This is a full-scale lecture, an elective 4 EC-module in the local M.Sc. Photonics course by Prof. Thomas Pertsch. In Jena, this is offered every summer term with a lecture of 2h per week and a seminar of 1h per week. The module is self-standing in the sense that there is an online platform where students can independently assess all lecture material, all recorded lectures (lastly recorded in the summer term 2025), all tutorials, task sheets, etc.

Content

Introduction to the problem – Maxwell’s equations and the wave equation Free space propagation techniques Beam propagation methods applied to problems in integrated optics Mode expansion techniques applied to stratified media Mode expansion techniques applied to spherical and cylindrical objects Multiple multipole technique Boundary integral method Finite-Difference Time-Domain method Finite Element Method Computation of the dispersion relation (band structure) of periodic media Mode expansion techniques applied to gratings Other grating techniques Contemporary problems in computational photonics