Self-consistent electro-thermal-optical simulation of thermal blooming in broad-area lasers

High-power broad-area laser diodes often suffer from a widening of the lateral far-field with increasing current, called thermal blooming. This effect is mainly caused by the non-uniform self-heating of the laser and it has been studied for several decades. For the first time, this paper presents a self-consistent electro-thermal-optical simulation of thermal blooming, including all relevant physical mechanisms. The results are in good agreement with previous measurements and reveal the blooming mechanism in detail. Common mistakes in the experimental determination of the internal temperature rise are also discussed.