Premium
Philosophy of Approaching a Laser Design Problem: Illustrated by the Design of Ultraviolet Vertical‐Cavity Laser Diodes
Author(s) -
Mehta Karan,
Yoder Paul Douglas
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.202000154
Subject(s) - laser , vertical cavity surface emitting laser , diode , context (archaeology) , ultraviolet , optoelectronics , computer science , ranking (information retrieval) , optics , semiconductor laser theory , materials science , engineering physics , physics , artificial intelligence , geology , paleontology
The objective of this article is to demonstrate a general approach to the problem of designing a novel laser diode. This involves first understanding prior work in this and related fields (literature survey), and then acquiring a thorough understanding of the relevant physics. This in turn enables the development and/or selection of appropriate models and tools for that problem followed by partitioning the problem into smaller solvable chunks. This involves identifying the key contributing factors affecting poor laser performance (sources of optical loss, poor injection efficiency, high thermal resistance, etc.), quantifying and ranking their relative importance, and finally finding solutions to these problems. The final step involves putting all these pieces back together to arrive at the final laser design. This step is challenging due to the strong coupling between electrical, optical, and thermal physics in a laser diode. Any design changes must be considered through all three lenses. Herein, this approach to laser design will be demonstrated in the context of a novel III–N‐based ultraviolet vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting laser diode (UV‐VCSEL).