article published Manfred Hammer author 480770000-0002-6331-9348 Jens Förstner author 1580000-0001-7059-9862 61 department 230 department 429 department 623 department <jats:p>Several recent proposals in integrated photonics concern components that operate on so-called semi-guided waves. Given a dielectric multilayer slab structure, these are wave solutions that propagate along the slab with the functional dependence of ordinary harmonic plane waves, but with modal confinement in the direction perpendicular to the slab plane. While the in-plane unbounded waves are valid as a theoretical construct, practical devices will have to work with laterally confined optical fields. To that end we consider Gaussian superpositions of semi-guided waves, for a range of in-plane propagation angles, here named “semi-guided Gaussian beams.” This paper collects a series of relations that characterize these wave bundles, with emphasis on their divergence. The expressions resemble standard results for optical Gaussian beams, with modifications originating from the 1-D guiding and 1-D bundling. Examples for a high-contrast silicon-on-insulator slab at a typical telecom wavelength are discussed.</jats:p> https://ris.uni-paderborn.de/download/66746/66876/2026-08 Hammer - JOSA B - Semi-guided Gaussian Beams.pdf application/pdfno Optica Publishing Group2026 eng tet_topic_waveguide 0740-3224 1520-854010.1364/josab.606932 439 Hammer M, Förstner J. Semi-guided Gaussian beams. <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America B</i>. 2026;43(9). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932">10.1364/josab.606932</a> @article{Hammer_Förstner_2026, title={Semi-guided Gaussian beams}, volume={43}, DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932">10.1364/josab.606932</a>}, number={91950}, journal={Journal of the Optical Society of America B}, publisher={Optica Publishing Group}, author={Hammer, Manfred and Förstner, Jens}, year={2026} } Hammer, Manfred, and Jens Förstner. “Semi-Guided Gaussian Beams.” <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America B</i>, vol. 43, no. 9, 1950, Optica Publishing Group, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932">10.1364/josab.606932</a>. Hammer, Manfred, and Jens Förstner. “Semi-Guided Gaussian Beams.” <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America B</i> 43, no. 9 (2026). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932">https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932</a>. M. Hammer, J. Förstner, Journal of the Optical Society of America B 43 (2026). Hammer, M., &#38; Förstner, J. (2026). Semi-guided Gaussian beams. <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America B</i>, <i>43</i>(9), Article 1950. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932">https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932</a> M. Hammer and J. Förstner, “Semi-guided Gaussian beams,” <i>Journal of the Optical Society of America B</i>, vol. 43, no. 9, Art. no. 1950, 2026, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1364/josab.606932">10.1364/josab.606932</a>. 667462026-08-19T13:09:51Z2026-08-31T09:21:58Z