Evaluation of addition coefficients introduced by the addition theorems for vector spherical harmonics is one of the most intractable problems in electromagnetic scattering by multi-sphere systems. The derivation of the analytical expressions for the addition coefficients is lengthy and complex while the computation of the addition coefficients is annoyingly time-consuming even with the reasonably fast computers available nowadays. This paper presents an efficient algorithm for calculating addition coefficients which is based on the recursive relations of scalar addition coefficients. Numerical results from the formulation derived in this paper agree with those of previous published results but the algorithm proposed here reduces the computational time considerably. This paper also discusses the strengths and limitations of other formulations and numerical techniques found in the literature.

“How to get the original ideas” is the fundamental and critical issue for the researchers in science and technology. In this paper, the author writes his experiences concerning how he could encounter the interesting and original ideas of three research subjects, i.e., the accelerating medium effect, the guided-mode extracted integral equation and the surface plasmon gap waveguide.

The reduction of Soliton-soliton interaction to stabilize the soliton pulse propagation in the periodic dispersion-compensated standard fiber system using optical bandpass filter has been investigated by numerical simulation, and experimentally 10 Gbit/s soliton transmission was realized without fine tuning dispersion management over 5700 km, using appropriate optical bandpass filters and polarization scrambler.

We show examples of accurate computer-aided design of power coupling between two dielectric slab waveguides of finite length by using the boundary-element method (BEM) based on guided-mode extracted integral equations (GMEIE's). The integral equations derived in this paper can be solved by the conventional BEM. Various properties in numerical calculations of GMEIE's are examined. The reflection and coupling coefficients of the guided wave as well as the scattering power are calculated numerically for the case of incidence TM guided-mode. The presented results are checked by the energy conservation law and reciprocity theorem. The results show that it is possible to design an optimum coupling between two dielectric slab waveguides by using the BEM based on GMEIE's.

Optical near-field distributions of planar dielectric and metallic objects placed on a large dielectric substrate plate have been calculated by the volume integral equation using an iterative method called generalized minimal residual method with the fast Fourier transform technique. The basic characteristics of the near-field have been investigated in detail for large and small objects, dielectric and metallic objects and incident p-polarized and s-polarized evanescent fields.

This paper presents the method of moments based on electric field integral equation which is capable of solving three-dimensional metallic waveguide problem with no use of another method. Metals are treated as perfectly electric conductor. The integral equation is derived in detail. In order to validate the proposed method, the numerical results are compared with those in a published paper. Three types of waveguide are considered: step discontinuity waveguide, symmetrical resonant iris waveguide, and unsymmetrical resonant iris waveguide. The numerical results are also verified by the law of conservation of energy.