Microscopic physics-based interactive semiconductor laser simulator

Using the semiconductor gain and refractive index spectra for a variety of quantum well structures, a full scale space time interactive simulation model of low and high power semiconductor lasers was developed. The core of the interactive simulation tool is built using object oriented programming, and the graphical user interfaces are built using Java and Python. An optical system graphical editor (OSGE) allows the user to attach or write their own modules for specific applications. The occurrence of dynamic intensity filamentation in high-power laser diodes is illustrated and means to suppress such behavior using current/index profiling, cavity spoilers, flared contacts, etc are discussed.