Square microcavity laser with an output waveguide is proposed and analyzed by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique. For a square resonator with refractive index of 3.2, side length of 4μm, and output waveguide of 0.4μm width, we have got the quality factors (Q factors) of 6.7 ×10^2 and 7.3 × 10^3 for the fundamental and first-order transverse magnetic (TM) mode near the wavelength of 1.5μm, respectively. The simulated intensity distribution for the first-order TM mode shows that the coupling efficiency in the waveguide reaches 53%. The numerical simulation shows that the first-order transverse modes have fairly high Q factor and high coupling efficiency to the output waveguide. Therefore the square resonator with an output waveguide is a promising candidate to realize single-mode directional emission microcavity lasers.
The band structure of 2D photonic crystals (PCs) and localized states resulting from defects are analyzed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique and Padé approximation.The effect of dielectric constant contrast and filling factor on photonic bandgap (PBG) for perfect PCs and localized states in PCs with point defects are investigated.The resonant frequencies and quality factors are calculated for PCs with different defects.The numerical results show that it is possible to modulate the location,width and number of PBGs and frequencies of the localized states only by changing the dielectric constant contrast and filling factor.
Quantum dot gain spectra based on harmonic oscillator model are calculated including and excluding excitons. The effects of non-equilibrium distributions are considered at low temperatures. The variations of threshold current density in a wide temperature range are analyzed and the negative characteristic temperature and oscillatory characteristic temperature appearing in that temperature range are discussed. Also,the improvement of quantum dot lasers' performance is investigated through vertical stacking and p-type doping and the optimal dot density, which corresponds to minimal threshold current density,is calculated.