Monte Carlo modeling applied to studies of quantum cascade lasers

Abstract

One of the commonly used approaches of solving electron transport problems in quantum cascade lasers (QCL) is the Monte Carlo (MC) method, based on semiclassical description in the framework of the Boltzmann Transport Equation. A major benefit of MC modeling is that it only relies on well-established material parameters and structure specification, in most cases without the need to use phenomenological parameters. The results of the modeling can be easily interpreted and they give microscopic insight of QCL operation. The goal of the present paper is to review the application of the MC technique to the studies of operation of QCL. The description of the components of the simulation algorithm is provided. Various physical mechanisms governing electron transport in QCL are described and their influence on the operation are reviewed.

Sensing and imaging using laser feedback interferometry with quantum cascade lasers

“…[47][48][49] (IV) Monte Carlo methods, which essentially rely on a direct physical description of the device and material's parameters. [50][51][52][53] For a detailed survey of modeling approaches for QCLs, see Jirauschek and Kubis. 42 Reduced rate equation (RRE) models are an alternative approach in which a subset of laser parameters is considered, enjoying an advantage in terms of computational efficiency.…”

Density matrix Monte Carlo modeling of quantum cascade lasers

“…EMC has been widely employed for the analysis and design of QCLs, offering a good compromise between reliability and numerical effort. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] However, as a semiclassical method EMC neglects quantum coherence effects, most notably tunnel coupling between the two states spanning the injection barriers and the level broadening of the states. 21 Such effects become relevant especially for thick barriers, where the states involved in the electron transport have a small energy separation, and the electron transport is governed by resonant tunneling.…”

Monte Carlo Kinetic Modeling of the Combined Carrier-Phonon Nonequilibrium Dynamics in Semiconductor Heterostructure Devices

“…(1) and (2), allows us to simulate both the electron and phonon dynamics by means of a MC particle-like technique. In particular, the latter consists of a generalized simulation approach suitable to describe a fixed number of electrons and a variable number of phonons, and can therefore be implemented in state-of-theart MC simulation tools [22,24,25]. Technically, the q dependency of the phonon occupation numbers n q can be managed by means of a combined self-scattering and rejection technique.…”