Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

Fabry-Perot Cavity

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 5.5.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
Introduction
A Fabry-Perot cavity is a slab of material of higher refractive index than its surroundings,
as shown in Figure 1. Such a structure can act as a resonator at certain frequencies.
Although such solutions can be found analytically, this model demonstrates how to find
the resonant frequencies and the Q-factor using a COMSOL Multiphysics simulation.

T2

R1
T1

n2 n1
x

Figure 1: A Fabry-Perot cavity. An electromagnetic wave, traveling at normal incidence, is

partially reflected and transmitted at each interface between differing dielectrics. When the
length, L, is an integer fraction of the wavelength, this acts as a resonator.

Model Definition
The geometry is a slab of a material with refractive index higher than the surrounding
medium. It is assumed that the mode of interest is polarized with the electric field out of
the plane, and that the wave vector of the mode of interest is parallel to the x-axis.

Because the mode of interest propagates in the x direction, the model’s y-dimension is
arbitrary. The model space is composed of three types of domains:

• a central domain of unit width and refractive index n  4

• domains of n  1 on both sides of the central domain
• two outer perfectly-matched-layer (PML) domains

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The PMLs absorb without reflection any incoming evanescent or propagating wave. The
boundary condition on the top and bottom edges is perfect magnetic conductor (PMC),
which implies that the solution is mirror symmetric about those planes. A scattering
boundary condition (SBC) applies at the left and right sides. This boundary condition is
only perfectly transparent to an incoming plane wave, and partially reflects any other
component. Using a PML backed by an SBC reduces any artificial reflections due to the
boundary conditions.

EIGENFREQUENCY MODEL
First, solve the model as an eigenvalue problem, which requires that you specify the
number of eigenfrequencies to solve for and the frequency range around which to search.
The PML and the SBC make this problem nonlinear by introducing a damping term that
depends upon the frequency. This, in turn, requires that you specify an eigenvalue
transform point, which only needs to be within an order of magnitude or so of the
expected resonant frequency.

FREQUENCY-DOMAIN MODEL
The approach described above has several drawbacks. First, the results must be manually
examined to identify the spurious, nonphysical, modes. Second, it requires solving a
nonlinear eigenvalue problem using a memory-intensive direct solver. For a 2D model,
this is not a computational hurdle, but for structurally complex 3D cases, where far more
mesh elements are required, it can be a concern. The convergence rate and solution time
of the eigenvalue solver also depend on the choice of starting guess at the resonant
frequency, the number of modes requested as output, and the spacing between these
modes.

An alternative approach to determining the resonant frequency and Q-factor is to recast

this as a frequency-domain model and to excite the structure over a range of frequencies.
The excitation should be as isotropic as possible, so that it can excite all possible modes.
The present example uses a line current condition applied to a point. The model is run in
the frequency domain over a range covering the expected resonances.

Results and Discussion

EIGENFREQUENCY MODEL
The results of the eigenvalue analysis are plotted in Figure 2, and the Q-factor is reported
in Table 1. The settings for the eigenfrequency solver have been adjusted so only physical
modes are returned. However, sometimes also nonphysical modes can be returned. Those
modes represent numerical modes — that is, solutions to the numerical eigenvalue

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problem that have no physically meaningful interpretation. These nonphysical eigenmodes
can be identified in two ways:

• A visual examination of the field solutions can reveal that some modes exist purely in
the PML regions. This is, however, a manual task, and it is not always obvious that a
mode is indeed physical.
• Alternatively, it is possible to examine the Q-factor for each mode. A nonphysical mode
has a Q-factor less than 12.

Figure 2: The electric field across the entire modeling domain for various solutions to the
eigenvalue problem.

TABLE 1: COMPUTED RESONANT FREQUENCY AND Q-FACTORS.

Resonant frequency (MHz) Q-factor Note

37.5 3.08
74.9 6.15
112.4 9.22
149.9 12.3

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FREQUENCY-DOMAIN MODEL
Figure 3 plots the results of the frequency-domain analysis. The total energy density is
monitored at a point inside the cavity region. The peaks in this graph correspond to the
resonant frequencies, f0, and the Q-factor can be computed as Q  f0f, where f is the
full width at half maximum. This method is an alternative approach to finding the resonant
frequencies and Q-factors that requires less memory, an important concern for 3D models.
This approach entirely avoids the problem of finding and eliminating spurious modes. The
only limitations are that some care must be taken to ensure that the desired modes are
indeed excited and that evaluation of the Q-factor requires manual postprocessing of the
data.

Figure 3: Plot of energy density within the cavity over a range of frequencies. This plot can be
used to find the resonant frequencies and Q-factors.

Application Library path: Wave_Optics_Module/Verification_Examples/

fabry_perot

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Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 2D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Optics>Wave Optics>Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain (ewfd).
3 Click Add.
4 Click Study.
5 In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>Eigenfrequency.
6 Click Done.

GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Parameters 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Parameters 1.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Value Description

f_min 20[MHz] 2E7 Hz Minimum frequency in sweep
f_max 100[MHz] 1E8 Hz Maximum frequency in sweep

GEOMETRY 1

Rectangle 1 (r1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Rectangle.
2 In the Settings window for Rectangle, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Height text field, type 0.2.
4 Locate the Position section. From the Base list, choose Center.
5 In the x text field, type -2.
6 Click Build Selected.

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Array 1 (arr1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Transforms and choose Array.
2 Select the object r1 only.
3 In the Settings window for Array, locate the Size section.
4 From the Array type list, choose Linear.
5 In the Size text field, type 5.
6 Locate the Displacement section. In the x text field, type 1.
7 Click Build All Objects.
8 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN (EWFD)

Now set up the physics. The model is based on differences in refractive indices and you
solve for the E-field’s out-of-plane component.

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain (ewfd).
2 In the Settings window for Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain, locate the
Components section.
3 From the Electric field components solved for list, choose Out-of-plane vector.

Perfect Magnetic Conductor 1

Assign a PMC condition on the top and bottom edges.

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1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Perfect Magnetic Conductor.
2 Select Boundaries 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 15 only.

DEFINITIONS

Perfectly Matched Layer 1 (pml1)

1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Perfectly Matched Layer.

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2 Select Domains 1 and 5 only.

ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN (EWFD)

Scattering Boundary Condition 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Scattering Boundary Condition.
2 Select Boundaries 1 and 16 only.

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Line Current (Out-of-Plane) 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Points and choose Line Current (Out-of-Plane).
2 Select Point 5 only.

3 In the Settings window for Line Current (Out-of-Plane), locate the Line Current (Out-of-
Plane) section.
4 In the I0 text field, type 1.

MATERIALS
Now, specify the material properties. First, define the medium surrounding the slab.

Material 1 (mat1)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Materials and
choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type n=1 in the Label text field.

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3 Select Domains 1, 2, 4, and 5 only.

4 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property group

Refractive index, real n_iso ; nii = n_iso, 1 1 Refractive index
part nij = 0

The refractive index of the slab is 4.

Material 2 (mat2)
1 Right-click Materials and choose Blank Material.
2 In the Settings window for Material, type n=4 in the Label text field.

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3 Select Domain 3 only.

4 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Variable Value Unit Property group

Refractive index, real n_iso ; nii = n_iso, 4 1 Refractive index
part nij = 0

MESH 1

Free Triangular 1
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Mesh 1 and choose
Free Triangular.

Size
1 In the Settings window for Size, locate the Element Size section.
2 From the Predefined list, choose Extremely fine.

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3 Click Build All.

STUDY 1

Step 1: Eigenfrequency
1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Eigenfrequency.
2 In the Settings window for Eigenfrequency, locate the Study Settings section.
3 Select the Desired number of eigenfrequencies check box.
4 In the associated text field, type 8.
5 Find the Search region subsection. From the Unit list, choose MHz.
6 In the Search for eigenfrequencies around text field, type 10.
7 From the Eigenfrequency search method around shift list, choose Larger real part. This
will search for eigenfrequencies with a larger real part than the Search for
eigenfrequencies around value (10 MHz). Thus, the eigenfrequency solver should not
return low-frequency spurious modes.
8 In the Model Builder window, click Study 1.
9 In the Settings window for Study, locate the Study Settings section.
10 Clear the Generate default plots check box.
11 In the Home toolbar, click Compute.

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RESULTS

Global Evaluation 1
1 In the Results toolbar, click Global Evaluation.
2 In the Settings window for Global Evaluation, click Replace Expression in the upper-right
corner of the Expressions section. From the menu, choose Component 1>
Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain>Global>ewfd.Qfactor - Quality factor.
3 Click Evaluate.

TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
Review the evaluated eigenfrequencies and Q-factors; Q-factors less than 0.5
correspond to unphysical eigenmodes.

RESULTS

1D Plot Group 1
1 In the Results toolbar, click 1D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Legend section.
3 From the Position list, choose Lower right.
4 Locate the Data section. From the Eigenfrequency selection list, choose Manual.
5 In the Eigenfrequency indices (1-8) text field, type 1 2 3 4, to plot the four modes with
the lowest eigenfrequencies.

Line Graph 1
1 Right-click 1D Plot Group 1 and choose Line Graph.
2 In the Settings window for Line Graph, locate the Selection section.
3 Click Paste Selection.
4 In the Paste Selection dialog box, type 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 in the Selection text field.

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5 Click OK.

6 In the Settings window for Line Graph, locate the y-Axis Data section.
7 In the Expression text field, type Ez.
8 Click to expand the Legends section. Select the Show legends check box.
9 From the Legends list, choose Manual.
10 In the table, enter the following settings:

Legends
37.5 MHz
74.9 MHz
112.4 MHz
149.9 MHz

11 In the 1D Plot Group 1 toolbar, click Plot. Compare the plot with that shown in Figure 2.

ROOT
Add a new study as an alternative approach to examine the Q-factor for each mode.

ADD STUDY
1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Study to open the Add Study window.
2 Go to the Add Study window.

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3 Find the Studies subsection. In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>
Frequency Domain.
4 Click Add Study in the window toolbar.
5 In the Home toolbar, click Add Study to close the Add Study window.

STUDY 2

Step 1: Frequency Domain

1 In the Settings window for Frequency Domain, locate the Study Settings section.
2 In the Frequencies text field, type range(f_min,0.25[MHz],f_max).
3 In the Home toolbar, click Compute.

RESULTS

Electric Field (ewfd)

1 In the Settings window for 2D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
2 From the Parameter value (freq (THz)) list, choose 3.75E-5.
3 In the Electric Field (ewfd) toolbar, click Plot.
4 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

This is the E-field norm at 37.5 MHz.

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1D Plot Group 3
Finally, reproduce the plot in Figure 3.

1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Dataset list, choose Study 2/Solution 2 (sol2).

Global 1
1 Right-click 1D Plot Group 3 and choose Global.
2 In the Settings window for Global, locate the y-Axis Data section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Expression Unit Description

ewfd.intWe+ewfd.intWm J Total energy

4 Click to expand the Legends section. Clear the Show legends check box.
5 In the 1D Plot Group 3 toolbar, click Plot.
Using the definition Q  f0/f you can use this plot to evaluate the Q-factor at each
resonance.

Electric Field (ewfd)

Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

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