Transient simulation of cylindrical laser cavities containing active media

In this paper, we propose a method for the 2.5 dimensional transient simulation of cylindrical laser cavities. Carrier dynamics are coupled to Maxwell´s equations by means of the rate equation approach. The cylindrical symmetry is exploited by decomposition of the fields into azimuthal modes. Due to the nonlinear behavior of active media under the influence of a strong electric field, coupling between these modes has to be considered. Consistency with one-dimensional approaches will be shown by a transient simulation of a vertical emitting laser (VCSEL). To further emphasize the benefits of our approach towards one-dimensional implementations, we also illustrate the effects of spatial carrier distributions and local material properties.