Physicists have known for centuries how to predict the behavior of light and other types of electromagnetic radiation when it moves through a vacuum, using Maxwell's Laws; however, when it propagates through disorderly media, like those we use in developing new engineering devices, people have relied on very gross approximations or back-of-the-envelope estimates to predict what will happen. These PIs will develop new computer simulation systems to predict what happens more accurately than has been possible in the past. Their new tools should be of very widespread use, in photonics and electrooptics, in developing new devices and technologies. They plan to disseminate the new software widely to enable scientists worldwide to conduct research on this topic.
The project will focus on developing an integrated solver for self-consistent Maxwell-Bloch equations that is accurate and computationally efficient. This will entail the development of (1) a domain decomposition framework; (2) semi-analytical methods for transient analysis of radiation/scattering; and (3) fast potential evaluators that can be integrated with these solvers to enable large-scale analysis of disordered systems. The framework will provide a complete picture of the dynamics of light and optical excitations (excitons) in a variety of disordered systems, starting with Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) structures with disorder. Another system to be investigated as a testbed is the case of quantum dots embedded in a semiconductor with and without an external cavity.
