Thermal Management
Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide
II-VI, the high power CO2 and Fiber laser solution center is once again bringing you the next generation of high power laser optical materials. In collaboration with our wholly owned subsidiary M Cubed Technologies, II-VI is working to develop materials tailored for the future of high power laser processing. Engineered materials such as Reaction Bonded SiC (RB SiC) and Reaction Bonded SiC + Diamond (RB SiC + Diamond) combine all of the best material properties of traditional mirror materials into one optimized material solution.
Advantages of RB SiC over traditional high power mirror materials:
- Coefficient of thermal expansion 5x lower than copper reduces the deformation of the optical surface due to the thermal load.
- Density 3x lower than copper reduces the weight of the mirror and allows for use in cutting heads that require fast movement of the head.
- Ability to add internal water cooling channels gives it an advantage over Si mirrors.
- Ability to directly polish with roughness < 40Å and coated with any II-VI high reflector coating.
Reaction Bonded SiC + Diamond
If even greater thermal load handling capability is required RB SiC + Diamond could be the answer. With a CTE similar to CVD Diamond and a Thermal Conductivity greater than any traditional metal substrate SiC + Diamond is the ideal material for high thermal loads.
Advantages of RB SiC + Diamond :
- Potential to achieve a coefficient of thermal expansion nearly 14x superior to copper with a thermal conductivity that is 1.6x higher.
- Ability to create internal water cooling structures similar to RB SiC
- Ability to directly polish with roughness < 40Å and coated with any II-VI high reflector coating.
Materials Stability Chart
Materials Properties
Material properties of RB SiC vs. standard mirror materials
Material | Density (g/cc) |
Young’s Modulus (GPa) |
Thermal Cond. (W/mK) |
CTE |
RB SiC |
2.95 |
344 |
151 |
2.9 |
Copper |
8.96 |
117 |
390 |
16.7 |
Silicon |
2.33 |
131 |
156 |
2.6 |
Aluminum |
2.7 |
69 |
167 |
22.5 |
Material properties of RB SiC vs. standard mirror materials
Material properties of Reaction Bonded SiC + Diamond
Formulation | Density (g/cc) |
Young’s Modulus (GPa) |
Thermal Cond. (W/mK) |
CTE |
RB SiC |
2.95 |
344 |
151 |
2.9 |
RB SiC + Diamond -1.8 |
3.17 |
485 |
280 |
1.8 |
RB SiC + Diamond -1.5 |
3.23 |
545 |
430 |
1.5 |
RB SiC + Diamond -1.2 |
3.33 |
700 |
620 |
1.2 |
Material properties of Reaction Bonded SiC + Diamond
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