Self-consistent real three-dimensional simulation of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

A self-consistently coupled three-dimensional dynamical model is presented for the first time, to our knowledge, to simulate noncircular vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. The electric, thermal, and optical processes are formulated using finite-volume-method discretization adopted on a unified mesh consisting of prism elements. Steady-state and dynamical calculations are shown for specially designed structures. An efficient numerical treatment enables one to perform large-scale calculations on single computers.