Thermal reliability studies of optoelectronic components

For optical networks, the operating life of optoelectronic components is expected to be over 20 years. Network designers therefore require components, which have been reliability tested in accordance with assured protocols, such as Telcordia Generic Reliability Assurance Practices (BellCore). In this paper, we report on the development of a system for thermal reliability studies of optoelectronic devices. The system incorporates an environmental test chamber programmed to provide differing temperature environments in the range (-180°C to 300°C) as well as constant bias current (max. 200mAmps) or voltage (max. ±40 volts) to the device under test. Case studies for preliminary screening and temperature cycling tests on a wide range of novel active and passive devices fabricated at NMRC for short-haul networks markets are assessed and reported using this system.