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Stackable Coolers
Typical stack of laser diodes; each diode is cooled by a dedicated cooler. |
Overview. Stackable cooler designs (also known as "single-bar coolers") allow the user to create one-dimensional arrays of edge-emitting laser diodes, each cooled by its own cooler. The coolant generally enters through the forward inlet port, is conveyed to the cooling passages under the diode, and then exits via the rear outlet port. A central bolt hole is also included to allow the stack to be bolted together
Single-Bar Cooler Designs of Various Sizes |
Typical cooler dimensions are 1.2 - 2 cm in width, 40 - 70 cm in length, and 0.125 - 0.225 cm in thickness. Cooling can be provided for relatively arbitrary heating footprints. Typical cooling areas are 1 cm wide by 0.1 cm to 0.7 cm deep (in the cavity length direction). Longer cavity lengths may require thicker cooler designs to obtain desire flow distribution and pressure drop targets.
Cooling Design. In the past the cooling passages were based on simple U-turn designs with passage widths ~200 microns, such as those shown on the "Microchannel Coolers" page. Recently, however, MC2 has successfully incorporated the higher performance microimpingement & lateral flow cooling passages into stackable cooler packages. This provides outstanding thermal performance in flexible packages. Cooler performance values can be obained from the "Microchannel Coolers" page.
Manifold Design. As with all cooling architectures, the design of the inlet and outlet manifold networks is critical. If a change to the design of a stackable cooler is required, it is customary to re-evaluate the flow distribution using computational fluid dynamics analysis of the flowfield. In cases where the thickness of the cooler is limited, it may be necessary to design more complex manifolds to achieve the desired flow distribution. These designs usually increase the pressure drop of the cooler by up to 25%.
Thermal and Flow Performance. As mentioned above, the thermal performance is based on the internal cooling passage design, as discussed on the "Microchannel Coolers" page. The flow performance depends on the manifold layout and geometry, as well as the particular cooling design. Examples of thermal and flow performance measurements on typical stackable coolers are shown in the chart below.