Modelling foundation of guided wave semiconductor light sources

This chapter is intended as a tutorial on the modeling of active waveguides for the simulation of semiconductor light sources as semiconductor lasers [1]) , superluminescent diodes (SLD) and optical amplifiers (SOA) [2]) . We address this chapter to students or researchers not specialized in the field of modeling, but maybe interested in setting up simplified models for a quantitative understanding of the device performance. As in a receipt, we introduce the ingredients that should be used and how to merge them together to built up a model that will be not rigorous but useful to get indications on the main device characteristics. The fundamentals ingredients that one should account for are: • the electro-optical characteristics of the active material • the structure of the optical waveguide to quantify the electron-photon interaction • the carrier-photon interaction • the device layout (multiple sections, tapered, gratings ...) The first sections of the chapter will be dedicated to the discussion of each of the ingredients, presenting them in the way they enter in the build up of a device model. In the final section we will consider as an example the case of the SLD simulation. The references, provided to books and journal papers, should be considered only as examples and not as a comprehensive list.