Reliability of infrared surface light emitting diodes suitable for military and avionic wavelength division multiplexing systems

A comparative study of the reliability of high-power double-heterojunction surface light-emitting diodes (SLEDs) operating at 750 nm, 1060 nm, and 1300 nm is reported. A data analysis from 9000 h of fully automated life testing is included. Degradation and failure characteristics specific to each operating wavelength are described and related to structural and performance data on each device batch. Median life and activation energies are calculated. The devices examined have shown impressive reliability at very high current densities and temperature (23 kA/cm² and 135°C). The 1300-nm devices, which in common with all three wavelengths received no pretest burn in, registered 0/60 failures after 9000 h of testing. Based on the calculated activation energies, the best batches at each wavelength produce MTTF (mean time to failure) figures in excess of 10⁶ h at 25°C ambient and full DC drive