CALCULATION OF THE PROPAGATION CONSTANT OF OPTICAL MODES IN MULTIQUANTUM-WELL STRUCTURES

Using a simple mathematical formalism, the propagation constant β for optical modes (TE0, TM0) in multiquantum-well semiconductor laser structures was calculated. The energy correction due to narrow quantum wells, the energy dependence of the refractive indexes, and the energy dependence of electron and hole masses were taken into account. The data show that there is a considerable difference between the calculated values and the averaged values for β, especially for a small number of narrow quantum wells. © 1990 IEEE