Hot-carrier dynamics in semiconductor-based quantum-cascade lasers: a Monte Carlo study

A microscopic analysis of the hot-carrier dynamics governing intersubband light-emitting devices is presented. In particular, a non-conventional Monte Carlo simulation scheme is adopted, which allows to directly access details of the three-dimensional carrier relaxation, without resorting to phenomenological parameters. The competition between phonon-assisted relaxation and inter-carrier scattering in quantum cascade structures, both state-of-the-art mid-infrared lasers and prototypical THz emitters, is analysed and discussed.