Reliability Of Semiconductor Lasers Research Articles

Failure mode characterizations of semiconductor lasers

Catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD) and catastrophic optical bulk damage (COBD) are the main factors that affect the reliability of semiconductor lasers. In this paper, we characterize the COMD and COBD failure modes by examining the voltage changes at the current point where failure occurs, as well as by using the electroluminescent technique. Our study reveals that the voltage has an increase at the failure current point for COMD samples, in which failure occurs due to the damage to the facet mirrors; for COBD samples, in which failure occurs inside the laser cavity, the voltage exhibits a decrease and the amount of voltage decrease is roughly proportional to the size of the damaged area.

A Machine Learning-Based Framework for Predictive Maintenance of Semiconductor Laser for Optical Communication

Semiconductor lasers, one of the key components for optical communication systems, have been rapidly evolving to meet the requirements of next generation optical networks with respect to high speed, low power consumption, small form factor etc. However, these demands have brought severe challenges to the semiconductor laser reliability. Therefore, a great deal of attention has been devoted to improving it and thereby ensuring reliable transmission. In this paper, a predictive maintenance framework using machine learning techniques is proposed for real-time heath monitoring and prognosis of semiconductor laser and thus enhancing its reliability. The proposed approach is composed of three stages: i) real-time performance degradation prediction, ii) degradation detection, and iii) remaining useful life (RUL) prediction. First of all, an attention based gated recurrent unit (GRU) model is adopted for real-time prediction of performance degradation. Then, a convolutional autoencoder is used to detect the degradation or abnormal behavior of a laser, given the predicted degradation performance values. Once an abnormal state is detected, a RUL prediction model based on attention-based deep learning is utilized. Afterwards, the estimated RUL is input for decision making and maintenance planning. The proposed framework is validated using experimental data derived from accelerated aging tests conducted for semiconductor tunable lasers. The proposed approach achieves a very good degradation performance prediction capability with a small root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.01, a good anomaly detection accuracy of 94.24% and a better RUL estimation capability compared to the existing ML-based laser RUL prediction models.

Effective Failure Analysis for Packaged Semiconductor Lasers with a Simple Sample Preparation and Home-Made PEM System

As the application requirements of semiconductor lasers continue to increase, severe challenges are brought to the reliability of semiconductor lasers. In order to promote the study of laser failure, this paper proposes an effective failure analysis method for packaged semiconductor lasers with a simple sample preparation and home-made photon emission microscopy (PEM) system. The new simple sample preparation process for failure analysis is presented and the necessary polishing fixture is designed so that sample can be obtained without expensive and complex micro-/nano-processing. Two types of home-made PEM experimental systems were established for observing the failure from the front facet and active region of semiconductor lasers. Experimental results showed that, with the proposed sample preparation flow, the home-made PEM experimental system effectively observed the leakage defects from the front facet and dark spot defects (DSDs) in the active region of semiconductor lasers. The method can help researchers and laser manufactures to perform effective failure analysis of packaged semiconductor lasers.

半导体激光器电导数及其可靠性的研究

半导体激光器电导数及其可靠性的研究

Design for Reliability and Common Failure Mechanisms in Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers

ABSTRACTVertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers are making up a large and growing share of the world’s production of semiconductor lasers. But the 850 nm GaAs quantum well VCSELs that make up most of present product are highly vulnerable to dislocation networks. In this paper, we discuss how materials selection affects the reliability of semiconductor lasers generally. We then describe the most common failure mechanisms observed in VCSELs, and what precautions are used to prevent them. We finish with a brief discussion of reliability testing and failure analysis.

Calculation of the Lyapunov exponent for low frequency noise in semiconductor laser and chaos indentification

Based on wavelet transformation and chaos theory, low frequency noise in semiconductor laser is studied. The feasibility of chaotic noise model is discussed and prescribed in detail based on techniques of phase locus, power spectrum，Lyapunov exponents and correlation dimension. And the reasons for this chaos phenomenon it also explained in theory. The rigorous chaotic character of low-frequency noise in semiconductor laser is found, which loys a theoretical basis for the correlative investigation based on semiconductor laser reliability.

Reliability of semiconductor lasers used in current communication systems and sensing equipment

The degradation mechanisms that had occurred – but that have now been largely suppressed or eliminated – in established consumer equipment and optical communication systems have also become problems in current optical fiber communication systems. This is due to the requirements of recently developed communication systems for semiconductor lasers, which operate at higher performance levels under severe environmental conditions. In addition, semiconductor lasers have now become important optical sources in new application fields such as sensing equipment, and these new applications have in turn brought new reliability problems to semiconductor lasers. In this paper, the degradation modes and reliability of semiconductor lasers are reviewed and discussed in association with recently developed optical sensing equipment and communication systems.

Optical source reliability in recent optical fiber transmission systems and consumer electronics

Reliability of semiconductor lasers used in recent systems and equipment is reviewed from an aspect of the degradation mechanisms. The degradation mechanisms clarified for last three decades still govern the reliability though the operating conditions of the lasers and requirements to the lasers are quite severe as the application fields diffuse widely. Based on the mechanisms, the laser reliability is briefly discussed for new application including future systems.

B and its temperature dependence are the important criteria of the reliability of semiconductor lasers

From the results of electric derivative curves and electric ageing of 21 V-groove InGaAsP/InP semiconductor lasers, we show in this paper that the intercept b of the id v/d i ∼ i curves above threshold at i = 0 and the change rate of b with temperature are the important criteria of the device's reliability.

The junction voltage saturation and reliability of semiconductor lasers

This paper reports theoretical and experimental work on the dependence of semi-conductor laser operation on junction voltage saturation. The relation between junction voltage saturation and the reliability of semiconductor lasers is discussed.

Analysis of rapid degradation in high-power (AlGa)As laser diodes

A multitemperature accelerated life test conducted to determine the lifetime and reliability of semiconductor lasers for long-term space applications is discussed. The primary cause of failure during two of these life tests (heat sink temperatures of -20 degrees C and 50 degrees C, respectively) was identified as carbon contamination on the front facet resulting in an initially rapid but saturable decrease in output power. The carbon contamination on the facet was the sole cause of the decrease in power for most of the laser diodes from the -20 degrees C test. Removing the sources of carbon from the laser diodes eliminated the front facet degradation, and this resulted in increased laser diode lifetime in subsequent life tests. The index of refraction and the absorption coefficient of the contamination found on the laser diodes from the -20 degrees C test were calculated. the resulting values compared favorably with those reported by other researchers for amorphous hydrogenated carbon.

Causes and distribution of failure of semiconductor lasers (review)

An analysis is made of the various factors that affect the reliability of semiconductor lasers and the results of laboratory service life tests are reviewed. The service life of GaAlAs/GaAs injection lasers exceeds 5×104 h and extrapolation of high-temperature tests suggests that it may exceed 106 h. Equally long service life is expected for InGaAsP/InP lasers and the published extrapolated values of the continuous service life exceed 1010 h (at 10°C). The nature and the parameters of the distributions of failure are discussed and ways of forecasting the service life are considered.

Reliability of semiconductor lasers for undersea optical transmission systems

The reliability of laser diodes developed for undersea optical transmission systems is analyzed. Up to 1000 device samples of two types (DC-PBH and VSB) are used. An aging test with constant light power operation of 5 mW is carried out at 10, 50, and 70°C for 10 000 h. The median lifetime at 10°C is conservatively estimated to be 1.6 × 106hours. Failure rate at 10°C is estimated at 250 FIT's at 25 years of service for the wear-out failure mode and at less than 50 FIT's for the random failure mode with a sufficient margin. Furthermore, it is determined that reliability can be further improved by selection of long-life lasers through an additional third step screening aging.

Methodology of Accelerated Aging

Outlines are given for eight alternative black-box (i.e., input-output) methodologies that are appropriate for estimating, from external characteristics, the reliability of semiconductor lasers or other gradually degrading manufactured products with lifetimes too long to measure directly over practical time spans. These reliability estimates, which are essential for various components of such systems as submarine communication cables or satellites, are obtained from two classes of data. One class consists of the measured properties of statistically equivalent components, i.e., samples from the manufactured population, that have been operated to failure or at least to a significant degree of degradation. This degradation is often brought about in a shortened time span through the application of a temperature or other “accelerating stress” that is large compared to the operating temperature or other stress of the intended application. The other class of data is, for each component, comprised of the predeployment properties of that very component, including particularly its own predeployment degradation rate (which may also be measured under accelerating stresses). Brief consideration is given in passing to important special cases when only one of these two classes of data is available.

Selection of a Laser Reliability Assurance Strategy for a Long-Life Application

We are concerned with assuring the reliability of semiconductor lasers intended for an application in which the design lifetime is long, replacement or redundancy is impossible or impractical, and the failure of even a few lasers could be disastrous. In the search for a reliability assurance strategy that will meet our objectives, we have carefully examined the well-known and widely used bathtub and lognormal approaches. Based upon our understanding of the expected aging behavior of lasers, we propose an alternative reliability assurance strategy that we believe to be an improvement over the traditional approaches. The object is not how to make reliable lasers, but rather how to confidently predict, in a timely fashion, which lasers in a given population will endure beyond the intended system lifetime. Particular emphasis is placed upon initially imposed overstress regimes that address the anticipated presence of transient modes of depadation and infant failure modes with low thermal activation energies that may be invulnerable to detection during accelerated thermal aging. Since lasers degrade gradually rather than fail suddenly, comparable emphasis is placed upon monitoring the stabilized long-term degradation rates of the survivors of the overstress regimes so as to permit lifetime predictions of individual lasers.

Reliability of semiconductor lasers for undersea optical transmission systems

The reliability of laser diodes developed for undersea optical transmission systems is analyzed. Up to 1000 device samples of two types (DC-PBH and VSB) are used. An aging test with constant light power operation of 5 mW is carried out at 10, 50, and 70°C for 10 000 h. The median lifetime at 10°C is conservatively estimated to be <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1.6 \times 10^{6}</tex> hours. Failure rate at 10°C is estimated at 250 FIT's at 25 years of service for the wear-out failure mode and at less than 50 FIT's for the random failure mode with a sufficient margin. Furthermore, it is determined that reliability can be further improved by selection of long-life lasers through an additional third step screening aging.

Reliability of Semiconductor Lasers and Detectors for Undersea Transmission Systems

This paper reports the strategy for establishing the reliability assurance for LD's and APD's available for undersea transmission systems. On the basis of aging data during more than 104h and a statistical analysis for the reliability of semiconductor devices, the LD's and Ge-APD's lifetest plans for high reliability assurance are proposed.

Reliability of semiconductor lasers and detectors for undersea transmission systems

This paper reports the strategy for establishing the reliability assurance for LD's and APD's available for undersea transmission systems. On the basis of aging data during more than 104h and a statistical analysis for the reliability of semiconductor devices, the LD's and Ge-APD's lifetest plans for high reliability assurance are proposed.