Multiphysics modeling of semiconductor optoelectronic devices using the MOOSE framework

Abstract Optoelectronic devices, central to many aspects of current and emerging technologies, can be exposed to extreme radiation environments when deployed in specific applications. These environments can induce complex materials effects within the device, resulting in significant device performance degradation. A comprehensive multiphysics tool that can precisely capture the dynamics and reliably predict the behavior of optoelectronic components is needed for interpreting experimental observations and enabling performance optimization without extensive reliance on costly and time-consuming experimental iterations. Capturing all the relevant physics, however, is nontrivial. At the device scale, models require solving a system of nonlinear partial differential equations that govern charge carrier transport, electrostatics, and, in optically active regions, electromagnetic wave dynamics. This study presents a multiphysics simulation approach for such devices using the MOOSE (Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment) finite element framework. This framework enables the coupling of semiconductor electronic and optical physics, where the electronic behavior is described by Poisson's equation and the drift-diffusion equations, while the optical response is introduced through photon generation from carrier recombination processes and the propagation of electromagnetic waves. We describe two optoelectronic device structures, a PiN diode and a laser diode, to highlight the coupling of electronic and optical physics within a unified computational model. Ultimately, this work demonstrates how an open-source multiphysics framework can be leveraged to advance the computational study of semiconductor optoelectronic devices, providing a scalable pathway toward modeling more complex systems beyond specific geometries or material platforms under extreme radiation environments.