Large positive and negative lateral optical beam shift in prism-waveguide coupling system

Abstract

In this paper, the lateral beam shift in a prism-waveguide coupling system at wavelengths ranging from visible to near infrared is theoretically examined. A simple theoretical formula is derived to analyze the behavior of the beam shift. We demonstrate that large positive and negative lateral optical beam shifts can be obtained when guided modes are excited. It is also found that the magnitude of the beam shift is closely related to the intrinsic and radiative damping. When the intrinsic damping is larger than the radiative damping, negative lateral beam shift occurs. Numerical calculations confirm the theoretical analysis and show that a beam shift of the order of millimeters is possible.