High-Frequency Switching and KERR Effect - Nonlinear Problems Solved with Nonstationary Time Domain Techniques

Abstract

A time domain method building on the concept of wave splitting is used to study direct wave propagation phenomena in weakly nonlinear media. The starting point is the linear wave equation with time-dependent coefficients. This means that the studied nonlinear medium in some sense has to be approximated with a nonstationary medium which changes while the wave passes through. For the nonstationary equation homogeneous as well as particular solutions can be obtained. Two different iterative procedures to find the nonlinear solutions are discussed. They are illustrated by two problems fetched from different research fields of current interest. In the first case, the nonlinear term is linearized using the Fr´echet derivative. This leads into a truly nonstationary, mixed initial boundary value problem with a linear equation characterized by both time-dependent coefficients and source terms. In this example a semiconductor device used for switching in high-frequency applications is considered. It can be described as a coplanar waveguide loaded with distributed resonant tunnel diodes. In the other example, wave propagation in Kerr media is considered. Then Taylor expansion transforms the nonlinear equation into a linear one with nonstationary source terms. In this case the nonlinearity does not lead to time-depending coefficients in the equation. The way to obtain the solution is a nonlinear variant of the Born approximation. (Less)