Microscopic opto-electro-thermal VCSEL device simulation

Optical modes of microcavities are determined by solving Maxwell's vectorial wave equation subject to an open boundary taking radiation, diffraction effects, optical gain and absorption into account. Using a continuation scheme the optical problem is solved together with the electro-thermal device equations in a self-consistent fashion. The model is suitable for the analysis of a wide range of VCSEL device types with realistic device structures and sizes. Simulation results are compared to measurements for a multimode device. The practical use of the simulator as a computer aided design tool is demonstrated.

1. Optical Modes in Microcavities

The optical modes are determined accurately by solving Maxwell's vectorial wave equation, subject to an open boundary, taking into account radiation, diffraction, amplification and absorption of electromagnetic waves. Perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundaries are used to model the open microcavity (Fig. 1).