Light emitting sources commonly made from III-V materials are used in photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The application for PICs that we are interested in is for light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) that can be used for autonomous vehicles. I took optoelectronic measurements of GaAs (gallium arsenide) and InP (indium phosphide) laser diodes and compared them to a packaged laser diode. I recorded their characteristics to determine which lasers could be incorporated in PICs for LiDAR applications. Optoelectronic characterization consists of current-voltage (IV), light-current-voltage (LIV), and intensity vs wavelength characterization and provides important information about the laser’s properties, including operating point, threshold current, turn on voltage, and efficiency.