Real three-dimensional optical simulation of non-circular VCSEL structures with finite volume method

This work presents a real three-dimensional (3D) solution of the scalar Helmholtz-equation for VCSELs with finite volume method (FVM). The advantage of this formulation is that the order and structure of the system matrix can be reduced compared to vectorial finite element approach, and thus the feasible problem size can be significantly increased. Moreover, the combination with three-dimensional current flow and thermal analysis can be realized with the same discretization without extra numerical efforts. Results show the calculated fundamental mode profile on a sample VCSEL with square oxide aperture.