Chang, H.-C.H.-C.ChangYIH-PENG CHIOU2018-09-102018-09-10199701469592http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0001339511&partnerID=MN8TOARShttp://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/331984We propose a novel beam-propagation method (BPM) based on the higher-order Padé approximants in both the transverse and the longitudinal directions. Extending the Padé approximation to the propagation direction and adopting the multistep method increase the programming effort by only a small amount. Compared with the conventional BPM's, this method is more accurate and efficient. The accuracy and the propagation step size are well predicted by a phase analysis. © 1997 Optical Society of America.journal article10.1364/OL.22.0009492-s2.0-0001339511