MULTISCALE AND MULTIPHYSICS MODELING OF QUANTUM CASCADE LASERS
Abstract
Quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are the highest-power monolithic coherent light sources in the midinfrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Room-temperature, continuous-wave lasing has been demonstrated throughout the midinfrared range using QCLs based on the InGaAs/InAlAs material system on the InP substrate. The challenge is to achieve reliable continuous-wave room-temperature operation with high wallplug efficiency (i.e., high percentage of input electrical power ultimately converted into light), watt-level high optical power, and, in the case of longwave devices, high brightness. From the standpoint of microscopic physics, quantum cascade lasers during continuous-wave, high-power operation are complex optoelectronic devices, in which electrons, phonons (packets of lattice vibrational energy), and photons (packets of electromagnetic energy) are far from equilibrium and interact strongly with one another. Therefore, the problem of QCL modeling and design is inherently a multiphysics one. In order to model continuous-wave, high-power QCL operation and design efficient laser structures, one has to: 1) accurately simulate quantum electronic transport; 2) accurately simulate lattice dynamics, which is challenging owing to the complexity of phonon interaction with interfaces between materials; 3) analyze and explain the modes of laser breakdown; 4) incorporate elements 1 through 3 into a device-level simulation framework that bridges between disparate spatial scales (i.e., multiscale) and enables systematic QCL design and multiparameter optimization.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502210407
Entities
People
- I. Knežević
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Wisconsin System