Heat dissipation in high-power semiconductor lasers with heat pipe cooling system

Abstract

This study focuses on the application of heat pipes in thermal management for high-power semiconductor lasers. The heat pipe cooling systems are used for heat dissipation in high-power semiconductor lasers. These systems are used instead of water cooling machines to realize a compact and lightweight laser module. The n-shaped heat pipe cooling system, which consists of eight 6 mm copper heat pipes with sintered powder wicks, can easily handle a heat load of up to 73 W from a single-laser unit. The fabricated U-shaped heat pipe cooling system, which consists of ten 12 mm copper heat pipes with sintered powder wicks, can easily handle a heat load of up to 300 W from five laser units. The optical power of the multi-laser module cooled by the U-shaped heat pipe cooling system reaches 210 W. These results indicate that high-power semiconductor lasers can be cooled using heat pipe cooling systems instead of water cooling machines.