Beam propagation method

The beam propagation method (BPM) is an approximation technique for simulating the propagation of light in slowly varying optical waveguides. It is essentially the same as the so-called parabolic equation (PE) method in underwater acoustics. Both BPM and the PE were first introduced in the 1970s. When a wave propagates along a waveguide for a large distance (larger compared with the wavelength), rigorous numerical simulation is difficult. The BPM relies on approximate differential equations which are also called the one-way models. These one-way models involve only a first order derivative in the variable z (for the waveguide axis) and they can be solved as "initial" value problem. The "initial" value problem does not involve time, rather it is for the spatial variable z.