Abstract
We propose a time-domain analysis of an active medium based on a coupled quantum mechanical and electromagnetic model to accurately simulate the dynamics of silicon-based photonic devices. To fully account for the nonlinearity of an active medium, the rate equations of a four-level atomic system are introduced into the electromagnetic polarization vector. With these auxiliary differential equations, we solve the time evolution of the electromagnetic waves and atomic population densities using the FDTD method. The developed simulation approach has been used to model light amplification and amplified spontaneous emission in silicon nanocrystals, as well as the lasing dynamics in a novel photonic crystal-based silicon microcavity.
Highlights
Silicon, owing to its excellent electronic material properties, availability, and efficient processing, has played major roles in microelectronics during past decades and promises to be the key material in the foreseeable future
We present a time-domain analysis of amplification, amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), and lasing dynamics in silicon-based nanophotonic devices based on a coupled quantum mechanical and electromagnetic model
The simulation model couples Maxwell’s equations with the rate equations to fully describe the nonlinearity of active medium, and numerically solves them using an auxiliary differential equation (ADE)-finite-difference and time-domain (FDTD) scheme. Both stimulated and spontaneous emissions are taken into account in the active medium system
Summary
Silicon, owing to its excellent electronic material properties, availability, and efficient processing, has played major roles in microelectronics during past decades and promises to be the key material in the foreseeable future. The development of silicon light emitters, amplifiers, and lasers has become one of the central goals in the advancement of silicon photonics and optoelectronics Another driving force stimulating research is the need for low-cost photonic devices for applications related to future computing and communication systems. Various approaches based on quantum electrodynamics, in which the atoms in active systems are treated quantum mechanically but the electromagnetic wave is treated classically, have been developed In this way, light interaction with an active medium can be studied using a classical harmonic oscillator model and the rate equations of electron population density. In order to simulate quantum electrodynamics, we incorporate the rate equations of a four-level atomic system to characterize the gain and absorption of an active material Both amplification and ASE with the assistance of a microcavity are investigated in one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) silicon nanocrystals (Si-ncs). A novel silicon microcavity based on the unique dispersion properties of photonic crystals is introduced
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