Abstract
In the previous chapter, we discussed the direct properties of semiconductors that are relevant to lasers, including bandgap, strain, and critical thickness. In this chapter, we talk about the ideal properties of semiconductors and semiconductor quantum wells, including density of states, population statistics, and optical gain, and we develop quantitative expressions for these that are based on ideal models. These will lead up to a qualitative and quantitative expression of optical gain.
If it cannot be expressed in figures, it is not science, it is opinion…
—Robert A. Heinlein
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Notes
- 1.
This idea was put down in deBroglie’s Ph.D. thesis. Would that you would have a thesis of such significance!
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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Klotzkin, D.J. (2014). Semiconductors as Laser Materials 2: Density of States, Quantum Wells, and Gain. In: Introduction to Semiconductor Lasers for Optical Communications. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9341-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9341-9_4
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Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-9340-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9341-9
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