Abstract

Facet degradation of AlGaAs laser diodes has been strongly tied to localized facet temperature rise.¹ With increasing output power, there is a corresponding increase in facet temperature until catastrophic optical damage occurs (COD). It has also been shown that at fixed power the facet temperature increases as a function of operation time. The difference between the facet temperature at some operating power and the COD temperature is an important factor in determining laser reliability. In the past, all of the facet temperature measurements have been carried out with the laser package at room temperature. However, in a realistic operational environment, the ambient temperature may be significantly higher than room temperature. It is thus interesting to examine whether the operation of lasers at a higher case temperature affects the COD temperature and hence lifetime. In this report, we examine facet heating as a function of output power and drive current, for case temperatures from 20°C to 90°C. Two types of commercial 780-nm AlGaAs lasers were studied.

© 1994 Optical Society of America