Lightweight high-power laser system

Abstract

The invention provides a light-weight high-power laser system which is based on efficient pumping source heat dissipation, a cooling system is greatly simplified, driving and light output are integrated, and high efficiency and light weight of the system are achieved. The laser comprises a pumping source system, the pumping source system is connected with a driving system and packaged in a laser shell, the pumping source system is provided with a plurality of pumping source units, and the pumping source units are distributed on the two sides of the central axis of the laser shell and arranged in the linear direction. The system has the advantages of compact structure, stable system, good heat dissipation effect and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of laser system technology, and specifically relates to a lightweight high-power laser system. Background Technology

[0002] In fields such as industrial processing and national defense research, the power improvement of high-power lasers is severely constrained by thermal management bottlenecks. As the primary heat source, the pump source's heat loss, if not promptly and uniformly dissipated, will lead to uneven laser medium temperature, decreased beam quality, efficiency degradation, and even device damage. Traditional solutions often face the following contradictions: to improve heat dissipation, large external cold plates, complex manifolds, or additional heat sinks are commonly used, but this results in a bulky, cumbersome system with low integration and complex manufacturing; multiple pump source units need to be independently fixed on a cooling plate, and the processing plane, stress deformation, or bonding interface of the cooling plate can all affect uniform cooling and stability. For high-power lasers, traditional structures place extremely high demands on equipment and process technology in terms of machining quality and precision. Furthermore, brazed cooling channels have limitations in terms of shape complexity, sealing reliability, overall strength, and rigidity, restricting further optimization of heat dissipation efficiency and lightweight design.

[0003] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, people have conducted long-term explorations and proposed various solutions. For example, Chinese patent literature discloses a pump source system with cooling [202111072836.9], which includes a base, a PBS assembly mounted on the base, a fiber coupling assembly, a stray light absorption block, and several sets of optical path module assemblies; openings are provided below the areas on the base where the PBS assembly and each set of optical path module assemblies are mounted, so that the PBS assembly and each set of optical path module assemblies can be in direct contact with the cooling medium.

[0004] The above solution has solved the problem of pump source heat dissipation to some extent, but it still has many shortcomings, such as low system integration, overall lightweight design, and system layout issues. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to address the above-mentioned problems by providing a lightweight, high-power laser system with a reasonable design and high integration.

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to address the above-mentioned problems by providing a lightweight water cooling system with good heat dissipation performance.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs the following technical solution: a lightweight high-power laser system, comprising a pump source system connected to and encapsulated within a laser housing. The pump source system has several pump source units distributed on both sides of the central axis of the laser housing and arranged equidistantly along a straight line. This layout symmetrically and equidistantly arranges the main heat source pump source units along the system's central axis, creating a regular structure. The length of the cooling plate is reduced by more than 40% compared to conventional systems, enabling the subsequent water-cooling system to cover all heat sources with the shortest and most uniform path. This creates the preconditions for implementing efficient and balanced integrated cooling, fundamentally avoiding manufacturing difficulties and localized overheating and thermal stress concentration caused by the random location of heat sources.

[0008] In the aforementioned lightweight high-power laser system, the pump source units are axially arranged on the left and right sides and / or front and rear sides relative to the central axis of the laser housing; the spacing between pump source units arranged along the same axis is equal. This structure can be modularly expanded in three-dimensional space. Regardless of the increase in the number of heat sources, the rule of their equidistant arrangement remains unchanged, ensuring the scalability of thermal management and design consistency.

[0009] In the aforementioned lightweight high-power laser system, the drive system comprises several drive units, each connected to one or more pump source units. This distributed drive unit configuration replaces a single, large, centralized drive, reducing the current load and heat density of a single circuit and improving electrical conversion efficiency and reliability. Furthermore, the flexible configuration of one-to-one or one-to-many drive configurations enhances the system's power management fault tolerance and ease of maintenance.

[0010] In the aforementioned lightweight high-power laser system, an optical fiber mounting base, corresponding one-to-one with the pump source unit and guiding the optical fiber, is installed inside the laser housing. The optical fiber mounting base is elongated and has guide slots for embedding the optical fiber. The optical fiber mounting base and its optical fiber physically isolate and fix each output optical fiber from the source, preventing excessive friction, entanglement, or bending of the optical fibers during transportation or vibration.

[0011] The optical fiber is coiled around the skirt of the cooling plate and cooled by the cooling plate. The drive and pump source unit and other devices are located on the inside.

[0012] A lightweight water-cooling system includes pump source housings encapsulated in a one-to-one correspondence with pump source units. A cooling plate is disposed inside the laser housing to secure the pump source housings. The cooling plate contains water-cooling channels connected to an external circulation system, and these channels communicate with the internal chambers of the pump source housings. This water-cooling system combines direct cooling with high-efficiency cold plate conduction cooling. Each pump source unit is encapsulated in an independent pump source housing, and the coolant flows directly through the housing chambers, carrying away the heat loss generated by the pump source. All these pump source housings are mounted on a large cooling plate. The channels inside the cooling plate distribute the flow rate among the various modules, reducing the manufacturing requirements of the cooling plate. It primarily cools components other than the pump source units, achieving zero-contact thermal resistance between the heat source and the heat dissipation substrate, resulting in high heat dissipation efficiency. The system also collects and transfers heat from all pump source housings to the external circulation system.

[0013] In the aforementioned lightweight water-cooling system, the cooling plate is integrally formed with the laser housing, and the cooling plate has cutouts. By using forging or additive manufacturing, the cooling plate, which carries the coolant, is integrated with the laser housing, which serves as the main load-bearing structure. This eliminates a large number of mechanical connectors found in traditional assembly, significantly reducing weight and improving overall vibration and deformation resistance. The cutouts are a weight-reduction design for non-load-bearing or low-stress areas, ensuring structural strength in critical areas and the integrity of the cooling channels, further optimizing weight and ensuring overall lightweight design.

[0014] In the aforementioned lightweight water-cooling system, the internal water-cooling channels of the cooling plate can be formed using friction stirring. Compared to traditional brazing, the frictional heat and mechanical stirring action of the stirring head bring the material into a plastic state and re-bond it to obtain a high-strength connection, facilitating subsequent industrialization of processing.

[0015] In the aforementioned lightweight water-cooling system, pump housings arranged adjacent to each other on the same side of the cooling plate are positioned in pairs. One pump housing is connected to the inlet channel of the water-cooling channel via a corrugated pipe fitting, and the other pump housing is connected to the outlet channel of the water-cooling channel via the same corrugated pipe fitting. The internal chambers of the adjacent pump housings are connected by a telescopic assembly. This design constitutes a highly reliable water circuit network with a "parallel loop and flexible connection." All pump housings are hydraulically connected in parallel, ensuring that the coolant flow rate and pressure received by each cooling unit are basically consistent, thereby achieving uniform heat dissipation. During operation, relative displacement may occur between the cooling plate and the pump housings due to temperature differences. Rigid connections can lead to excessive interface stress, resulting in leaks and affecting individual pumps. The flexibility of the corrugated pipe can absorb multi-dimensional displacement and vibration. The telescopic assembly allows for a certain degree of relative movement between adjacent pump housings in the axial direction, further releasing internal stress.

[0016] In the aforementioned lightweight water-cooling system, the bellows fitting includes an outer connector communicating with the pump source housing and an inner connector communicating with the cooling plate, with a bellows connecting the outer and inner connectors. The expansion joint includes expansion joints fixed to the pump source housing and interconnected, with locking nuts fixed between the expansion joints. The bellows fitting constitutes a standard flexible connection unit, facilitating installation and replacement. The expansion joints allow axial movement while maintaining the continuity of the passage; the locking nuts are used to set a basic preload to prevent the joints from disengaging during vibration, while allowing slippage under specific forces.

[0017] In the aforementioned lightweight water-cooling system, a circumferentially extending fiber optic slot is formed within the laser housing for winding the optical fiber. This slot is connected to the water-cooling channel. Since the output fiber of the high-power laser is itself a heat source, structurally connecting or closely adjacent the fiber optic slot for winding and storing redundant fiber lengths to the water-cooling channel adds an active temperature control base to the fiber segment. This effectively controls the temperature of the fiber winding area, reduces beam quality degradation caused by temperature gradients, and lowers the risk of high-temperature aging of the fiber coating. This improves the thermal stability and lifespan of the entire optical path system. The fiber optic slot, in conjunction with the water-cooling channel, enhances the overall heat dissipation performance of the laser housing, enabling active cooling of internal components such as the drive assembly.

[0018] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are: 1. The pump source units are symmetrically arranged along the central axis of the housing, forming a regular heat source distribution. This allows the cold source carried by the cooling plate to cover all heat sources with the shortest and most uniform path, fundamentally avoiding local overheating and ensuring the uniformity of the operating temperature of the laser core components. 2. The internal flow channels of the cooling plate are manufactured using friction stir welding technology, resulting in a smooth, complex-shaped, and leak-free integrated flow channel. This significantly reduces flow resistance, improves heat exchange efficiency, and avoids the challenges of large structural dimensions and precise manufacturing processes associated with traditional water cooling plates. Furthermore, the heat transfer through the interface between the shell and the cooling plate is highly susceptible to variations in processing precision, connection methods, and environmental factors. Simultaneously, this technology avoids the corrosion and failure risks associated with brazing and facilitates subsequent industrialization. 3. The pump source housings are connected in pairs in parallel to the inlet / outlet water channels, and corrugated pipe fittings and expansion joints are used for connection. This flexible connection between a single pump source and the cooling plate can effectively absorb stress caused by thermal expansion and contraction or vibration, eliminating the problems of stress deformation of the pump source due to rigid connections, which affects optical performance and reduces laser performance and is prone to leakage. 4. The cooling plate is integrally formed with the laser housing, and the pump source is directly cooled by water. This eliminates the additional connectors, connection interfaces and support structures in traditional assembly, improves the overall structural rigidity and load-bearing capacity, and ensures the performance is achieved under the overall lightweight structure. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the system structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the system of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the laser housing and cooling plate of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a structural schematic diagram from another perspective of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the present invention; Figure 6 This is another partial structural schematic diagram of the present invention; In the figure, there are: pump source system 1, pump source unit 11, drive system 2, drive unit 21, laser housing 3, fiber optic mounting base 31, guide groove 32, fiber optic groove 33, pump source housing 4, cooling plate 5, water cooling channel 6, corrugated pipe fitting 7, external connector 71, internal connector 72, corrugated pipe 73, telescopic assembly 8, telescopic joint 81, locking nut 82, and fiber optic groove 33. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0021] like Figure 1-6 As shown, a lightweight high-power laser system includes a pump source system 1, which is connected to a drive system 2 and encapsulated within a laser housing 3. The pump source system 1 has several pump source units 11, which are distributed on both sides of the central axis of the laser housing 3 and arranged equidistantly along a straight line. The straight line is not limited to a single axis; it can be understood as forming one or more parallel heat source axes inside the housing, providing a standardized spatial topology for modular power increase / decrease. The equidistant arrangement of the pump source units 11 not only facilitates thermal equalization but also simplifies the standardized design of subsequent drive wiring, fiber optic management, and cooling interfaces.

[0022] Specifically, the pump source units 11 are axially arranged on the left and right sides and / or front and back sides relative to the central axis of the laser housing 3. The left-right and front-back arrangement allows the pump source units 11 to form a high-density, regular two-dimensional array or three-dimensional rectangular array, which greatly improves the system packaging efficiency and power density. The pump source units 11 arranged in the same axis are equally spaced, ensuring that the local thermal environment and mechanical installation conditions of each pump source unit 11 remain highly consistent regardless of how the system power level is expanded.

[0023] Specifically, the drive system 2 has several drive units 21, each connected to one or more pump source units 11. Each drive unit 21 can independently control one or a group of pump source units 11, reducing the risk of single-point failure; a single drive failure does not affect the operation of other pump sources. It also facilitates the implementation of precise individualized power control and thermal management strategies. Furthermore, a one-drive-multiple configuration strikes a balance between cost and complexity, while a one-drive-one configuration achieves optimal independent control and redundancy. In general, the physical layout of the drive units 21 preferably corresponds to the symmetrical arrangement of the pump source units 11, and they can be integrated on the back of the cooling plate 5 or in a dedicated chamber. The waste heat generated by the drive units themselves can also be managed through the same cooling system.

[0024] Furthermore, the laser housing 3 contains fiber optic mounting bases 31, each corresponding to the pump source unit 11 and guiding the fiber optic cable outwards. These serve as key mechanical structures for achieving optical path ordering and vibration resistance. The fiber optic mounting bases 31 are elongated and have guide slots 32 for fiber embedding. The cross-sectional shape of the guide slots 32 can be designed as V-shaped, U-shaped, or closed with a cover plate. Their dimensions precisely match the fiber sheath, providing positioning and support while limiting radial displacement and micro-bending loss of the fiber under vibration. Multiple fiber optic mounting bases 31 are arranged in parallel, forming a clear fiber optic routing layer that separates the vulnerable fiber from the lower thermal management area and the upper electrical connection area, greatly simplifying the assembly process and facilitating rapid identification and replacement in case of failure.

[0025] A lightweight water-cooling system employs a two-stage heat dissipation architecture combining direct liquid cooling of individual units and conductive heat collection from the substrate. Specifically, it includes pump source housings 4, each corresponding to a pump source unit 11, which facilitate the first stage of efficient heat extraction. A cooling plate 5 is housed inside the laser housing 3 to secure the pump source housings 4. The cooling plate 5 contains water-cooling channels 6 connected to an external circulation system. All pump source housings 4 are mounted on the same cooling plate 5 as heat clients. The complex water-cooling channels 6 within the cooling plate 5 serve as a network for coolant distribution and collection, achieving the second stage of heat transport. This design minimizes the contact thermal resistance between the heat source and the heat dissipation substrate and balances the temperature of all pump source units 11 through the temperature equalization effect of the cooling plate 5. The water-cooling channels 6 communicate with the internal chambers of the pump source housings 4. The pump source housings 4 and pump source units 11 can be encapsulated by welding, brazing, or bonding with high thermal conductivity epoxy resin to ensure minimal interface thermal resistance.

[0026] Furthermore, the cooling plate 5 is integrally formed with the laser housing 3, manufactured in one piece through integral casting, die forging, or metal additive manufacturing. This eliminates the interfacial thermal resistance, additional weight, and potential leakage points caused by traditional bolted connections or welding, achieving deep integration of structure and thermal management functions. The cooling plate 5 has perforations, a weight-reduction design implemented in low-stress, low-heat-flux regions after finite element stress and heat transfer analysis. While ensuring overall structural rigidity and cooling performance, weight can be significantly reduced. The shape, size, and distribution of the perforations can be topologically modified based on actual optimization results.

[0027] In addition, the internal water cooling channel 6 of the cooling plate 5 is formed by friction stirring. Specifically, a high-speed rotating stirring needle is inserted into the workpiece and moves. Frictional heat softens the local material and plastically flows and recombines under the mechanical action of the stirring needle, thereby forming a closed flow channel.

[0028] Meanwhile, the pump source housings 4 arranged on the same side of the cooling plate 5 are arranged in pairs, one of which is connected to the water inlet channel of the water cooling channel 6 through a corrugated pipe 7, and the other is connected to the water outlet channel of the water cooling channel 6 through a corrugated pipe 7. The internal chambers of the adjacent pairs of pump source housings 4 are connected through a telescopic component 8.

[0029] All pump source housings 4 are hydraulically connected in parallel to the main inlet / outlet channel to ensure uniform flow distribution. Each pair of adjacent housings is connected in series via an expansion joint 8, forming a local series loop. The bellows fitting 7 connects the pump source housing 4 to the fixed cooling plate 5, its main function being to compensate for multidimensional displacements in the radial, axial, and angular directions caused by temperature differences, and to isolate vibrations. The expansion joint 8 is specifically designed to compensate for the relative axial thermal expansion between the same pair of pump source housings 4, preventing excessive tensile and compressive stress at the connection point.

[0030] As can be seen, the bellows fitting 7 includes an outer connector 71 communicating with the pump source housing 4 and an inner connector 72 communicating with the cooling plate 5. A bellows 73 connects the outer connector 71 and the inner connector 72. The bellows 73 is usually made of metal, and its corrugation number and wall thickness are designed according to the compensation amount. The inner connector 72 and the outer connector 71 can be designed as threaded, quick-connect, or flanged connections to ensure a seal. The expansion joint 8 includes expansion joints 81 fixed to the pump source housing 4 and connected to each other. Locking nuts 82 are fixed between the expansion joints 81. The two expansion joints 81 form a sliding pair, allowing free axial expansion and contraction. The locking nuts 82 are used to set the initial preload or lock in a certain expansion position, and can also be used to disconnect the connection during maintenance. The above structure is not only suitable for circular pipes, but also for flexible connections of flat pipes, meeting the needs of cooling interfaces of different shapes.

[0031] Clearly, the laser housing 3 has circumferentially extending fiber grooves 33 for coiling optical fibers, which are connected to the water-cooling channel 6. The fiber grooves 33 are located on the inner circumference of the housing sidewall or around the cooling plate 5, making full use of the non-core space at the edge of the laser housing 3 to accommodate redundant fiber lengths. The water-cooling channel 6 further facilitates heat conduction by allowing coolant to flow through the fiber grooves 33 or the flow channels on the back of the fiber grooves 33 via physical contact, thus actively controlling the temperature of the optical fibers and the laser housing 3 itself. Furthermore, the neatly coiled optical fibers also prevent accidental damage or signal interference caused by haphazard placement.

[0032] In summary, the principle of this embodiment is as follows: by symmetrically arranging the directly cooled pump source units 11 along the central axis of the laser housing 3 to construct a regular thermal field, and using a cooling plate 5 integrally formed with the housing 3 and formed by friction stirring of the internal water cooling channel 6 as a unified heat dissipation substrate; on this integrated lightweight structure, the pump source housing 4 encapsulating each pump source unit 11 is connected in parallel to the water cooling channel 6 through a flexible connection network composed of corrugated pipes 7 and telescopic components 8, thereby synergistically achieving systematic high power density thermal management, extreme structural weight reduction and high environmental reliability.

[0033] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the spirit of the invention. Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains may make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to substitute them, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

[0034] Although this document frequently uses terms such as pump source system 1, pump source unit 11, drive system 2, drive unit 21, laser housing 3, fiber optic mounting base 31, guide groove 32, fiber optic groove 33, pump source housing 4, cooling plate 5, water cooling channel 6, corrugated pipe fitting 7, external connector 71, internal connector 72, corrugated pipe 73, telescopic assembly 8, telescopic joint 81, locking nut 82, and fiber optic groove 33, the possibility of using other terms is not excluded. The use of these terms is merely for the convenience of describing and explaining the essence of the invention; interpreting them as any additional limitation would contradict the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A lightweight high-power laser system, comprising a pump source system (1), wherein the pump source system (1) is connected to a drive system (2) and encapsulated within a laser housing (3), characterized in that, The pump source system (1) has several pump source units (11), which are distributed on both sides of the central axis of the laser housing (3) and arranged in a straight line.

2. The lightweight high-power laser system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pump source units (11) are axially arranged on the left and right sides and / or front and rear sides of the central axis of the laser housing (3); the pump source units (11) arranged in the same axis are equally spaced.

3. A lightweight high-power laser system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The drive system (2) has several drive units (21), and the drive units (21) are connected to one or more pump source units (11).

4. A lightweight high-power laser system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The laser housing (3) is equipped with an optical fiber mounting base (31) that corresponds one-to-one with the pump source unit (11) and guides the optical fiber to exit. The optical fiber mounting base (31) is long and has a guide groove (32) for embedding the optical fiber.

5. A lightweight water-cooling system, incorporated in any one of the lightweight high-power laser systems described in claims 1-4, characterized in that, It includes a pump source housing (4) that is packaged one-to-one with the pump source unit (11). The laser housing (3) is provided with a water-cooled plate (5) for fixing the pump source housing (4). The water-cooled plate (5) has a built-in water-cooled channel (6) connected to the external circulation system. The water-cooled channel (6) is connected to the internal cavity of the pump source housing (4).

6. A lightweight water-cooling system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The water-cooled plate (5) is integrally formed with the laser housing (3), and the water-cooled plate (5) has a hollow opening.

7. A lightweight water-cooling system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The water-cooling channel (6) inside the water-cooled plate (5) is formed by friction stirring.

8. A lightweight water-cooling system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The pump source housings (4) arranged on the same side of the water-cooled plate (5) are arranged in pairs. One of the pump source housings (4) is connected to the water inlet channel of the water-cooled channel (6) through a corrugated pipe fitting (7), and the other pump source housing (4) is connected to the water outlet channel of the water-cooled channel (6) through a corrugated pipe fitting (7). The internal chambers of the adjacent pair of pump source housings (4) are connected by a telescopic component (8).

9. A lightweight water-cooling system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The corrugated pipe fitting (7) includes an outer connector (71) communicating with the pump source housing (4) and an inner connector (72) communicating with the water cooling plate (5). A corrugated pipe (73) is connected between the outer connector (71) and the inner connector (72). The telescopic assembly (8) includes a telescopic joint (81) fixed on the pump source housing (4) and connected to each other. A locking nut (82) is fixed between the telescopic joints (81).

10. A lightweight water-cooling system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The laser housing (3) has a fiber groove (33) extending circumferentially for the fiber to be coiled, and the fiber groove (33) is connected to the water cooling channel (6).

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