Finite element simulation of the optical modes of semiconductor lasers
J. Pomplun1,2, S. Burger1,2, F. Schmidt1,2, A. Schliwa3, D. Bimberg3, A. Pietrzak4, H. Wenzel4, and G. Erbert4
Published in:
phys. stat. sol. (b), vol. 247, no. 4, 846-853 (2010).
Abstract:
In the present paper we investigate optical near fields in semiconductor lasers. We perform finite element simulations for two different laser types, namely a super large optical waveguide (SLOW) laser, which is an edge emitter, and a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). We give the mathematical formulation of the different eigenvalue problems that arise for our examples and explain their numerical solution with the finite element method (FEM). Thereby, we also comment on the usage of transparent boundary conditions, which have to be applied to respect the exterior environment, e.g., the very large substrate and surrounding air. For theSLOW laser we compare the computed near fields to experimental data for different design parameters of the device. For the VCSEL example a comparison to simplified 1D mode calculations is carried out.
1 Zuse Institute Berlin, Takustraße 7, 14195 Berlin, Germany
2 JCMwave GmbH, Haarer Straße 14a, 85640 Putzbrunn, Germany
3 Institut für Festkörperphysik, TU Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany
4 Ferdinand-Braun-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Straße 4, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
PACS:
07.05.Tp, 42.55.Px, 78.20.Bh
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