Laser diode COFD analysis by thermoreflectance microscopy

We present thermoreflectance measurements upon a 980 nm wavelength laser di ode. Using the energy conservation law, we are able to determine the temper ature increase near the active region due to surface absorption. In this pa per, we have studied the influence of this surface source contribution for three different configurations of the input current: below the threshold cu rrent I-Th for a moderate current above I-Th and finally for a current far above I-Th. We can analyse from these reliability issues for the diode in t erms of catastrophic optical facet damage (COFD). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.