Transport in Quantum Cascade Lasers

The simulation of transport in semiconductor heterostructures like quantum cascade lasers is of central interest as it enables the knowledge of the electrons dynamics inside such structures, allowing the determination of electrical and optical properties of the latter. These human-designed structures have an atomic resolution and therefore require a quantum mechanical description. The latter can be performed at different levels. The basic description gives the band-structure that represents where electrons can exist in the structure. However this description does not provide information about the transport properties, as the latter require the knowledge of the interaction of electrons with various sources of scattering inside the structure. In this work we present an effective transport model that relies both on coherent and incoherent transport processes.