Accurate analysis of wave propagation in negative uniaxial crystal

Polarization beam-splitters (PBSs) and polarization switches based on the birefringence of periodically laminated dielectric thin films are important tools in modern optics. In this paper, we present a rigorous analysis of multilayer PBSs by evaluating: 1) the fields outside the structure and 2) the electromagnetic coupling in laminated polarization splitters behaving as negative uniaxial crystals, in the case of Bragg condition. This analysis has been applied to an artificial anisotropic dielectric realized by means of layers of a-Si:H and SiO/sub 2/.