Pulse Testing Of Laser Diodes

L-I-V Testing Basic Light intensity-Current-Voltage (L-I-V) testing is an I-V test with the addition of optical power measurements. This test is primarily used to sort laser diodes or weed out bad devices before they become part of an assembly. The device under test (DUT) is subjected to a current sweep while the forward voltage drop is recorded for each step in the sweep. Simultaneously, instrumentation is used to monitor the optical power output of the laser's front facet and rear facet. The resulting data is then analyzed to determine laser characteristics, including lasing threshold current, quantum efficiency, and "kink" detection (localized negative slope in the first derivative optical power output vs. injection current curve).