Processes of the Reliability and Degradation Mechanism of High-Power Semiconductor Lasers

Abstract

High-power semiconductor lasers have attracted widespread attention because of their small size, easy modulation, and high conversion efficiency. They play an important role in national economic construction and national defense construction, including free-space communication; industrial processing; and the medical, aerospace, and military fields, as well as other fields. The reliability of high-power semiconductor lasers is the key point of the application system. Higher reliability is sought in the military defense and aerospace fields in particular. Reliability testing and failure analysis help to improve the performance of high-power semiconductor lasers. This article provides a basis for understanding the reliability issues of semiconductor lasers across the whole supply chain. Firstly, it explains the failure modes and causes of failure in high-power semiconductor lasers; this article also summarizes the principles and application status of accelerated aging experiments and lifetime evaluation; it also introduces common techniques used for high-power semiconductor laser failure analysis, such as the electron beam-induced current (EBIC) technique and the optical beam-induced current (OBIC) technique, etc. Finally, methods used to improve the reliability of high-power semiconductor lasers are proposed in terms of the preparation process, reliability screening, and method application.

Optical Response of Aged Doped and Undoped GaAs Samples

“…Kumar et al [9] conducted research on the optical response of both doped and undoped epitaxial ZrO 2 films and observed a decrease in the energy band as the aging time increased. On the other hand, Song et al [10] applied different experimental techniques to analyze failures in high-power semiconductor lasers subjected to accelerated aging. All these works demonstrate that the study of the aging of semiconductor materials remains a current topic, and some techniques have even been used to accelerate the aging process and study it in the laboratory [11][12][13][14].…”

Optical In Situ Studies of Ge(100) Interfacial Exchange Reactions in GaAs-Rich MOVPE Reactors for Low-Defect III-P Growth

“…An atomically abrupt and well-ordered III-V/Ge(100) heterointerface is the key to prevent crystalline defects originating from the heterointerface. Defects present in the III-V epitaxial layers commonly act as non-radiative recombination centers, which reduce photon emission efficiency. , Defects can also introduce electronic traps (defect states) in the bandgap, which could affect the luminescence spectrum of a laser device. , Thus, a defect-free III-V buffer layer is crucial for the high performance of optoelectronic devices. It is particularly important to avoid anti-phase boundaries (APBs) in the III-V buffer layers, at which charge carriers can be trapped , and recombined by the formation of double-atomic steps on Ge(100) surfaces.…”

“…Defects present in the III-V epitaxial layers commonly act as non-radiative recombination centers, which reduce photon emission efficiency. 9,10 Defects can also introduce electronic traps (defect states) in the bandgap, which could affect the luminescence spectrum of a laser device. 10,11 Thus, a defect-free III-V buffer layer is crucial for the high performance of optoelectronic devices.…”

“…9,10 Defects can also introduce electronic traps (defect states) in the bandgap, which could affect the luminescence spectrum of a laser device. 10,11 Thus, a defect-free III-V buffer layer is crucial for the high performance of optoelectronic devices. It is particularly important to avoid anti-phase boundaries (APBs) in the III-V buffer layers, at which charge carriers can be trapped 12,13 and recombined by the formation of doubleatomic steps 14 on Ge(100) surfaces.…”

Research Progress of Horizontal Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser

“…With the progression of society and the expansion of semiconductor laser application in laser radar, laser processing, and high-speed laser communication, individuals require laser light sources with lower divergence angles, higher power, and higher slope efficiency [7,8]. Nonetheless, conventional semiconductor lasers have drawbacks such as susceptibility to cavity surface damage [9], significant divergence, and inadequate monochromaticity [10,11]. These conventional semiconductor lasers require complex systems for beam shaping, collimation, and coupling to attain high beam quality, but their high cost renders them inadequate for affordable use.…”