Microwave-optoelectronic modelling approaches for semiconductor lasers

A study into semiconductor-laser modelling approaches for the microwave/millimetre-wave frequency regime is presented. Two approaches have been investigated in detail, First, an integrated-equivalent-circuit model which covers both parasitic and intrinsic components of the laser has been implemented in a microwave-circuit simulator. The potential of this modelling approach has been demonstrated by simulating complete optical transmitters (including external circuits). Secondly, a combined model which includes part of the equivalent-circuit model and a numerical time-domain model based on coupled-wave theory has been developed. This combined model permits the modelling of both electrical and optical characteristics for more complex laser structures and it has been employed in applications such as circuit design for chirp and intensity-fluctuation suppression with multielectrode distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers and an investigation into distributed microwave effects on the short pulses generated from a single-electrode DFB laser under gain-switched conditions.