Analysis of Wear-Out Degradation of a DFB Laser Using an Optical-Beam-Induced Current Monitor

We investigated the degradation behavior of distributed feedback lasers by employing the optical-beam-induced current measurement technique. We showed that the degradation mechanism is governed by diffused defects at the waveguide other than those in the vicinity of the antireflection facet. In addition, we found that a diffused source is probably generated in the upper InP cladding layer above the grating during the growth of the upper InP cladding layer.