The Chroma 58620 Laser Diode Characterization Station is a state-of-the-art full turnkey system specically designed for Laser Diode testing. Features range from macro inspection of the facet or aperture active area to a full suite of electro-optical parametric tests. When used in conjunction with Chroma's high capacity carrier, multiple devices can be rapidly indexed to improve not only test times but also repeatability which produces a large impact on yield and quality control. The Chroma 58620 is equipped with an ultra stable and uniform thermal control platform to incorporate R&D-style tests in a production environment.

From vast experience in the Semiconductor industry, Chroma introduces a precision and high capacity carrier which may be designed to accommodate a large array of mechanical form factors such as Chip on Carrier (CoC), Chip on Submount (CoS), Transistor Outline (TO), or Laser Bars. The highly innovative bi-lateral design's symmetry allows components to be placed on both sides allocating a larger batch of components. The carrier's multi-layer configuration allows for components to be easily inserted manually or by a robotic pick and place system. Surfaces and materials are engineered to optimize thermal contact to the device under test (DUT) allowing for efficient heat transference and a high level of temperature control. Once the carrier is inserted, the robotics take over and perform a wide-range of pre-defined automated tests on all devices (both sides) in the carrier.

The Chroma 58620 is equipped with a fully-automated alignment station to simulate or correlate to real-world Optical Sub-Assembly (OSA) testing. These parameters include, but are not limited to, power, coupling efficiency and spectral performance. Equipment used can be as simple as a ber-coupled power meter and spectrometer, or as complex as a full-featured Optical Spectrum Analyzer to measure Side-Mode Suppression Ratio and more. Other stations may incorporate an integrating sphere for raw output measurements and current sweep curves, or even capacitance metrology equipment if necessary. Since the carrier is indexed to position and bar-coded for traceability, every device is tagged with an identification code. This enables the Chroma 58620 to provide the user with traceable data to either reduce the need for down-stream testing, or accurate device-specific correlation to final package test parameters.

▲ Auto-aligment Fiber with AOI Assistance

The carrier, designed for a particular product type used on the Chroma 58620, can also be used in other processes. This enables the user to form a streamlined, fully automated, Laser Diode verification process. These processes are, but not limited to, Chip/Wafer Qualification, Life-Test, Burn-In, Chip Characterization, and Final Production Test. The carrier is designed to be inter-operable with the Chroma 58601-family of Opto-Electronic Burn-In and Life Test systems. Devices can be left in the carrier to burn-in for hours or months, collect valuable in-situ degradation data, and then inserted into the 58620 for full-scale characterization. With access to pre-test, burn-in, and post-test parametric information, the user can generate accurate component models that are empirically based. This adds tremendous value when working to increase yield or compare to theoretical expectations.

External and Internally induced thermal stresses on Laser Diodes strongly influence spectral and other electro-optical characteristics. Due to these issues, the Chroma 58620 includes a temperature control platform using a high precision Chroma 54130 - 300W TEC Controller and a Chroma 51101 Data Logger. These are highly regarded as world class instruments to ensure the uniformity of the carrier temperature and hence the devices under test. There are several thermal sensors placed along the carrier platform to ensure both a high degree of temperature uniformity and stability.