Threshold current and modulation response of semiconductor lasers

Kosinovsky, Gregory Alexander

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/21124 Copy

Description

Title

Threshold current and modulation response of semiconductor lasers

Author(s)

Kosinovsky, Gregory Alexander

Issue Date

1995

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Hess, Karl

Department of Study

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Discipline

Electrical Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Engineering, Electronics and Electrical
• Physics, Electricity and Magnetism
• Physics, Optics

Language

eng

Abstract

• The possibility of carrier charge imbalance in the active region of quantum well lasers is demonstrated (in contrast to the usual presumption of charge neutrality in the region), and the resulting effect on the threshold current is examined. The investigations are performed with a simple rate equation simulator, as well as with a self-consistent laser simulator MINILASE. The models predict similar qualitative trends in threshold current dependencies.
• A novel model is developed for the lasing threshold analysis of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers based on the first principles analysis of resonant cavity E-M field enhancement by L. F. Register. The validity of the model is confirmed by comparison with the standard Fabry-Perot model for conventional edge emitting lasers. The utility of the new model in special cases of the Vertical Cavity Laser analysis is discussed.
• A theoretical investigation of the effect of longitudinal-optic phonon imbalance on the modulation response of semiconductor lasers was performed using the MINILASE simulator. A novel formalism is developed for the inclusion of phonon-assisted capture into the self-consistent simulation. As a result, a new perspective on the role of hot phonons, which hitherto was thought to be strictly detrimental to the high frequency modulation response, was developed. Our simulations show that, depending on the value of the carrier capture coefficient, nonequilibrium phonons may either improve or worsen the modulation bandwidth.

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/21124

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 1995 Kosinovsky, Gregory Alexander

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