Reliability in the oxide vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers exposed to electrostatic discharge

Electrostatic discharge(ESD) damage is known as a major source affecting the lifetime of oxide VCSEL. We investigated how ESD damage threshold voltage depends on the size, thickness, and composition of the oxide aperture by measuring the change of output power and reverse leakage current after ESD. ESD damage threshold voltage increased with the size of the oxide aperture, regardless of the thickness and the composition of the oxide aperture. However, damaged devices with thinner oxide layers showed relatively longer lifetime in the reliability test. The reliability data also showed that the VCSELs exposed to ESD have steeper power declines in reliability test than normal devices. This may be due to the defects formed in the active medium by ESD.