Localization of crystallographic defects in failed laser diodes using optical probes

Abstract

A precise localization of dark line defects in failed A1GaAs/GaAs laser diodes has been achieved by means of scanning optical microscope (SOM) techniques.The analytical scheme has been based on optical beam induced current (OBIC) and photoluminescence (PL) at three photon probes and different device bias voltages. The imaging analysis has been associated to a progressive chemical etching of the semiconductor material. Numerical simulation of the experiment has been performed for results interpretation.Results are in good agreement with previously published theories and with TEM analysis. The proposed analytical procedure can be applied to a wide variety of devices.development of dark line defects (DLDs) crossing the active stripe in the <100> direction.Previous studies on DLDs nature revealed that they consist of a network of dislocations generated from a single dislocation crossing the buffer n-A1GaAs, the active GaAs and the cladding p-A1GaAs layers [2]. The most accepted model on the origin of the dislocation network involves the presence of point-defects at the heterostructure 250

A SOM approach to the failure physics of optoelectronic devices

“…The reported case shows that the synergy of different analytical schemes leads to the precise localization of crystallographic defects [4]. Interpretation of the experimental results has been corroborated by probe-semiconductor interaction volumes computations and device band structure simulations.…”