Abstract

Dielectric optical waveguides have been investigated for more than two decades. In the last ten years they have had the unique position of being simultaneously the backbone of a very practical and fully developed technology, as well as an extremely exciting area of basic, forefront research.

Existing waveguides can be divided into two sets: one consisting of waveguides which are already in practical use, and the second of those which are still at the laboratory stage of their evolution. This book is divided into two separate parts: the first dealing with anisotropic waveguides, and the second with nonlinear behaviour. Nonlinear behaviour in optical waveguides is a topic of current research interest, an effect eagerly being sought in waveguides.

The relative importance of nonlinearity versus anisotropy in theoretical papers changes enormously from problem to problem. Many theories can be quite useful and enlightening even though they neglect entirely one of the two aspects. Scientists may find their research work leading them in the near future to deal simultaneously with anisotropy and nonlinearity in order to pursue their own investigations. This book will be of interest to researchers who first need to understand the individual topics, suitably chosen from the two parts of this work, thus providing them with the necessary ingredients to pursue their explorations.