Measurement of mounting-induced strain in high-power laser diode arrays

Thermally induced strain caused by device packaging is studied in high-power semiconductor laser arrays by a novel non-invasive technique. Measurements with intentionally strained laser array devices for 808 nm emission reveal spectral shifts of quantum-confined optical transitions in the optical active region. These shifts by up to 10 meV serve as a measure for strain and are compared with model calculations. We demonstrate that different packaging techniques cause different packaging-induced strains. We also show that the packaging-induced strain portion, which gets transmitted through the solder material, differs for different packaging technologies. An intentionally strain-reduced packaging technique is shown to transmit about one quarter of the potential packaging-induced strain towards the optical active layer, whereas another packaging technique, which provides highly reliable 'single-chip' devices is found to transmit about half of the potential amount. Spatially resolved measurements demonstrate strain gradients within the devices. Also temporal strain evolution is monitored. We show that 'the burnin' is accompanied by strain accumulation whereas for long-term operation strain relaxation occurs.