Fast simulation of electromagnetic field propagation through multiple non-parallel planar surfaces

We investigate the propagation of electromagnetic fields through a sequence of planar surfaces with either isotropic or anisotropic media in between. By performing an angular spectrum analysis, we show that the angular spectrum components are independent from one another and, therefore, the whole propagation process can be described in a straight-forward algebraic manner. In addition, some of those algebraic operations can even be combined, which leads to a further reduction of the complexity in the case of multiple surfaces. We developed a high-efficiency numerical algorithm that exploits the simple algebraic property in the angular spectrum, while maintaining all the vectorial electromagnetic information. As an example, the simulation of a modified Wollaston prism is presented.