Kinetic model for gradual degradation in semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes

A new semiphenomenological statistical kinetic model for gradual degradation in semiconductor laser and light‐emitting diodes is presented. In this model, the injection of a nonequilibrium electron‐hole plasma increases the probability of structural changes and reduces their effective activation energy. Arrhenius‐like expressions for the degradation rate with the pre‐exponential factor and the effective activation energy as explicit functions of the material parameters are derived. Good agreement with experimental data is obtained.