Numerical Analysis on the Phenomenon of Absorptive Bistability in Quantum Cascade Lasers
Abstract
A detailed numerical analysis on the phenomenon of absorptive bistability in mid infrared quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) is carried out by solving the standard two-level rate equations for the gain and absorber sections of the laser concurrently. This analysis accounts for the steady state and dynamic behavior of the bistable QCL containing two semiconductor elements. The dependence of threshold current, Steady state photon number, electron number in different levels of gain and absorber sections, hysteresis width on the biasing currents in both the sections are investigated thoroughly. This study also accounts for a reduction in threshold current from 1.21 to 0.9 A as the absorber current is increased from 0 to 10 mA. The bistable behavior is also realized by providing a current pulse of amplitude 0.2 A dc biased at 1.2 A. The output is switched off by injecting a negative pulse of amplitude 0.5 A dc biased at 1.2 A.
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