Thermal stability for the highest resolutions and extreme process windows

With laser diodes and high-power LEDs the difficulty is the heat flux density rather than the total power: several hundred watts on a few square centimetres. Tube-based coolers reach their limit here because the path from source to medium is too long; the solution is an internally structured plate whose channel sits directly beneath the source, sometimes with an embedded copper heat spreader that widens the heat flow. Temperature homogeneity across the emitter area matters as much as cooling capacity, because uneven temperature shifts the wavelength. We design these plates by simulation and document the temperature distribution, not just the maximum values. Limit: for microchannel coolers with channel widths below roughly half a millimetre, specialised manufacturers are better placed. We work above that range.

With water-cooled coolers, weight is determined by two things: the wall thickness that pressure and machining allow, and the amount of material needed to spread the heat. Aluminium has the clear advantage over copper: at equal thermal conductivity per kilogram it is considerably better in weight, which is why for lightweight requirements we combine aluminium bodies with copper tube or local copper inlays. Enquiries with target weights around two kilograms at several hundred watts of heat load are feasible if the structure is designed consistently for weight. Limit: weight and pressure resistance work against each other. A very light plate has thin walls and therefore a lower permissible operating pressure. Maximising both at once does not work, so tell us which one has priority.

For vacuum and optics-adjacent applications we design for vacuum: no trapped volumes, through-holes instead of blind holes, relief grooves at joint faces and joining processes without cavities. Every trapped air volume outgasses for hours and makes reaching the target pressure impossible. With optical assemblies there is the added requirement that the plate has to be thermally stable, because deformation in the micrometre range already creates imaging errors. In that case we design for symmetry and uniform temperature distribution rather than minimum thermal resistance. Limit, honestly stated: residual gas analysis, bake-out procedures and cleanroom final assembly are not part of our scope. We supply the part designed and manufactured to vacuum requirements and agree the verification with your laboratory.

Temperature stability at the assembly is determined by the control of the chiller; the cooler decides how strongly a fluctuation in the supply comes through and how uniform the surface is. The design levers are a high thermal capacity for damping, symmetrical channel routing against temperature gradients, and deliberately choosing a higher volume flow, because a small temperature spread between inlet and outlet makes the surface more homogeneous. We report gradients in the simulation, not just maximum temperatures, because in optical applications the gradient is the problem rather than the level. Limit: for stability in the range of a few millikelvin the cooler is not the governing element; that is a question of control, insulation of the supply lines and ambient stability.

No. A cold plate cannot bring a component below the temperature of the medium flowing through it. It is a heat exchanger, not a refrigeration machine: it transports heat to the medium, and the medium sets the achievable lower limit. Anyone needing a component temperature below room temperature additionally needs a chiller, a cryostat or a Peltier element; the cold plate is then the heat exchanger on its cold side. This question comes up regularly because laboratory applications often require target temperatures well below ambient. Practical advice: state the target temperature of the component **and** the available medium temperature in your enquiry. The difference immediately shows whether a plate is enough or whether refrigeration is part of it.

Yes. Universities, large research facilities and start-ups are among our regular customers, often with single pieces or small series for experimental set-ups. In practice that means we also work when the specification is incomplete at the start: we propose a variant based on heat load and installation space instead of demanding a complete requirements list. What helps is a sketch with dimensions, the heat load per heat source and the available medium temperature. A first sound proposal needs no more than that. Limit: for single pieces the unit price is not comparable with a series calculation, because set-up and programming dominate the effort. Anyone expecting a catalogue-level budget will be surprised by a single-piece quotation, which is why we say so in advance.

We start from your load case: heat load, distribution across the area, permissible component temperature, inlet temperature, volume flow and installation space. This yields the Rth budget, which we test in thermal simulation against variants of the channel routing, before design work begins.

That depends on channel routing, material and volume flow. In simulation we optimise for uniformity rather than maximum temperature and show you the achievable spread across the part.

We work with copper, copper-nickel, stainless steel and aluminium. The choice follows three criteria: thermal conductivity, media compatibility and mechanical requirement. We often combine materials: conductive material at the heat source, resistant material at the medium.

Pressure testing of every part is our standard; for demanding applications we additionally test with a helium leak test and document the leak rate per part. We set the target leak rate before design.

From a 30 mm microchannel cooler to a 3 m (30,000 mm) cold plate, and up to a fully cooled large precision part. Size alone does not decide what is possible; material, design and tolerance do. Give us your dimensions and we will tell you which design we can produce them in.

Yes. Joining processes put heat into the part and therefore cause distortion. We plan machining steps after joining so that form and position tolerances are achieved on the finished part, not on the blank.

Yes. We select low-outgassing materials, avoid trapped volumes and work with documented cleaning processes and cleanroom-compliant packaging.

Samples in around 6-8 weeks as standard, 2-4 weeks by express. For series production we manufacture in a highly automated plant in Germany; cost-sensitive standard parts come from our joint ventures in Asia.

Yes, that is the norm for us. We sign your non-disclosure agreement or provide ours. We never pass on customer projects or application details.