Thermal Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Optically Pumped InP-on-Si Micro- and Nanocavity Lasers

TL;DR

This study systematically analyzes the thermal behavior of InP-on-Si micro- and nanocavity lasers using simulations and experiments, demonstrating that metal cladding significantly improves heat dissipation and dynamic temperature response.

Contribution

It provides new insights into thermal management of InP-on-Si lasers, highlighting the benefits of metal cavities through combined simulation and experimental validation.

Findings

Metal cladding reduces temperature by hundreds of kelvins.

Metal cavities enhance heat dissipation efficiency.

Optimal pulsed pumping conditions identified as 10 ns pulse width at 100 kHz.

Abstract

There is a general trend of downscaling laser cavities, but with high integration and energy densities of nanocavity lasers, signifi-cant thermal issues affect their operation. The complexity of geometrical parameters and the various materials involved hinder the extraction of clear design guidelines and operation strategies. Here, we present a systematic thermal analysis of InP-on-Si micro- and nanocavity lasers based on steady-state and transient thermal simulations and experimental analysis. In particular, we investi-gated the use of metal cavities for improving the thermal properties of InP-on-Si micro- and nanocavity lasers. Heating of lasers is studied by using Raman thermometry and the results agree well with simulation results, both reveal a temperature reduction of hundreds of kelvins for the metal-clad cavity. Transient simulations are carried out to improve our understanding of the dynamic temperature variation under pulsed and continuous-wave pumping conditions. The results show that the presence of a metal clad-ding not only increases the overall efficiency in heat dissipation, but also causes a much faster temperature response. Together with optical experimental results under pulsed pumping, we conclude that a pulse width of 10 ns and repetition rate of 100 kHz is the optimal pumping condition for a 2 micrometer wide square cavity.