Electro-thermo-optical simulation of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Three-dimensional electro-thermal simulator based on the double-layer approximation for the active region was coupled to optical gain and optical field numerical simulators to provide a self-consistent steady-state solution of VCSEL current-voltage and current-output power characteristics. Methodology of VCSEL modeling had been established and applied to model a standard 850-nm VCSEL based on GaAs-active region and a novel intracavity-contacted 400-nm GaN-based VCSEL. Results of GaAs VCSEL simulation were in a good agreement with experiment. Correlations between current injection and radiative mode profiles have been observed.;Physical sub-models of transport, optical gain and cavity optical field were developed. Carrier transport through DBRs was studied. Problem of optical fields in VCSEL cavity was treated numerically by the effective frequency method. All the sub-models were connected through spatially inhomogeneous rate equation system. It was shown that the conventional uncoupled analysis of every separate physical phenomenon would be insufficient to describe VCSEL operation.