Daylight achieves laser reliability milestones
Over 1 million hours of quantum cascade laser operation
Daylight Solutions announced today the company has reached two major milestones as part of its ongoing reliability characterisation and growth program for quantum cascade laser (QCL) technology.
Over 1 million hours of QCL device operation, and over 250,000 hours of fully packaged QCL module operation have been accumulated as part of this program. All units under test were sampled from high-yield, commercial production. The units maintained optical power levels above specifications throughout the test, and continue to operate without failure.
Over 80 individual QCLs sampled from five different epitaxial wafers are being evaluated as part of the current reliability characterisation program. Lasers are running in both continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed (quasi-CW) modes of operation to explore the reliability effects of each operating condition.
While some of the devices are operating at standard room temperature, the majority of the tests are being conducted with the QCL devices running at a higher temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Elevating the device operating temperature has been demonstrated to accelerate the aging effects of standard group III-V semiconductor diode lasers, and creates an added stress component for these tests.
In practice, the thermal management system of the QCL-based products will maintain device temperatures around 25degC while allowing the ambient temperature to increase beyond 71degC while maintaining performance.
"The achievement of this milestone demonstrates the inherent reliability of our QCL technology," said Timothy Day, CEO for Daylight Solutions. "Our team is committed to the continuous execution of reliability growth programs to support the demanding requirements of our customers."
