Power Dissipation
The Power Dissipation page shows the distribution of dipole-emitted power coupled into each in-plane wave vector component. The x-axis is the in-plane vector; the y-axis is K, the power coupling coefficient (dissipation spectral density). Integrating K over the in-plane vector yields the fractional energy in each optical mode (Top Outcoupling, Waveguide, Evanescent, etc.) — see the Mode page for those fractions.
Reading the chart
Axes
| Axis | Meaning |
|---|---|
| X-axis | In-plane vector, determined by the In-plane Vector Type selected in the Optics page |
| Y-axis | K (power coupling coefficient / dissipation spectral density) |
Three in-plane vector types are available:
| Type | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Effective Index (nEff) | Effective Index (nEff) | Default; range 0–2.0, step 0.01 |
In-plane k | In-plane k | Normalized in-plane wavevector; range 0–1, step 0.01 |
In-plane u | In-plane u | Equals sin(θ_e); range 0–1, step 0.01 |
All three parameterizations describe the same physical quantity. The physical meaning and mode-boundary derivations are covered in Emission Theory.
Polarization and Direction
The legend controls are divided into two groups:
| Control | Options |
|---|---|
| Polarization | TE / TM / Total |
| Direction | Total / Top / Btm |
Total(Direction) = Top + Btm combinedTEsums only transverse-electric components;TMsums only transverse-magnetic;Total(Polarization) = TE + TM
The chart below shows the effect of the Direction control on the power dissipation spectrum:
Wavelength sweep
When the Wavelength Mode for the Power Dissipation detector is set to Sweep, the data becomes two-dimensional (in-plane vector × wavelength). Switch to the Heatmap chart type to view the full distribution at once:
In the heatmap:
- The horizontal axis is the in-plane vector; the vertical axis is wavelength
- Color intensity encodes K magnitude
- Waveguide modes appear as localized bright bands at characteristic vector values
When the wavelength mode is Single, the chart is fixed to Line; no chart-type toggle is shown.
Single and Sweep are available.Mode boundaries
Several critical values of nEff (or their k/u equivalents) divide the K spectrum into distinct optical mode regions. Using nEff as the axis:
| Boundary | Meaning |
|---|---|
nEff = n_s (substrate index) | Divides substrate modes from waveguide modes |
nEff = n_e (EML index) | Divides waveguide modes from evanescent (SPP) modes |
nEff < n_s: outcoupling region (TOC / BOC)n_s ≤ nEff < n_e: waveguide modes — light totally internally reflected within the organic stacknEff ≥ n_e: evanescent modes — predominantly SPP loss
Sharp peaks in the curve correspond to resonant coupling into guided modes; the characteristic peak above nEff = n_e is usually an SPP. The physical derivations and definitions of all mode boundaries are in Emission Theory.
Controls
Image export and copy (Export Image, Copy Image) and other common controls are shared with every result page — see Basic Optical Results. Page-specific controls:
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
Export CSV | Export all K data (in-plane vector × wavelength × polarization × direction) |
| Chart type selector | Line or Heatmap — available only in Sweep mode |
If the page shows "No data", the most common causes are:
- no calculation has been run yet
- no layer is marked as emissive (enable the
Emis.toggle in the Structure page) - Power Dissipation is not checked in the Emission detector lane of the Optics page
Next
- View per-mode energy fractions: Mode
- Understand K integration, nEff boundaries, and mode-partition derivations: Emission Theory