ELECTRO-OPTO-THERMAL MODELING OF THRESHOLD CURRENT DEPENDENCE ON TEMPERATURE

A self-consistent model of semiconductor quantum-well (QW) lasers is p resented and deployed here for the study of threshold current dependen ce on temperature. The simulated dependencies of threshold current-den sity on temperature and cavity lengths agree well with experiments pub lished by Evans et al. Aided with detailed knowledge so obtained of ea ch contributor to the threshold current, attempts are made to gain ins ights into the well-known Pankove and other newly proposed empirical r elations. The relative importance of the various mechanisms are evalua ted, and self-heating is shown as an important factor determining the threshold current at high temperature.