Degradation studies of sawn-cavity (GaAl) As/GaAs-heterostructure lasers under pulsed operation

Rapid degradation sometimes observed in sawn-cavity (GaAl) As/GaAs-heterostructure lasers under pulsed operation has been found to be primarily due to damage introduced during sawing. Dislocation networks are generated, which propagate through the active layer during operation, leading to the growth of nonradiative recombination areas. The degradation rate was found to be superlinearly dependent on current. Lasers fabricated by deep-proton isolation, which introduces no mechanical damage, did not degrade rapidly.