Physics of failure investigation in high-power broad-area InGaAs-AlGaAs strained quantum well lasers

Yongkun Sin; Stephen D. LaLumondiere; Nathan Presser; Brendan J. Foran; Neil A. Ives; William T. Lotshaw; Steven C. Moss

doi:10.1117/12.906436

8 February 2012 Physics of failure investigation in high-power broad-area InGaAs-AlGaAs strained quantum well lasers

Yongkun Sin, Stephen D. LaLumondiere, Nathan Presser, Brendan J. Foran, Neil A. Ives, William T. Lotshaw, Steven C. Moss

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8241, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications X; 824116 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.906436
Event: SPIE LASE, 2012, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Continued improvements in broad-area InGaAs-AlGaAs strained quantum well (QW) lasers have led to unprecedented performance characteristics in these lasers including optical output powers of over 20 W and power conversion efficiencies of over 70% under CW operation. Catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD) is responsible for failures in (Al)GaAs QW lasers, but InGaAs-AlGaAs strained QW lasers with optimized facet passivation predominantly fail by catastrophic optical bulk damage (COBD). Since COBD is relatively a new failure type, it requires physics of failure investigation to understand its root causes and then develop COBD-free lasers for high reliability applications including potential satellite systems. We recently proposed a model for degradation mechanism responsible the COBD process and this paper further investigates the root causes of COBD in the lasers using various failure mode analysis techniques. We investigated reliability and degradation mechanism in MOCVD-grown broad-area InGaAs-AlGaAs strained QW single emitters. During entire accelerated life-tests of the lasers we studied, time resolved electroluminescence (TR-EL) techniques were employed to observe formation of a hot spot and subsequent formation and progression of dark spots and dark lines through windowed n-contacts.

Citation Download Citation

Yongkun Sin, Stephen D. LaLumondiere, Nathan Presser, Brendan J. Foran, Neil A. Ives, William T. Lotshaw, and Steven C. Moss "Physics of failure investigation in high-power broad-area InGaAs-AlGaAs strained quantum well lasers", Proc. SPIE 8241, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications X, 824116 (8 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.906436

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

;

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE