NUMERICAL MODELING OF GUIDED OPTICAL WAVES IN LIQUID-CRYSTAL STRUCTURES

The equations of liquid-crystal optics for a tilted nematic, in which s-p mixing is not present, are integrated numerically by means of a variable-step-length fourth-order Runge-Kutta routine. All the numerical work was done on a desktop computer. Attenuated-total-reflection (ATR) curves for the geometry used by Welford et al. [Liq. Cryst. 2, 91 (1987)] agree with the experimental and theoretical results of those authors. The method permits the determination of dispersion curves, which are presented for the tilted nematic bounded by media with positive and negative dielectric constants. The latter show mode mixing and repulsion between the surface-plasmon polariton and the waves guided by the nematic director profile. Profiles of electric-field intensity versus distance across the nematic are presented for the ATR and guided-wave geometries. © 1990 Optical Society of America.