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

• Published in: Crystals (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 6; p. 765
• Main Authors: Song, Yue, Lv, Zhiyong, Bai, Jiaming, Niu, Shen, Wu, Zibo, Qin, Li, Chen, Yongyi, Liang, Lei, Lei, Yuxin, Jia, Peng, Shan, Xiaonan, Wang, Lijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2022
• Subjects: accelerated aging test; Defects; Defense programs; Efficiency; Electric industries; Electron beam induced current; Failure analysis; failure analysis techniques; failure mechanisms; Failure modes; high-power semiconductor laser; Laboratories; Lasers; Microscopy; Military communications; Misfit dislocations; Reliability analysis; Semiconductor lasers; Semiconductors; Service life assessment; Space communication; Supply chains; Japan
• ISSN: 2073-4352; 2073-4352
• DOI: 10.3390/cryst12060765

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.