Degradation of InGaAsP-InP lasers in hot-humid ambients: determination of temperature-humidity-bias acceleration factors

Reliable nonhermetic lasers are expected to both reduce the cost of InP-based optoelectronics and lead the way for the development of revolutionary low cost packaging technologies. To date, the functional dependence of the degradation rate of lasers on temperature and humidity in noncondensing ambients is not known, Without knowledge of these dependencies, degradation rates measured in real time, tens to hundreds of hours, at high temperatures, T>60/spl deg/C, and high relative humidities, RH>60%, cannot be used to estimate the degradation rate which occurs at nominal use conditions, T>50/spl deg/C, and RH>