Effects of gamma-ray irradiation on quantum-well semiconductor lasers

Investigations were carried out on three types of commercially available quantum-well semiconductor laser diodes, irradiated by gamma-rays, in order to assess their behavior in ionizing radiation environments. The laser diodes emit in the visible range of the spectrum, with a maximum CW power of 5-8 mW. The diode degradation was evaluated up to the total irradiation dose of 96 Mrad. The optical, electrical and optoelectronic characteristics were studied. The paper describes briefly the measuring set-up, and illustrates the main results.