CONVERSION OF OPTICAL MODES IN AN ABSORBING MAGNETOGYROTROPIC WAVE-GUIDE

The features of mode conversion in an absorbing magnetogyrotropic wave guide are investigated by a coupled-wave approach. It is shown that ab sorption leads to an additional contribution to the coupling of both i dentically and orthogonally polarized modes. A new waveguide regime fo r mode conversion, in which there is no oscillatory energy exchange be tween modes, is revealed. The possibility of controlling the damping o f the total field in a waveguide by varying the orientation of the mag netization in the waveguide layer is demonstrated. (C) 1998 American I nstitute of Physics. [S1063-7842(98)01806-6].