Abstract

This study describes and explores the use of a laser diode simulation tool at the single emitter level of operation and how they can be degraded. A test of the simulation tool is implemented to complement the by-emitter degradation analysis of high power laser diodes. The simulation tool is called Speclase, designed for the simulation of single emitters. Tests were performed using a 975 nm narrow-angle (<1º) tapered laser structure from Alcatel Thales III-V Lab with front and rear facet reflectivities of 3 and 90%, respectively. The tool worked for both the constant current and power modes of operation. Simulation results were obtained for both constant QW trap density, based on the maximum QW temperature and variable QW trap density generation due to local heating. Single emitter degradation results are obtained using the Arrhenius equation to compare the rate of degradation between the constant and variable QW trap densities.

Keywords:

By-emitter degradation, degradation, emulation tool, heat sink, quantum well, trap density,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.