Hot/cold storage tests involve subjecting devices to hot/cold temperature extremes for an extended period with the devices maintained nonoperational. One purpose of the tests in this area is to determine whether optoelectronic devices can withstand the high and low temperatures encountered during transportation and storage. Thus, the devices do not operate during these tests, but appropriate functionality measurements need to be made before and after the tests. In the case of low temperatures, few failure mechanisms related to long-term storage have been observed, and therefore a relatively short-term test that is consistent with the low-temperature storage test described for systems in GR-63-CORE (i.e., 72 hours at -40°C or the minimum specified storage temperature, whichever is lower) is considered sufficient. Conversely, a relatively long-term test (i.e., 2000 hours at +85°C or the maximum specified storage temperature, whichever is higher) is specified for high-temperature storage. The reason for this is that in some cases this test has been found to stimulate failure modes in much the same manner as a high-temperature operations test (which is also a relatively long-term test). On the other hand, if the failure mechanisms that are relevant under high-temperature conditions are not significantly affected by whether or not the device is operating, then the high-temperature storage and operations tests may be redundant, and only the more stressful of those two tests may need to be performed (see Section 3.3.3.1.3 of the GR-468 CORE Document). Refer to the GR-468-CORE document for additional details if needed. See the standard documentation for more information on test requirements, conditions, and procedures related to your application.
