The Effect of Facet Heating and the Evolution with Aging

Abstract

This study seeks to explain the effects of thermal runaway due to current competition between emitters in a laser diode bar using both experimental and simulation results. We have demonstrated a trend due to temperature and the evolution with aging using both experimental and simulation results. By-emitter degradation analysis was performed on two bars: 650 nm broad area laser bars and 980 nm tapered laser bars before and after aging. We observed that, a frown shaped temperature profile gave rise to a corresponding frown shaped profile, but the frown shaped power profile turned to a smile shaped profile with the evolution of time. The observed trend was confirmed using simulation results.