Study on effect of quantum well number on performance characteristics of GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting laser

The effect of number of quantum wells and quantum well thickness on the optical performance of InGaN vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) was numerically investigated using Integrated System Engineering Technical Computer Aided Design (ISE TCAD) simulation program. The simulation results indicated that the output power and differential quantum efficiency of the double quantum well (DQW) laser were increased and threshold current decreased as compared to the single and triplet quantum wells VCSEL. Threshold current enhancement in the single quantum well (SQW) is attributed to the electron carrier leakage increasing from active layers because of the lower optical confinement factor. Simulation results show that in the double quantum well, the optical material gain and electron and hole carrier densities are approximately uniform with respect to the SQW and TQW. Also these results indicated that the electron current density in the DQW is the lowest. In the active region, electrical field decreased for the double quantum well because of the built-in electrical field reduction inside the quantum well. Finally the effect of quantum well thickness in DQW GaN-based VCSEL was investigated and it was observed that DQW VCSEL with 3 nm quantum wells thickness had the optimum threshold current.

The simulation results indicate that the double quantum well GaN-VCSEL has a better performance as compared to the single and triplet quantum wells VCSEL.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights
► The quantum well effects on the InGaN VCSEL performance were investigated.
► DQW InGaN VCSEL has a better performance as compared to the SQW and TQW VCSEL.
► InGaN VCSEL with the 3 nm QW thickness has the optimum threshold current.