Basic aspects of high-power semiconductor laser simulation

TL;DR

This paper reviews models and techniques for simulating high-power semiconductor lasers, addressing optical, thermal, and modal effects, and discusses limitations on output power at high currents.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of simulation models and explores open questions and challenges in high-power semiconductor laser modeling.

Findings

Substrate acts as a competing waveguide in GaAs lasers

Thermal-lensing significantly affects laser behavior

Power output is limited by thermal and spatial effects at high currents

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review some of the models and solution techniques used in the simulation of high-power semiconductor lasers and to address open questions. We discuss some of the peculiarities in the description of the optical field of wide-aperture lasers. As an example, the role of the substrate as a competing waveguide in GaAs-based lasers is studied. The governing equations for the investigation of modal instabilities and filamentation effects are presented and the impact of the thermal-lensing effect on the spatiotemporal behavior of the optical field is demonstrated. We reveal the factors that limit the output power at very high injecton currents based on a numerical solution of the thermodynamic based drift-diffusion equations and elucidate the role of longitudinal spatial holeburning.