Abstract :
Since 1992, we have tested 980 nm laser diodes from three manufacturers, in pumps fabricated by four packagers, for reliability and fitness for use in Er-doped optical fiber amplifiers. We have found that when high-power 980 nm lasers are hermetically sealed in inert gas, regardless of laser or package origin, a large number experience a catastrophic failure mode that apparently does not occur in lasers that are lifetested as chip-on-carrier. We call this phenomenon packaging-induced failure
Keywords :
seals (stoppers); 980 nm; Er-doped optical fiber amplifiers; catastrophic failure mode; chip-on-carrier; hermetically packaged 980 nm diode laser reliability; high-power; inert gas; lifetested; packaging-induced failure; Diode lasers; Fiber lasers; Gas lasers; Hermetic seals; Laser modes; Manufacturing; Optical fiber amplifiers; Optical fiber testing; Packaging; Pump lasers;
