
through, for example, a waveguide or optical fiber.

edge element See vector element.

eigenmode A possible propagating mode of, for example, a waveguide or optical fiber.

electric dipole Two equal and opposite charges +q and −q separated a short distance
d. The electric dipole moment is given by p = qd, where d is a vector going from −q
to +q.

gauge transformation A variable transformation of the electric and magnetic

potentials that leaves Maxwell’s equations invariant.

magnetic dipole A small circular loop carrying a current. The magnetic dipole
moment is m = IAe, where I is the current carried by the loop, A its area, and e a unit
vector along the central axis of the loop.

Maxwell’s equations A set of equations, written in differential or integral form, stating

the relationships between the fundamental electromagnetic quantities.

Nedelec’s edge element See vector element.

perfect electric conductor (PEC) A material with high electrical conductivity, modeled
as a boundary where the electric field is zero.

perfect magnetic conductor A material with high permeability, modeled as a boundary

where the magnetic field is zero.

206 | CHAPTER 5: GLOSSARY

phasor A complex function of space representing a sinusoidally varying quantity.

quasistatic approximation The electromagnetic fields are assumed to vary slowly, so

that the retardation effects can be neglected. This approximation is valid when the
geometry under study is considerably smaller than the wavelength.

surface current density Current density defined on the surface. The component
normal to the surface is zero. The unit is A/m.

vector element A finite element often used for electromagnetic vector fields. The
tangential component of the vector field at the mesh edges is used as a degree of
freedom. Also called Nedelec’s edge element or just edge element.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS | 207

208 | CHAPTER 5: GLOSSARY
I n d e x
2D scattered fields 34
wave equations 87 scattering boundary condition 114
2D axisymmetry transition boundary condition 122
wave equations 87 User defined Type of phase specifica-
2D modeling techniques 26–27 tion 152
3D modeling techniques 27 applying electromagnetic sources 29

A anisotropic materials 47 axisymmetric models 27

antiperiodicity, periodic boundaries and axisymmetric waves theory

31 frequency domain 184

application libraries examples time domain 187

polarization plot 58 B background field (node) 145

Application Libraries window 18 Bloch-Floquet periodicity 126
application library examples boundary conditions
diffraction order 107 electromagnetics theory 44
Drude-Lorentz dispersion model 93 nonlinear eigenfrequency problems
Drude-Lorentz polarization 136 and 61
far-field calculation 95 perfect electric conductor 96
far-field calculations 35 perfect magnetic conductor 97
far-field domain and far-field calcula- periodic 31
tion 94 using efficiently 28
far-field plots 38 boundary mode analysis 62
field continuity 160 boundary nodes
Gaussian background field using electromagnetic waves, beam enve-
plane-wave expansion 80 lopes 155
hexagonal periodic port 103 electromagnetic waves, boundary ele-
impedance boundary condition 119 ments interface 174
Matched Boundary Condition 162 electromagnetic waves, frequency do-
optical material library 64 main interface 84
perfect electric conductor 96 electromagnetic waves, time explicit
perfect magnetic conductor 97 138
periodic boundary condition 126 electromagnetic waves, transient 131
periodic boundary conditions 31
C calculating
periodic port reference point 110
S-parameters 56
Physics-controlled mesh 149
Cartesian coordinates 26
polarization 95
circular port reference axis (node) 105
port 105

INDEX| 209
 complex permittivity, electric losses and electric field (node) 110, 142, 159
184 electric field coupling (node) 177
complex relative permeability, magnetic electric losses theory 184
losses and 186 electric point dipole (node) 127
constitutive relations 192 electric susceptibility 193
constitutive relations theory 43–44 electromagnetic energy, theory 46
continuity, periodic boundaries and 31 electromagnetic quantities 72
curl-curl formulation 192 electromagnetic sources, applying 29
cutoff frequency 51 electromagnetic waves, beam envelopes
cylindrical coordinates 27 interface 148
cylindrical waves 112, 163 electromagnetic waves, boundary ele-
ments interface 166, 170
D Debye dispersion model 91
electromagnetic waves, frequency do-
dielectrics and perfect conductors 45
main interface 76, 78
diffraction order (node) 106
theory 179
dispersive materials 48
electromagnetic waves, time explicit in-
documentation 17
terface 137
domain nodes
theory 191
electromagnetic waves, beam enve-
electromagnetic waves, transient inter-
lopes 155
face 129
electromagnetic waves, boundary ele-
theory 179
ments interface 174
emailing COMSOL 19
electromagnetic waves, frequency do-
exponential filter, for wave problems 140
main interface 84
external current density (node) 93
electromagnetic waves, time explicit
138 F far field variables 37
Drude-Lorentz dispersion model 91 Faraday’s law 191
Drude-Lorentz polarization (node) 135 far-field calculation (node) 94, 146, 176
far-field calculations 53
E E (PMC) symmetry 35
far-field domain (node) 93, 146
edge current (node) 127
far-field variables 35
edge nodes
field continuity (node) 159
electromagnetic waves, beam enve-
file, Touchstone 83, 153
lopes 155
Floquet periodicity 31, 126
eigenfrequency analysis 60
flux/source (node) 145
eigenfrequency calculations theory 188
free-space variables 87, 157, 176
eigenfrequency study 181
frequency domain equation 179
eigenmode analysis 50
Frequency-Domain Modal Method 71
eigenvalue (node) 61
electric current density (node) 142 G Gauss’ law 191

210 | I N D E X
H H (PEC) symmetry 35 magnetic current density (node) 142
hybrid-mode waves magnetic field (node) 111, 143, 160
axisymmetric, frequency domain 184 magnetic losses theory 186
axisymmetric, time domain 187 magnetic point dipole (node) 128
in-plane, frequency domain 183 magnetic susceptibility 193
in-plane, time domain 186 matched boundary condition (node) 160
perpendicular 182 material properties

I impedance boundary condition (node) electromagnetics 47

116 materials 48

inhomogeneous materials 47 Maxwell’s equations

initial values (node) dielectrics 45

electromagnetic waves, beam enve- theory 42

lopes 158 Maxwell-Ampere’s law 191

electromagnetic waves, boundary ele- mesh resolution 29

ments interface 176 mode analysis 62, 181

electromagnetic waves, frequency do- mode phase

main interface 93 for Port and Diffraction Order 100

electromagnetic waves, time explicit modeling tips 25

interface 141 MPH-files 18

electromagnetic waves, transient 135 N nonlinear materials 48

in-plane TE waves theory numeric modes 98
frequency domain 183
O orthogonal polarization (node) 108
time domain 187
in-plane TM waves theory P pair nodes

frequency domain 183 electromagnetic waves, beam enve-

time domain 187 lopes 155

inports 99 PEC. see perfect electric conductor

internet resources 16 perfect conductors and dielectrics 45

perfect electric conductor (node) 143
K knowledge base, COMSOL 19
boundaries 95
L layered transition boundary condition perfect magnetic conductor (node) 96,
(node) 122 143
line current (out-of-plane) (node) 128 periodic boundary conditions 31
linearization point 61 periodic condition (node) 125
listener ports 99 periodic port reference point (node) 109
losses, electric 184 permeability
losses, magnetic 186 anisotropic 181

M magnetic current (node) 127 permittivity

INDEX| 211
 anisotropic 181 frequency domain 179
phasors 49 mode analysis 62, 181
PMC. see perfect magnetic conductor surface current density (node) 119, 144,
point nodes 164
electromagnetic waves, beam enve- surface magnetic current density (node)
lopes 155 119
polarization (node) 95, 158 symbols for electromagnetic quantities
polarization, 2D and 2D axisymmetry 27 72
port (node) 97 symmetry axis reference point (node)
port boundary conditions 56 116
potentials, scalar and magnetic 45 symmetry in E (PMC) or H (PEC) 35
Poynting’s theorem 46 symmetry planes, far-field calculations 35
symmetry, axial 27
Q quality factor (Q-factor) 60, 181
T TE axisymmetric waves theory
R reference point (node) 115
frequency domain 184
refractive index 88
time domain 187
refractive index theory 185
TE waves theory 52
relative electric field 34
technical support, COMSOL 19
S scattered fields, definition 33
TEM waves theory 52
scattering boundary condition (node)
theory
111, 144, 162
constitutive relations 43–44
scattering parameters. see S-parameters
electromagnetic waves 179
selecting
electromagnetic waves, time explicit
mesh resolution 29
interface 191
solver sequences 30
electromagnetics 42
Sellmeier dispersion model 92
far-field calculations 53
SI units 72
S-parameters 50
skin effect, meshes and 29
time domain equation, theory 186
solver sequences, selecting 30
TM waves
space dimensions 26
axisymmetric 179
S-parameter calculations
TM waves theory 52
electric field, and 55
Touchstone file 83, 153
port node and 98
transition boundary condition (node)
theory 50
120
spherical waves 112, 163
TW axisymmetric waves theory
study types
frequency domain 184
boundary mode analysis 62, 98
time domain 187
eigenfrequency 60, 181
U units, SI 72

212 | I N D E X
V variables
boundary mode analysis 63
eigenfrequency analysis and 60
far-field 35
for far fields 37
Jones vectors 58
mode analysis 63, 182
S-parameters 56
vector elements theory 188

W wave equation, beam envelopes (node)

156
wave equation, electric (node) 87, 132,
176
wave equations (node) 139
wave excitation 99
wave impedance theory 52
wave number, free-space 87, 157, 176
wavelength, meshes and 30
websites, COMSOL 19

INDEX| 213
214 | I N D E X