Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T01:55:56.531Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Failure Analysis Using Optical Evaluation Technique (OBIC) of LDs for Fiber Optical Communication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Tatsuya Takeshita
Affiliation:
[email protected], NTT Corporation, NTT Photonics Laboratories, Atsugi, Japan
Hiromi Oohashi
Affiliation:
[email protected], NTT Corporation, NTT Photonics Laboratories, Atsugi, Japan
Get access

Abstract

The introduction of high-speed services for fiber-optic access subscribers has led to a huge growth in data traffic. The rapid diversification of services means that next generation networks must be built quickly, economically and reliably.

A high temperature laser allows us to eliminate the thermo-electric cooler conventionally needed in a transmitter module, which results in reductions in cost, power consumption and size. Moreover, a high-power laser provides a wide tolerance when coupling optical fibers. In addition, a high-power pump laser is needed to realize a wide-band and high-power erbium-doped fiber amplifier. This makes high-performance laser chips one of the keys to achieving highly reliable and cost-effective systems.

In terms of laser reliability, we must clarify the degradation mechanism and postpone or suppress degradation if we are to achieve a reliable high-performance laser. We have analyzed degraded lasers using the optical beam induced current (OBIC) technique. When there are nonradiative recombination centers in the degraded region, the OBIC intensity decreases with increases in recombination density. This technique has the advantages of being non-destructive and highly sensitive. In addition, it provides high space resolution in degradation analyses.

The OBIC is measured through the window of a transistor outline (TO) can before and after aging. Then, by using the same LDs we can detect an OBIC change for several aging times. We can both detect the degraded region and layer, and estimate the degree of laser degradation by employing the relative OBIC intensity prior to aging. This OBIC technique is useful for analyzing the degree of laser degradation.

Moreover, the incident wavelength can be changed by changing the optical source in the OBIC measurement setup, which in turn changes the absorption layer and the penetration distance. Some degraded laser layers are reveled by using these several wavelengths absorbed in different layers. In addition, degradation in the waveguide interior is detected by using an incident wavelength with long penetration. Thus, by monitoring the OBIC intensity at several wavelengths as well as before and after aging, we are able to discuss sudden and wear-out laser failures. In our presentation, we will introduce examples using the OBIC technique that contributed to the improvement of laser reliability.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Seshake, H., Yamamoto, S. and Matsuoka, Y., NTT Tech. Rev., 4, 66, (2006).Google Scholar
2 Iga, R., Kondo, Y., Takeshita, T., Kishi, K. and Yuda, M., Electron. Lett., 42, 280, (2006).10.1049/el:20064255Google Scholar
3 Nakahara, K., Tsuchiya, T., Kitatani, T., Shinoda, K., Kikawa, T., Hamano, F., Fujisaki, S., Taniguchi, T., Nomoto, E., Sawada, M. and Yuasa, T., J. Lightwave Tech., 22, 159, (2004).10.1109/JLT.2003.822157Google Scholar
4 Pliska, T., Matuschek, N. and Harder, C., IEEE J. Sel. Topics Quantum Electron., 11, 1209, (2005).10.1109/JSTQE.2005.853842Google Scholar
5 Kasukawa, A., Namegaya, T., Iwai, N., Yamanaka, N., Ikegami, Y. and Tsukiji, N., IEEE Photon. Tech. Lett., 6, 4, (1994).10.1109/68.265872Google Scholar
6 Fukuda, M., Reliability and degradation of semiconductor lasers and LEDs, (Artech House Publishers, Boston London, 1991).Google Scholar
7 Wallon, J. and Devold, P., in Proc. ESREF 95, (Pergamon, Bordeaux, France, 1995), pp. 415420.Google Scholar
8 Takeshita, T., Sugo, M., Sasaki, T. and Tohmori, Y., IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev., 53, 211, (2006).10.1109/TED.2005.862238Google Scholar
9 Bajaj, J., Bubulac, L. O., Newman, P. R., Tennant, W. E. and Raccah, P. M., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 5, 3186, (1987).10.1116/1.574834Google Scholar
10 Cramer, R. M., Schade, W. R., Heiderhoff, R., Balk, L. J., and Chin, R., Microelectronics Reliability, 38, 936, (1998).10.1016/S0026-2714(98)00082-1Google Scholar
11 Yonezu, H., Yuasa, T., Shinohara, T., Kamejima, T., and Sakuma, I., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 15, 2393, (1976).10.1143/JJAP.15.2393Google Scholar
12 Stringfellow, G. B., Greene, P. E., J. Appl. Phys., 40, 502, (1969).10.1063/1.1657429Google Scholar
13 Casey, H. C. Jr and Panish, M. B., Heterostructure lasers, (Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1978).Google Scholar
14 Takeshita, T., Sugo, M., Nishiya, T., Iga, R., Fukuda, M. and Itaya, Y., Microelectronics Reliability, 38, 1211, (1998).10.1016/S0026-2714(98)00144-9Google Scholar
15 Sze, S. M., Semiconductor devices, (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1969).Google Scholar
16 Bacher, F. R., Blakemore, J. S., Ebner, J. T. and Arthur, J. R., Phys. Rev. B, 37, 2551, (1988).10.1103/PhysRevB.37.2551Google Scholar
17 Takeshita, T., Iga, R., Yamamoto, M. and Sugo, M., Microelectronics Reliability, 47, 2135, (2007).10.1016/j.microrel.2007.01.001Google Scholar
18 Takeshita, T., Okayasu, M. and Uehara, S., IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett., 2, 849, (1990).10.1109/68.62006Google Scholar
19 Takeshita, T., Okayasu, M. and Uehara, S., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 30, 1220, (1991).10.1143/JJAP.30.1220Google Scholar
20 Ueda, O., Reliability and degradation of III-V optical devices, (Artech House Publishers, Boston London, 1996).Google Scholar
21 Sim, S. P., Skeats, A. P., Taylor, M. R., Hockly, M., Cooper, D. M., Nelson, A. W., Devlin, W. J. and Regnault, J. C., Proc. on Fourteenth European Conference on Optical Communication, (Brighton, Sep. 1988), pp. 396399.Google Scholar
22 Fukuda, M., Optical semiconductor devices, (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1998).Google Scholar
23 Takeshita, T., Yamamoto, M., Iga, R., Sugo, M., Kondo, Y. and Kato, K., IEEE Trans. Electron. Dev., 54, 1852, (2007).10.1109/TED.2007.900975Google Scholar
24 Ito, T., Takeshita, T., Sugo, M., Kurosaki, T., Akatsu, Y. and Kato, K., J. Jpn. Appl. Phys., 47, 4523, (2008).10.1143/JJAP.47.4523Google Scholar
25 Lautenschlager, P., Garriga, M. and Cardona, M., Physical Review B, 36, 4813, (1987).10.1103/PhysRevB.36.4813Google Scholar