Fabry-Perot Lasers: Temperature and Many-Body Effects

Abstract

In this chapter, we demonstrate the integration of microscopic gain modeling into the laser design tool LaserMOD, which is derived from the Minilase II simulator developed at the University of Illinois [1]. Multidimensional carrier transport, interaction with the optical field via stimulated and spontaneous emission, as well as the optical field are computed self-consistently in our fullscale laser simulations. Giving additional details with respect to our previous work [2], we demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by investigating the temperature sensitivity of a broad-ridge Fabry-Perot laser structure with InGaAsP multi-quantum wells for 1.55 µm emission wavelength.Monochromatic light sources are key components in optical telecommunication systems. Predominantly, this need has been filled by semiconductor lasers due to their narrow linewidth. However, increasingly stringent requirements for bandwidth, tunability, power dissipation, temperature stability, and noise are being placed on these devices to meet network demands for higher capacity and lower bit error rates. As in the semiconductor industry, where electronic design automation assists in designing multimillion-gate integrated circuits, it is becoming common practice to employ simulation tools for designing and optimizing telecommunication networks and components. As a consequence of predictive modeling, the time to market as well as development cost of telecommunication infrastructure can be reduced, as fewer cycles between design and experimental verification are necessary. Different levels of model abstraction are used to describe the behavior of devices, depending on whether they are being simulated alone or with other components in an optical system. At the lowest level, simulations treat the fundamental device physics rigorously, whereas behavioral modeling, which allows for an increased number of elements to be treated, is applied at the system or network level. This chapter will focus on the former approach.To predict the performance of a new design, a successful commercial laser simulator must account for the many complex physical processes that con-