V-Groove Laser Diode Package Thermal Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laser diode packages fail to effectively dissipate heat at high power levels, leading to reliability issues due to thermal stress and electromigration, limiting the deployment of diode-pumped solid-state lasers in applications like inertial confinement fusion and medical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A laser diode assembly with v-grooves in the substrate to accommodate longer laser diode bars, using a heat spreader with a coefficient of thermal expansion matching the diode bars, and a multilayered heat spreader structure with high thermal conductivity materials like copper and diamond to enhance heat dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If laser diodes are driven at increasingly high output powers, then power output is improved, but heat dissipation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The laser diode array is divided into multiple individual laser diode bars, each with its own heat dissipation path through the substrate. This segmentation allows heat to be distributed and dissipated from multiple locations rather than concentrated in a single package, enabling higher overall power output while maintaining effective heat management.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from managing heat in a two-dimensional plane to utilizing three-dimensional heat dissipation pathways through the substrate thickness. The substrate serves as a heat spreader that conducts heat away from the laser diode bars in the vertical dimension, providing an additional heat dissipation route that enables higher power operation.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional laser diode packages are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but reliability deteriorates due to thermal stress and electromigration
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is designed with specific thermal and mechanical parameters optimized for heat dissipation and stress management. By changing the substrate's thermal conductivity, thickness, and material properties, the package can handle the thermal stress and electromigration effects that occur at high power levels, significantly improving reliability while maintaining a relatively simple manufacturing process.
3Device complexity
If standard substrate designs are used, then manufacturing complexity is reduced, but heat dissipation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is constructed as a composite structure with materials selected for their superior thermal conductivity and mechanical properties. This composite design provides enhanced heat dissipation capabilities while maintaining a relatively simple monolithic structure that does not require complex assembly procedures, thus improving heat management without significantly increasing manufacturing complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides increased reliability and improved heat dissipation, reducing stress on components and extending the lifespan of the laser diode package, enabling higher power operations without failure.
Implementation Method 1
A heat spreader structure is attached to the first layer... multilayered heat spreader structure with high thermal conductivity materials like copper and diamond to enhance heat dissipation
Implementation Method 2
The metal plate has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) substantially similar to that of the laser diode bar
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface is provided. The substrate includes a plurality of v-grooves formed in the upper surface. Each v-groove includes a first side and a second side perpendicular to the first side. A laser diode bar assembly is disposed within each of the v-grooves and attached to the first side. The laser diode bar assembly includes a first adhesion layer disposed on the first side of the v-groove, a metal plate attached to the first adhesion layer, a second adhesion layer disposed over the metal plate, and a laser diode bar attached to the second adhesion layer. The laser diode bar has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) substantially similar to that of the metal plate.