Service life of GalnPAs/lnP heterostructures

Life tests were made on GalnPAs/lnP heterostructures designed for use in injection lasers and diodes emitting in the 1.2–1.3 µ range. The step test method was used to investigate noncoherent emission from stripe diodes at temperatures 25–80 °C. At the ambient medium temperature of 80 °C the actual life exceeded 2000 h when the current density was 3–5 kA/cm². The activation energy of the temperature dependence of the degradation process was estimated to be ~0.6 eV. Life tests were carried out also at room temperature on a cw heterolaser with a buried mesastripe structure on a p-type substrate, emitting at the wavelength of 1.25 µ. After 6000 h in an open atmosphere there was no significant change in the threshold current.