Beijing, China – October 20, 2026

The liquid cooling industry is experiencing unprecedented growth. AI computing clusters have entered the era of 100kW power density per rack, new energy vehicles are rapidly shifting to 800V high-voltage fast charging, and sectors such as 5G base stations and energy storage systems continue to demand higher thermal performance. Liquid cooling has evolved from an optional solution into a critical safeguard for the stable operation of high-power devices.

At the heart of liquid cooling technology is the cooling plate — and in its volume manufacturing process, welding is one of the most critical steps.

Welding Challenges for Liquid Cooling Plates

To meet rising heat dissipation demands, the core material of cooling plates is gradually transitioning from aluminum to copper. Copper offers a thermal conductivity of up to 400 W/m·K — nearly double that of aluminum — enabling far more efficient heat transfer and delivering a strong advantage in high-performance liquid cooling applications.

However, copper welding is notoriously one of the toughest challenges in laser processing. When using conventional near-infrared lasers (such as 1080nm fiber lasers) on copper, three major problems arise:

• Low absorption rate: Copper absorbs less than 5% of near-infrared light. Laser energy cannot be effectively absorbed by the material, resulting in extremely low welding efficiency.
• Uncontrollable spatter: As copper transitions from solid to liquid, its absorption of infrared light spikes abruptly. The weld pool rapidly heats up and boils, causing severe spatter.
• Poor sealing: Pores easily form in the weld seam. Since cooling plates must withstand coolant pressure over long periods, these pores increase the risk of leakage.

Domestic Laser Welding manufacturers have tried various approaches — increasing laser power, using oscillating welding heads, adding filler wire, employing ring-spot beams — and while results have improved to some extent, none have addressed the root cause.

Red-Blue Laser Composite Welding: A Comprehensive Upgrade in Welding Performance

Copper absorbs blue laser light at a rate of over 50% — more than ten times that of infrared lasers. With efficient energy absorption, the welding process becomes far more controllable.

During material heating, the absorption rate changes more gradually, keeping the weld pool stable from start to finish. A stable temperature field allows gases to escape smoothly, virtually eliminating porosity. Spatter is nearly eliminated, producing continuous, dense, and smooth weld seams.

Due to the limited beam quality of semiconductor blue lasers — which lack deep penetration capability — practitioners have developed a method that combines infrared fiber lasers with semiconductor blue lasers, known as IR-blue laser hybrid welding. This approach harnesses both the deep penetration of infrared light and the high absorption rate of blue light. The dual-beam synergistic welding achieves high efficiency, low spatter, and superior quality — meeting the demands of precision processing for highly reflective materials.

Power Layering for Precise Matching

Today’s industrial-grade Blue Semiconductor Lasers have formed a complete product matrix ranging from hundred-watt to kilowatt class, flexibly adaptable to the welding requirements of different cooling plates.

Han’s TianCheng Semiconductor Co., Ltd. has developed multiple mature IR-blue laser hybrid welding power configurations. Common setups include: 500W blue + 2000W IR fiber laser, 1000W blue + 2000W IR fiber laser, and 2000W blue + 2000W IR fiber laser. Users can flexibly select configurations based on copper thickness, weld seam structure, and production efficiency requirements.

Typical Application Scenarios

AI Computing Cooling Plates: Seal welding of copper-based cooling plates, producing smooth, defect-free weld seams with airtightness that meets stringent industry standards.

Dissimilar Metal Joining: Welding between copper base plates and stainless steel water inlet/outlet fittings on cooling plates. The blue laser outer ring preheats while the infrared inner ring provides deep penetration, with independently adjustable power — completing reliable dissimilar material welding in a single pass.

Blue Lasers: A New Choice for Liquid Cooling Manufacturing

IR-blue hybrid welding has transformed the traditional copper welding process, making it more stable, efficient, and reliable. As the airtightness standard for cooling plates is anchored to “zero defects,” IR-blue hybrid welding has evolved from an optional process into a decisive competitive force.

Liquid cooling is in a phase of rapid development. Those who first master mature IR-blue hybrid welding technology will be best positioned to seize competitive advantage in the next wave of market growth.

About Us

HAN’S TCS was established in 2011, located in Beijing Development Area, has been focusing on the research, development, production and sales of high-quality semiconductor laser diode module and system for more than ten years.

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Website: https://www.hanstcs-laser.com/