NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF THE WHISPERING-GALLERY MODES BY THE FINITE-DIFFERENCE TIME-DOMAIN METHOD

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used to analyze the whispering-gallery modes of microdisk lasers. The method takes no a p riori assumption. It solves the Maxwell's equations directly while tak ing into account the actual structure of the microdisk. The numerical results are in agreement with experimentally measured spectrum. Our Q values, however, are higher than previously published theoretical resu lts. By calculating the resonant wavelengths and Q factors for differe nt disk sizes, we demonstrate that the FDTD can be used to optimize th e design of microdisk lasers.