David O. Winge

Nonequilibrium Green’s Function Model for Simulation of Quantum Cascade Laser Devices Under Operating Conditions

A simulation scheme based on nonequilibrium Greens functions for biased periodic semiconductor heterostructure devices is presented in detail. The implementation can determine current and optical gain both for small and large optical fields. Specific results for superlattices, quantum cascade lasers, and quantum cascade detectors are shown which demonstrate the capabilities of the approach.

Nonlinear response of quantum cascade structures

The gain spectrum of a terahertz quantum cascade laser is analyzed by a nonequilibrium Greens functions approach. Higher harmonics of the response function were retrievable, providing a way to approach nonlinear phenomena in quantum cascade lasers theoretically. Gain is simulated under operation conditions and results are presented both for linear response and strong laser fields. An iterative way of reconstructing the field strength inside the laser cavity at lasing conditions is described using a measured value of the level of the losses of the studied system. Comparison with recent experimental data from time-domain-spectroscopy indicates that the experimental situation is beyond linear response.

Impact of interface roughness distributions on the operation of quantum cascade lasers

We study the impact of interface roughness on the operation of mid-IR and THz quantum cascade lasers. Particular emphasis is given towards the differences between the Gaussian and exponential roughness distribution functions, for which we present results from simulation packages based on nonequilibrium Greens functions and density matrices. The Gaussian distribution suppresses scattering at high momentum transfer which enhances the lifetime of the upper laser level in mid-IR lasers. For THz lasers, a broader range of scattering transitions is of relevance, which is sensitive to the entire profile of the interface fluctuations. Furthermore we discuss the implementation of interface roughness within a two band model.

Influence of interface roughness in quantum cascade lasers

We use a numerical model based on non-equilibrium Greens functions to investigate the influence of interface roughness (IFR) scattering in terahertz quantum cascade lasers. We confirm that IFR is an important phenomenon that affects both current and gain. The simulations indicate that IFR causes a leakage current that transfers electrons from the upper to the lower laser state. In certain cases, this current can greatly reduce gain. In addition, individual interfaces and their impact on the renormalized single particle energies are studied and shown to give both blue- and red-shifts of the gain spectrum.

Injection schemes in THz quantum cascade lasers under operation

The two main design schemes for Terahertz quantum cascade lasers, based on tunnelling and scattering injection, respectively, are theoretically compared. We apply our simulation package based on the non-equilibrium Green’s function technique. Our results provide a good description of the gain degradation with temperature. Thermal backfilling contributes to decrease of population inversion in both cases. However, the dropping inversion cannot account for the total reduction of gain.

Simulating terahertz quantum cascade lasers: Trends from samples from different labs

We present a systematic comparison of the results from our non-equilibrium Greens function formalism with a large number of AlGaAs-GaAs terahertz quantum cascade lasers previously published in the literature. Employing identical material and simulation parameters for all samples, we observe that the discrepancies between measured and calculated peak currents are similar for samples from a given group. This suggests that the differences between experiment and theory are partly due to a lacking reproducibility for devices fabricated at different laboratories. Varying the interface roughness height for different devices, we find that the peak current under lasing operation hardly changes, so that differences in interface quality appear not to be the sole reason for the lacking reproducibility.

Microscopic approach to second harmonic generation in quantum cascade lasers

Second harmonic generation is analyzed from a microscopical point of view using a non-equilibrium Greens function formalism. Through this approach the complete on-state of the laser can be modeled and results are compared to experiment with good agreement. In addition, higher order current response is extracted from the calculations and together with waveguide properties, these currents provide the intensity of the second harmonic in the structure considered. This power is compared to experimental results, also with good agreement. Furthermore, our results, which contain all coherences in the system, allow to check the validity of common simplified expressions.

Simple electron-electron scattering in non-equilibrium Green's function simulations

In this work we include electron-electron interaction beyond Hartree-Fock level in our non-equilibrium Greens function approach by a crude form of GW through the Single Plasmon Pole Approximation. This is achieved by treating all conduction band electrons as a single effective band screening the Coulomb potential. We describe the corresponding self-energies in this scheme for a multi-subband system. In order to apply the formalism to heterostructures we discuss the screening and plasmon dispersion in both 2D and 3D systems. Results are shown for a four well quantum cascade laser with different doping concentration where comparisons to experimental findings can be made.

Superlattice gain in positive differential conductivity region

We analyze theoretically a superlattice structure proposed by A. Andronov et al. [JETP Lett. 102, 207 (2015)] to give Terahertz gain for an operation point with positive differential conductivity. Here we confirm the existence of gain and show that an optimized structure displays gain above 20 cm−1 at low temperatures, so that lasing may be observable. Comparing a variety of simulations, this gain is found to be strongly affected by elastic scattering. It is shown that the dephasing modifies the nature of the relevant states, so that the common analysis based on Wannier-Stark states is not reliable for a quantitative description of the gain in structures with extremely diagonal transitions.

Nonequilibrium Green's functions theory for the alpha factor of quantum cascade lasers(Conference Presentation)

The linewidth of a conventional laser is due to fluctuations in the laser field due to spontaneous emission and described by the Schalow-Townes formula. In addition to that, in a semiconductor laser there is a contribution arising from fluctuations in the refractive index induced by carrier density fluctuations. The later are quantitatively described by the linewidth enhancement or alpha factor [C. H. Henry, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 18 (2), 259 (1982), W. W. Chow, S. W. Koch and M. Sargent III, Semiconductor-Laser Physics, Springer-Verlag (1994), M.F. Pereira Jr et al, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B10, 765 (1993). In this paper we investigate the alpha factor of quantum cascade lasers under actual operating conditions using the Nonequilibrium Greens Functions approach [A. Wacker et a, IEEE Journal of Sel. Top. in Quantum Electron.,19 1200611, (2013), T. Schmielau and M.F. Pereira, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95 231111, (2009)]. The simulations are compared with recent results obtained with different optical feedback techniques [L. Jumpertz et al, AIP ADVANCES 6, 015212 (2016)].