Highly accelerated life testing for non-hermetic laser modules

Reliability testing using accelerators such as temperature and humidity for electronic components has evolved from conventional temperature/humidity/bias (THB) testing (85/spl deg/C/85% RH/bias) to the use of highly accelerated temperature and humidity stress testing (HAST). This advancement was in part made possible by the availability of stable commercial HAST systems that have eliminated problems with condensation and pressure-reduction rates. In this paper we apply HAST to laser diodes. We believe that this is the first such data on the application of HAST to non-hermetic laser diodes.