Analysis on ESD-induced degradation of GaInAsP LD

ESD-induced degradation is one of the serious reliability problems of GaInAsP/InP LD. The authors have conducted an analysis on ESD-induced degradation, and clarified the principal mechanisms of degradations under the forward- and reverse-biased voltage conditions. In the case of forward-biased ESD, heating by light absorption at the active layer at a facet is the main cause of degradation. This phenomenon is similar to the COD that occurs in a GaAs-based high-power LD. The mechanism of degradation induced by reverse-biased ESD is different. The authors found out that degradation is caused by the concentration of high electric field on a MQW.