VCSEL Module

HAROLD/VCSEL is a full 3D model, computing the multiple optical cavity modes, electrical drift-diffusion, heat-flow and electron-photon interactions. Building on Photon Design’s 30 year experience in both EM and laser diode modelling, this provides a comprehensive integrated design environment for a variety of the VCSEL variations being explored by industry today, including QW materials, tunnel junctions, current blocking oxide apertures and more.

HAROLD/VCSEL covers the three main areas of modelling:

Optical:

• Built in full-vector 3D cavity mode solver for multiple modes
• Scattering off oxide windows, contact apertures
• Built-in far-field calculator
• Built-in QW gain model, with databases for common materials InGaAsP, AlGaAs, InGaAlAs etc.

Electrical:

• Self Consistent Poisson/drift-diffusion electrical model
• Current confinement via oxide apertures or tunnel junctions
• Electrical Leakage

Thermal:

• Full 3D thermal heat-flow model
• Joule(I2R) heating, contact resistance heating
• Recombination, FCA, IVBA heat sources

Starting from your epitaxy recipe our updated user interface in Harold/VCSEL will make it easy to design your VCSEL, with features for easy definition of DBRs and positioning of contacts, tunnel junctions and oxide layers.

Harold/VCSEL is capable of generating a wide variety of simulation results, giving a detailed insight in device behaviour. These include:

• Temperature, heat sources
• Current and carrier density
• Optical mode/far-field

• LIV Curves
• Temperature and dissipated heat source powers
• Recombination currents
• QW gain, carrier density, FCA/IVBA

• Time evolution of optical power and carrier density
• Laser output optical spectra (power spectral density), RIN spectra
• Lasing linewidth