Cryogenic Optoelectronic Characterization of InGaAsP LEDs for Low-Energy Detector Calibration

Abstract

We measured the emission spectra and current-voltage (IV) characteristics of commercial InGaAsP LEDs in a cryostat over a temperature range from 7 K to 300 K. At a constant operating current of 3.3 mA, the peak emission wavelength of the 1200 nm (1650 nm) LED decreased from 1202.3 +/- 0.5 nm (1665.5 +/- 0.6 nm) at 300 K to 1143.1 +/- 0.3 nm (1539.5 +/- 2.2 nm) at 7 K, demonstrating a strong temperature dependence. The cut-in voltage increased systematically with decreasing temperature, in agreement with conventional diode theory. To assess junction self-heating effects, we conducted pulsed IV measurements at different duty cycles. The extracted apparent series resistance showed a clear duty-cycle dependence, whereas the cut-in voltage remained unchanged within experimental uncertainty, indicating that self-heating primarily influenced the IV slope rather than the cut-in voltage. These results quantitatively characterize the thermal behavior of both the spectral peak and key electrical parameters, supporting the application of InGaAsP LEDs as cryogenic calibration light sources.