Abstract

InGaAs strained quantum-well (QW) lasers emitting at 980-nm wavelength are of great interest as pumping light sources for Er³⁺-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA's)^1,2,3). Practical optical fiber systems request high reliability for over 100,000 hours at high power levels of about 100 mW. Exact estimation of a lifetime needs long-term lifetests at more than two level elevated temperatures to determine their degradation rates and activation energy. However, the results of lifetests at various ambient-temperatures have yet to be reported for InGaAs strained QW lasers. In this paper, we present 100-mW stable operations at elevated temperatures of 50^°C, 70^°C and 90^°C using 980-nm double quantum-well (DQW) buried ridge lasers. The mean time to failure (MTTF) at each temperature and the activation energy are determined by these lifetests. The extrapolated lifetime at 100 mW is over 200,000 hours at room temperature condition.

© 1994 Optical Society of America