This letter presents the analysis of semiconductor laser arrays based on the Finite Element Method

with emphasis on non-uniform structures where the channel width and/or refractive index can vary across the array. The results show that the variation of the channel width (Fig. 2) will have the same effect on the near-field intensity profiles (or the supermode control) as the variation of the channel refractive index (Fig. 3). The variation of the separation layer refractive index(n

2

) can lead to a highly uniform intensity distribution in all elements for the fundamental mode (Fig. 4 ) and enhanced mode stability

indicating that it is highly important and difficult for us to control the separation layer refractive index. The results (Fig. 1) of the Finite Element Method show a good agreement with those obtained by E. Kapon et al.

[7]

based on the direct numerical solution of the equation (1). The results for example 2 show that the Finite Element Method can often overcome the limitations of more specialized methods (e. g. the coupled-mode theory).