Shelf Life for Lasser Diodes?

[Skans]

Does anyone know if there is a shelf life for unused laser diodes? In other words, how long can you store a laser diode (assuming good storage conditions) without any degradation? Do any elements of the diode break down over time, regardless of use?

 

[RedCowboy]

They do wear down with use and that mechanic is something I would like to get into, but a lot has changed over time and we don't have any 100 year old laser diodes, they have not been around that long, but I suspect a decade on the shelf will not degrade them. I have some 15 year old reds that work fine.

The gain medium is different for blue than green than red and green did not want to grow together at first so is it the least stable?

It is less efficient and degrades faster, that's why we have mostly blue pumps exciting phosphors.
It's called the green gap and there's a couple links here : http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/why-do-most-projectors-not-use-direct-green-97424.html

But start here:

A laser diode is electrically a P-i-n diode. The active region of the laser diode is in the intrinsic (I) region, and the carriers (electrons and holes) are pumped into that region from the N and P regions respectively. While initial diode laser research was conducted on simple P-N diodes, all modern lasers use the double-heterostructure implementation, where the carriers and the photons are confined in order to maximize their chances for recombination and light generation. Unlike a regular diode, the goal for a laser diode is to recombine all carriers in the I region, and produce light. Thus, laser diodes are fabricated using direct bandgap semiconductors. The laser diode epitaxial structure is grown using one of the crystal growth techniques, usually starting from an N doped substrate, and growing the I doped active layer, followed by the P doped cladding, and a contact layer. The active layer most often consists of quantum wells, which provide lower threshold current and higher efficiency


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_diode

 

[paul1598419]

It's tough to say for sure, but I would expect the diode to have a comparable shelf life of an LED. Basically I believe they last for many years, unless they are stored improperly. I have new diodes in my stock that have been there for over five years. I know that is not a long time, but these diodes themselves have not been around a very long time.

 

[Richie89]

They do wear down with use and that mechanic is something I would like to get into, but a lot has changed over time and we don't have any 100 year old laser diodes, they have not been around that long, but I suspect a decade on the shelf will not degrade them. I have some 15 year old reds that work fine.

The gain medium is different for blue than green than red and green did not want to grow together at first so is it the least stable?

It is less efficient and degrades faster, that's why we have mostly blue pumps exciting phosphors.
It's called the green gap and there's a couple links here : http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/why-do-most-projectors-not-use-direct-green-97424.html

But start here:

A laser diode is electrically a P-i-n diode. The active region of the laser diode is in the intrinsic (I) region, and the carriers (electrons and holes) are pumped into that region from the N and P regions respectively. While initial diode laser research was conducted on simple P-N diodes, all modern lasers use the double-heterostructure implementation, where the carriers and the photons are confined in order to maximize their chances for recombination and light generation. Unlike a regular diode, the goal for a laser diode is to recombine all carriers in the I region, and produce light. Thus, laser diodes are fabricated using direct bandgap semiconductors. The laser diode epitaxial structure is grown using one of the crystal growth techniques, usually starting from an N doped substrate, and growing the I doped active layer, followed by the P doped cladding, and a contact layer. The active layer most often consists of quantum wells, which provide lower threshold current and higher efficiency


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_diode

That's true. But maybe their is a 56 year old laser sittin somewhere

 

[Alien Laser]

I have some laser diodes from 1993/ and still works