TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT OPERATION OF THE VERTICAL-CAVITY SURFACE-EMITTING LASER

The temperature dependence of the vertical cavity surface emitting las er is evaluated using a laser model based on the no-k selection rule. The predictions indicate that the temperature for the minimum threshol d current has a substantial dependence on the loss in the laser, repre sented by the photon lifetime, which is in agreement with experimental findings. Using the Fermi energies as parameters to connect the carri er densities at threshold to the lasing frequency, a family of design curves, which are dependent only on the laser cavity dimension and uni versal loss parameter K, is produced. Since K encompasses all signific ant design variables, the design tool enables a compromise to be chose n between the magnitude of the threshold current and its required temp erature sensitivity.