Monolithic microchannel heatsink

Patent · 31 December 1995

OSTI ID:870579

Benett, William J ^[1]; Beach, Raymond J ^[1]; Ciarlo, Dino R ^[1]

---

1. Livermore, CA

A silicon wafer has slots sawn in it that allow diode laser bars to be mounted in contact with the silicon. Microchannels are etched into the back of the wafer to provide cooling of the diode bars. To facilitate getting the channels close to the diode bars, the channels are rotated from an angle perpendicular to the diode bars which allows increased penetration between the mounted diode bars. This invention enables the fabrication of monolithic silicon microchannel heatsinks for laser diodes. The heatsinks have low thermal resistance because of the close proximity of the microchannels to the laser diode being cooled. This allows high average power operation of two-dimensional laser diode arrays that have a high density of laser diode bars and therefore high optical power density.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• Assignee: Regents of University of California (Oakland, CA)
• Patent Number(s): US 5548605
• OSTI ID: 870579
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/372/
allow
allows
angle
angle perpendicular
arrays
average
average power
bars
channel heat
channels
close
close proximity
contact
cooled
cooling
density
diode
diode array
diode arrays
diode bar
diode bars
diode laser
diodes
enables
etched
fabrication
facilitate
heatsink
heatsinks
increased
laser
laser bar
laser bars
laser diode
laser diodes
microchannel
microchannel heat
microchannels
monolithic
mounted
operation
optical
optical power
penetration
perpendicular
power
power density
power operation
provide
provide cooling
proximity
resistance
rotated
sawn
silicon
silicon wafer
slots
thermal
thermal resistance
two-dimensional
wafer