Influence of driving conditions on the stability of ZnSe-based cw-laser diodes

ZnSe-based laser diodes grown by molecular beam epitaxy are tested under va rious current driving conditions. We found that the driving conditions do n ot influence the degradation process itself. Lifetime measurements show no dependence on the pulse width of the applied current, whereas the duty cycl e has a strong influence on the lifetime. This indicates that heat is one o f the driving forces of the degradation process. It is found that stable hi gh-power pulsed operation can be maintained over a long time when the delay between the current pulses is long enough. In pulsed mode light pulses wit h 128 mW and in continous wave (cw)-mode an output power of more than 37 mW have been obtained. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.