Multi-Scale Theory and Simulation: A Microscopic Understanding of Semiconductor Diode Laser Modulation

Abstract: I will describe a simulation of semiconductor diode laser operation that integrates physical models on multiple length scales: the simulation requires the solution of strongly coupled partial differential equations for carrier transport, discrete rate equations and quantum mechanical equations. I will present the device physics context and then describe the microscopic understanding of the modulation response of multi-quantum well lasers that emerges from the simulation work.

Speaker: Mark Hybertsen holds a BA in Physics from Reed College (1980) and a PhD in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley (1986). His thesis research, done under the direction of Steven Louie, put forward a solution to the 'band-gap' problem in the theory of electronic structure, providing a practical approach to include many-body correlations in the calculation of electronic states in semiconductors and insulators. He joined Bell Laboratories in 1986, conducting research on a broad range of topics including electronic properties of superconducting cuprates, semiconductor surfaces and interfaces, nanoscale silicon and the atomic scale properties of the silicon-silicon dioxide interface. Since 1993, he focused on theory and simulation pertinent to optoelectronic devices, including four years managing the Device and Materials Physics Group in the Semiconductor Photonics Research Department. In 2001, he was assigned to Agere Systems, the Microelectronics spin-off from Lucent Technologies. At the end of 2002, he left Agere Systems when they exited the optoelectronics business. In April 2003, he started research pertinent to molecular electronics as a senior research associate with the Center for Integrated Science and Engineering at Columbia University. He is a member of the IEEE (LEOS) and a fellow of the American Physical Society.

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