Nonlinear and Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Quantum-Dot Optoelectronic Devices (eBook)

Benjamin Lingnau received his B.Sc in physics in 2009 and his M.Sc in 2011 from TU Berlin. He graduated and received the Dr. rer. nat. from TU Berlin in 2015. His scientific interests include nonlinear laser dynamics and dynamics of semiconductor quantum-dot optoelectronic devices. He has authored and co-authored 18 peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Supervisors' Foreword 6
Abstract 8
Acknowledgments 10
Contents 11
1 Introduction 14
1.1 Light-Matter Interaction in Semiconductors 14
1.2 Semiconductor Lasers 17
1.3 Semiconductor Lasers as Dynamical Systems 19
1.4 Semiconductor Quantum-Dots 20
1.5 Outline of the Thesis 22
References 23
2 Theory of Quantum-Dot Optical Devices 25
2.1 Introduction 25
2.2 Charge-Carrier Scattering in Quantum-Dot Structures 26
2.2.1 Coulomb-Scattering of Charge Carriers 28
2.2.2 Electron-Hole Picture 32
2.2.3 Detailed Balance 33
2.2.4 Carrier-Phonon Scattering 35
2.3 Light-Matter Interaction 37
2.3.1 Electric Field Dynamics 38
2.3.2 Maxwell--Bloch Equations 41
2.4 Quantum-Dot Laser Rate Equations 44
2.4.1 Maxwell--Bloch Laser Rate Equations 44
2.4.2 Adiabatically Eliminated Polarization 49
2.4.3 Modeling of Spontaneous Emission 51
2.4.4 Carrier-Induced Gain and Refractive Index Changes 53
2.5 Quantum-Dot Laser Carrier-Heating Model 55
2.5.1 Charge-Carrier Energy and Temperature 55
2.5.2 Carrier Heating by Auger-Scattering Processes 57
2.5.3 Energy Balance Equations 58
References 59
3 Quantum-Dot Laser Dynamics 64
3.1 Introduction 64
3.2 Laser Dynamics---Relaxation Oscillations 65
3.2.1 Relaxation Oscillations in Two-Variable Laser Equations 66
3.2.2 Turn-On Dynamics of Quantum-Dot Lasers 69
3.2.3 Influence of Charge-Carrier Scattering 74
3.3 Minimal Model for Quantum-Dot Laser Dynamics 77
3.3.1 Linearization and Eigenvalue Problem 79
3.3.2 Asymptotic Analysis---Relaxation Oscillations 82
3.4 Modulation Response of Quantum-Dot Lasers 87
3.4.1 Small-Signal Response 87
3.5 Amplitude-Phase Coupling in Quantum-Dot Lasers 93
3.5.1 The Linewidth-Enhancement Factor ? 94
3.5.2 Charge-Carrier-Induced Susceptibility in Quantum-Dot Lasers 95
3.6 Dynamics Under Optical Injection 100
3.6.1 Quantum-Dot Laser Model with Optical Injection 101
3.6.2 Injection Locking of Quantum-Dot Lasers 103
3.6.3 Dependence on the Quantum-Dot Structure and Pump-Current 108
3.6.4 Evaluation of the ?-Factor from Optical Injection 112
3.6.5 Comparison with ?-Factor-Based Models 115
3.7 Optical Injection---Numerical Path Continuation 122
3.7.1 Quantum-Dot Laser Model Simplification 123
3.7.2 Path Continuation Results 128
3.7.3 Dependencies on Scattering and Reservoir Loss Rates 131
3.7.4 Summary 133
3.8 Dynamics Under Optical Feedback 134
3.8.1 Quantum-Dot Laser Model with Optical Feedback 134
3.8.2 Quantum-Dot Laser Dynamics Under Optical Feedback 136
3.9 Small-Signal Frequency Response of Quantum-Dot Lasers 142
3.9.1 Evaluation of the Frequency and Amplitude Modulation Indices 142
3.9.2 Numerical Evaluation of FM/AM Measurements 143
3.9.3 Influence of Scattering Rates and Reservoir Losses 146
3.10 Conclusion 148
References 150
4 Quantum-Dot Optical Amplifiers 158
4.1 Introduction 158
4.2 Quantum-Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifier Model 159
4.2.1 Electric Field Propagation 160
4.2.2 Quantum-Dot Material Equations 161
4.2.3 Modeling of Spontaneous Emission 163
4.3 Large-Signal Amplification in Quantum-Dot Amplifiers 165
4.3.1 Calculation of Amplified Spontaneous Emission Spectra 166
4.3.2 Gain Saturation 170
4.3.3 Amplification of Optical Data Streams 172
4.4 Multi-State Operation of Quantum-Dot Amplifiers 175
4.5 Coherent Transients in Quantum-Dot Amplifiers 180
4.5.1 Rabi-Oscillations in Quantum-Dot Semiconductor Amplifiers 182
4.5.2 Comparison with Experimental Measurements 186
4.6 Conclusion 191
References 193
5 Summary and Outlook 198
Appendix A 201