We all know that laser diodes are widely used in daily life, so do you know how long their working life is? Let's take a look at it together.

If it works under normal parameters, proper heat dissipation and stable driving, the common service life range is:

DFB/FP laser for communication

Life span: 50,000 ~ 100,000 hours or more.

These LD's for optical communication have the best quality, which can be basically understood as "equipment can be scrapped".

Industrial high-power semiconductor laser diodes (such as 5W, 10W and 100W)

Life span: 10,000 ~ 20,000 hours

With high power and heat, the service life will naturally be shorter.

Low power red/infrared LD (such as 5mW, 10mW)

Life span: 8000 ~ 15000 hours

Ultraviolet laser diode (e.g. 375nm, 405nm)

Life: 2000 ~ 8000 hours (shorter wavelength, shorter life)

Why is the life of laser diode so different?

Because it is not "time" that determines the life, but four things: temperature+current+packaging+process *.

temperature

LD chips are very afraid of heat.

For every 10℃ increase in chip temperature, the lifetime will be shortened by dozens of percentage points. Many burning pipes are caused by poor heat dissipation.

Current overshoot will directly kill LD.

Instantaneous current rush (even if only 1 microsecond) → may directly burn the chip, so the quality of driving power supply is particularly important.

Packaging quality affects life.

Good packaging: C, FCC, TO56, butterfly packaging.

Bad package: poor gold wire technology, uneven heat dissipation pad and empty solder joints.

The difference in life span can be dozens of times worse.

What I have introduced to you above is how long the life of laser diode is. I hope you will have a clear understanding after reading it.