Semiconductor-Laser Fundamentals

by Chow, W. W.; Koch, Stephan W.

• ISBN13: 9783540641667
• ISBN10: 3540641661
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

This book presents an in-depth discussion of the semiconductor-laser gain medium. The optical and electronic properties of semiconductors, particularly semiconductor quantum-well systems, are analyzed in detail, covering a wide variety of near-infrared systems with or without strain, as well as wide-gap materials such as the group-III nitride compounds or the II-VI materials. The important bandstructure modifications and Coulomb interaction effects are discussed, including the solution of the longstanding semiconductor laser lineshape problem. Quantitative comparisons between measured and predicted gain/absorption and refractive index spectra for a wide variety of semiconductor-laser materials enable the theoretical results to be used directly in the engineering of advanced laser and amplifier structures. A wealth of examples for many different material combinations bestow the book with quantitative and predictive value for a wide variety of applications.

Table of Contents

1. Basic Concepts	1	(35)
1.1 Historical Background	1	(2)
1.2 Laser Device	3	(3)
1.3 Heterostructures	6	(4)
1.4 Elementary Aspects of Band Structures	10	(5)
1.5 Units	15	(1)
1.6 Fermi-Dirac Distributions	16	(5)
1.7 Quantum Confinement	21	(4)
1.8 Slowly-Varying Maxwell Equations	25	(3)
1.9 Quantum Mechanics of the Semiconductor Medium	28	(8)
2. Free-Carrier Theory	36	(36)
2.1 Free-Carrier Equations of Motion	37	(8)
2.2 Quasi-Equilibrium Approximation	45	(4)
2.3 Semiconductor Gain	49	(9)
2.4 Temperature Dependence of Gain	58	(4)
2.5 Gain Saturation	62	(3)
2.6 Carrier Induced Refractive Index	65	(4)
2.7 Linewidth Enhancement or Antiguiding Factor	69	(3)
3. Coulomb Effects	72	(35)
3.1 Semiconductor Bloch Equations	75	(5)
3.2 Interband Coulomb Effects	80	(3)
3.3 Screened Hartree-Fock Approximation	83	(5)
3.4 Bandgap Renormalization in the Screened Hartree-Fock Approximation	88	(2)
3.5 Pade Approximation	90	(2)
3.6 Bulk Semiconductors	92	(6)
3.7 Quantum-Wells	98	(9)
4. Correlation Effects	107	(43)
4.1 Coulomb Correlation Effects	108	(3)
4.2 Carrier Quantum Boltzmann Equation	111	(5)
4.3 Dephasing and Screening	116	(1)
4.4 Formulation of Numerical Problem	117	(28)
4.4.1 Quantum-Wells	119	(24)
4.4.2 Bulk-Material	143	(2)
4.5 Carrier-Phonon Scattering	145	(2)
4.6 Characteristic Relaxation Times	147	(3)
5. Bulk Band Structures	150	(16)
5.1 Bloch Theorem	150	(1)
5.2 Electronic States at k = 0	151	(4)
5.3 k(XXX)p Theory	155	(1)
5.4 Conduction Bands	156	(1)
5.5 Valence Bands	157	(2)
5.6 Luttinger Hamiltonian	159	(7)
6. Quantum Wells	166	(30)
6.1 Envelope Approximation Method	166	(4)
6.2 Band Mixing	170	(5)
6.3 Strained Quantum Wells	175	(6)
6.4 Dipole Matrix Elements	181	(4)
6.5 6 x 6 Luttinger Hamiltonian	185	(3)
6.6 Wurtzite Crystal	188	(8)
7. Applications	196	(39)
7.1 GaAs-AlGaAs Quantum Wells	196	(8)
7.2 InGaAs-AlGaAs Strained Quantum Wells	204	(6)
7.3 InGaAs-InP	210	(3)
7.4 InGaP-InAlGaP Red-Wavelength Lasers	213	(5)
7.5 II-VI Wide-Bandgap Systems	218	(6)
7.6 Group-III Nitrides	224	(11)
References	235	(6)
Index	241