Degradation Analysis of Semiconductor Optical Devices and Suppression of Degradation

Abstract

Semiconductor optical devices, such as semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), employ a great variety of compound semiconductor materials and structures, and they are used in an extremely wide range of systems and electronic equipment in society, industry, and the home. These devices may degrade as a result of inappropriate bonding and packaging of the devices and under severe operating conditions, causing failure of the equipment and/or system. This paper systematically reviews various degradation modes of optical devices, mainly red and infrared optical devices, focusing on the degradation mechanism, degradation analysis, and methods of suppressing the degradation.