Laird’s New Tlam OptoTEC Series Moves Heat in a Different Direction

Laird Technologies, Inc. has announced a new series of miniature thermoelectric modules (TEMs) built using Laird Tlam thermally conductive circuit boards instead of traditional ceramic-based circuit boards. The Tlam OptoTEC® series is designed for applications where temperature stabilization of sensitive optical components in photonics, telecom, medical and consumer markets is critical. The use of the circuit board improves the heat pumping capabilities of the device while providing excellent heat spreading, improved reliability and lower cost in high volume when compared to traditional heat removal systems.

Tlam is used in applications where the components in the circuit produce a lot of heat, such as high powered LEDs, power supplies or motor drives. Tlam circuit boards feature a thin layer of thermally conductive dielectric material sandwiched between a top layer of standard copper foil and a thick metal backing plate for structural strength and improved heat spreading. Traditional ceramic-based circuit boards have very poor thermal conductivity, so any heat produced by the circuit must radiate from the top of the circuit board.

With Tlam, the heat is transported off the bottom of the circuit board where the metal backing plate quickly carries heat laterally away from hot components, reducing their temperature and extending their lifetime. The combination of the Tlam circuit board with the thermoelectric offers a completely new way to design thermal rejection systems and can reduce the complexity of moving heat away from sensitive devices.

The Tlam OptoTEC series includes seven new modules that can create a temperature differential (ΔT) of up to 67 degrees C and pump from 1.5 to 9.0 Watts of heat at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees C. At 85 degrees C, the series can create a ΔT of 77 degrees C and pump 1.6 to 9.9 Watts of heat. The modules have passed Telcordia GR-468-CORE Issue 2 reliability qualification testing and are easily customizable to accommodate alternate sizes, heat pumping capacities, unique circuit patterns and pre-tinning requirements.

“Laird is the only company in the world that makes both TEMs and thermally conductive circuit boards,” says Andrew Dereka, product manager at Laird. “We are uniquely positioned to offer innovations based on this combination of thermal management technologies to our customers.” The Tlam OptoTEC series modules are available with an 8 to 10 week delivery lead time. Pricing is available upon request.