High Power Military Laser Heat Exchanger Assemblies

  Laser systems are often used for target designation and range-finding. They are high-power diode-pumped laser assemblies. The diode-pumped assemblies usually require a thermoelectric cold plate assembly to provide cooling and heating. The thermoelectric function is to control the temperature of the assembly to about room temperature. This is both a cooling and a heating application. It is necessary to control the temperature of the packaged laser assembly, which adds to the heat-pumping requirements and packaging design issues. Also, lasers are used in fiber-optic gyros for missile guidance systems and for proximity fuses for air-to-air missile technology development. In these applications Marlow cools the laser inside the package using a small single-stage thermoelectric cooler.

Advantages of Thermoelectrics for this Application

  Thermoelectric Coolers (TEC) provide accurate and stable temperature control. Since these applications are for military equipment, the operating temperature range requires that the product provide both high heat-pumping in both the cooling and heating modes. Also, these products reside in densely packed assemblies that cannot tolerate the vibration associated with compressor-based systems. The heat loads involved, even in the large diode-pumped lasers, is low, so that compressor-based cooling is too large and expensive. As a result, the solid-state cooling and small size are advantages.

Specific Marlow Advantages

  High heat-pumping cold plate assemblies require extensive modeling and testing capabilities for the manufacturer. The product often has to accommodate a wide operating temperature range and meet transient performance requirements. Marlow has the engineering resources, modeling capability, and test equipment to support product development in these areas. Marlow has proven suppliers for heat sinks. Also, since the product involves temperature control, both heating and cooling are needed. Along with the high heat-pumping requirements for the diode-pumped lasers, the cold plate assemblies have to operate in a broad temperature range. This type of product is susceptible to excessive stress. Marlow has extensive experience designing for these applications and providing customers with products that meet these difficult requirements.