A compact high-efficient equivalent circuit model of multi-quantum-well vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for high-speed interconnects

Abstract

Due to their low power consumption, high modulation speed, and low cost, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) dominate short-reach data communications as the light source. In this paper, we propose a compact equivalent circuit model with noise effects for high-speed multi-quantum-well (MQW) VCSELs. The model comprehensively accounts for the carrier and photons dynamisms of a MQW structure, which includes separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) layers, barrier (B) layers, and quantum well (QW) layers. The proposed model is generalized to various VCSEL designs and accommodates a flexible number of quantum wells. Experimental validation of the model is performed at 25 Gb/s with a self-wire-bonded 850 nm VCSEL.