A system is provided for maintaining a safe operating area while also providing a suitable forward bias voltage to drive a laser diode. The system can monitor a voltage that is applied to a laser diode driver using a threshold that is based on the fabrication process of the laser diode driver. For example, a system can utilize a first threshold for a laser diode driver that is fabricated utilizing a 10 nm process and utilize a second threshold for another laser diode driver that is fabricated utilizing a 20 nm process. The threshold can also be based on a color of the laser or a desired operation mode. The system can monitor a voltage applied to a laser diode using different thresholds while controlling a bleed current to ensure that the laser diode is forward biased while mitigating the risk of silicon breakdown of the laser diode driver.