Photon Design releases new template for thermally tuned lasers
Simulation software firm Photon Design has released a PICWave template for designing thermally tuned semiconductor lasers with Vernier-ring resonators.
PICWave is the industry’s only 3D dynamic simulator for thermally tuned laser design. Engineers can easily adapt the template to their own epitaxy to maximise optical output power at target wavelengths and heating voltages.
The template makes thermally tuned laser design more accessible, shortening design cycles and accelerating product development. PICWave simulations also take just minutes to process on a standard desktop PC, even for large, millimetre-scale lasers.
Dominic Gallagher, CEO of Photon Design, said: “The PICWave template allows engineers to quickly optimise the ring dimensions and coupling strengths in thermally tuned Vernier-ring lasers, for a target wavelength. Altering heating power tunes the rings’ optical resonances, and PICWave models these changes using effective-index and heating-power data. Photon Design’s FIMMPROP goes on to provide precise ring-coupling parameters.
“PICWave’s time-domain simulations evaluate lasing performance, output power and mode stability. The gain section of the template provides optical amplification, while two Vernier rings in series, with slightly different radii (such as 100 µm and 102 µm), create distinct, free spectral ranges (FSRs). Thermal tuning aligns their resonances at the target wavelength, reinforcing one resonance while suppressing competing modes. A phase modulator helps to balance competing modes, maximising power and reducing mode hopping.”
The PICWave template supports thermally tuned laser design and Photon Design’s online guide explains how to customise and calibrate it to meet application specific requirements.
