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crosslight_vcsel4

The document details an advanced simulator for Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSEL) developed by Crosslight Software Inc., highlighting self-consistent models that incorporate quantum mechanical, electrical, thermal, and optical effects. It discusses various modeling capabilities, including the computation of lateral optical modes and the impact of self-heating on efficiency. The conclusions emphasize the comprehensive nature of the simulation tools available for VCSEL design and analysis.

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monohsieh
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5 views20 pages

crosslight_vcsel4

The document details an advanced simulator for Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSEL) developed by Crosslight Software Inc., highlighting self-consistent models that incorporate quantum mechanical, electrical, thermal, and optical effects. It discusses various modeling capabilities, including the computation of lateral optical modes and the impact of self-heating on efficiency. The conclusions emphasize the comprehensive nature of the simulation tools available for VCSEL design and analysis.

Uploaded by

monohsieh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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An Advanced Simulator of Vertical

Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers


(VCSEL)

Copyright 2006 Crosslight Software Inc.


www.crosslight.com
Contents
 Self-consistent models in
PICS3D/VCSEL module.
 Basic VCSEL modeling capabilities.
 Advanced features.
 Conclusions.
Crosslight VCSEL Models
 PICS3D/VCSEL modules include quantum
mechanical, electrical, thermal and
microcavity optical effects, with stronger
interaction than for any other optoelectronic
devices.
Change in lateral
Refractive Index modes (2/3 D
Current flow change (MQW k.p
(2/3 D drift-diffusion Maxwell equation Change in
model) solver) stimulated
equations)
recombination due
to Microcavity
Self-heating optical power
(2/3 D thermal Change in change and
Change/degradation longitudinal mode thermal roll-off.
transport equation)
of optical gain (MQW and emission
k.p model) wavelength /
power (Transfer
matrix)
Contents
 Self-consistent models in
PICS3D/VCSEL module.
 Basic VCSEL modeling capabilities.
 Advanced features.
 Conclusions.
Schematic of Conventional VCSEL Model

 2D-slice and cylindrical coordinates are used to


define 3D structure of VCSEL.
 Thickness of spacer layer is adjusted so that the
center of MQW and standing wave coincide.
Current Spreading Effect

 Difference in L-I is
mainly due to current
spreading effect.
Longitudinal Modes in VCSEL

 Material layers form SEL DBR/DFB gratings.


 Compared with edge DFB/DBR LD, VCSEL has fewer number of grating
layers: ~50.
 More accurate to use multi-layer optics to describe the longitudinal
modes.
 Transfer matrix method is used to calculate optical transmission
between layers.
Computation of Lateral Optical Modes of
VCSEL by Using EIM

 A convenient traditional fiber-like EIM


implemented.
 Optionally sophisticated EIM mode
solver may be activated for accuracy.
 EIM is especially useful, when a VCSEL
has an oxide confinement aperture.

G. R. Hadley et. Al., “Comprehensive numerical modeling of


vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers”, IEEE J. Quantum Electron.,
Vol. 32, pp607-616, 1996.
Self-heating effect in VCSEL simulation

 Large substrate with bottom contact attached to


external heat sink@300K.
 Self-heating effect causes degradation of slope
efficiency.
Contents
 Self-consistent models in
PICS3D/VCSEL module.
 Basic VCSEL modeling capabilities.
 Advanced features.
 Conclusions.
Automatic VCSEL Cavity Design Module
Real round-trip-gain

Imag. round-trip-gain
 Tune_vcsel utility can
adjust VCSEL structure
so that emission
wavelength tunes with
material gain peak.
 Also, position of MQW is
automatically adjusted
so that the center of
standing wave and
MQW coincide.
Optically Pumped VCSEL

 Incident light at shorter wavelength (well above


bandgap wavelength) is absorbed and generates
carriers.
 Photo-carriers causes population inversion and
lasing action at near the bandgap energy.
Multi-lateral Modes Calculation of VCSEL

 VCSEL has similar lateral


mode competition behavior
as edge lasers.
 Perfect rotation symmetry
assumed here for VCSEL
structure.
Resonating Wavelength of multimode
VCSEL using EIM

Using effective index


method(EIM), the resonating
wavelength of oxide-
confined VCSELs with
different apperture diameters
have been calculated and
compared with others. The
benchmark structure is taken
from
IEEE J. Quan. Elec., vol. 37,
p1618, 2001.
Spectrum of multi-lateral mode of VCSEL

Different lateral modes produce different propagation constants


which causes multiple peaks in simulated emission spectrum as a
result of the self-consistent calculation.
Non-symmetric VCSEL in Cylindrical
Coordinate
Model required:
 Full 3D drift-diffusion model.
 Lateral mode with both radian and angular
dependence.
 Full 3D interaction of electrical and optical
behaviors.
 Typical application: VCSEL with top or side
contact in a non-symmetric position.
Rectangular Shape VCSEL

 In this example, only a half of the device is


simulated to save computational cost.
 Full 3D current flow model is used.
Multimode transient (large signal)
simulation

All mode

Individual
mode
Vertical external cavity surface emitting
laser (VECSEL)

External
cavity External
cavity
Conclusions
 A rather comprehensive set of self-
consistent physical models for VCSEL
simulation implemented in PICS3D.
 Utilities such as round-trip gain
calculator and VCSEL structure tuner
makes it convenient for initial set-up.
 The final simulation run integrates all
the important model elements for a
VCSEL.

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