Long term reliability study and life time model of quantum cascade lasers

Here, we present results of quantum cascade laser lifetime tests under various aging conditions including an accelerated life test. The total accumulated life time exceeds 1.5 × 106 device hours. The longest single device aging time was 46 500 hours without failure in the room temperature aging test. Four failures were found in a group of 19 devices subjected to the accelerated life test with a heat-sink temperature of 60 °C and a continuous-wave current of 1 A. Failure mode analyses revealed that thermally induced oxidation of InP in the semi-insulating layer is the cause of failure. An activation energy of 1.2 eV is derived from the dependence of the failure rate on laser core temperature. The mean time to failure of the quantum cascade lasers operating at a typical condition with the current density of 5 kA/cm2 and heat-sink temperature of 25 °C is expected to be 809 000 hours.