The increased use of transceivers and co-packaged optics in datacenters is driven by the growing demand for network bandwidth and data processing speeds
The drive for increased performance has resulted in an exponential rise in power density as real estate is squeezed and power dissipation is increased. Optical Transceivers such as OSFP modules are now very difficult to cool with traditional heatsinks
Traditional optical transceiver heatsinks are typically manufactured using aluminum die-casting or aluminum extrusion processes. Aluminum offers good manufacturability, lightweight characteristics, and cost-effective mass production capabilities.
Copper, however, has a much higher melting point and relatively poor flow characteristics after heating, making it difficult to manufacture through conventional extrusion processes. As a result, producing complex copper extruded heatsink profiles is significantly more challenging compared to aluminum.
For high-performance thermal applications requiring superior heat spreading capability, copper heatsinks are therefore more commonly manufactured using:
These manufacturing methods allow copper-based thermal solutions to achieve significantly improved thermal conductivity and cooling performance for high-power optical transceiver applications.
Transceiver heat sinks are usually a solid conductive material, such as aluminum or copper, with fins and a pedestal section which contacts the heat source. Because the heat source surface area is relatively small, these heat sinks can have high temperature gradients across them
The following comparison shows the simulated thermal performance difference between a traditional optical transceiver heatsink and the new Copper + VC thermal solution.
Traditional Copper Optical ModuleHigher hotspot temperature and larger temperature gradient across the heatsink surface
Copper + VC Optical ModuleImproved temperature uniformity and lower hotspot temperature with Vapor Chamber heat spreading
Many Manufacturers are recommending liquid cooling as a solution for transceivers with higher power dissipation requirements. At Renxin however, we have designed custom VCs that support up to 30W, allowing our customers to continue utilizing their air-cooled infrastructure，
Renxin Thermal Products utilizes a high-performance copper extrusion heatsink structure integrated with Vapor Chamber (VC) technology to deliver advanced thermal management solutions for next-generation OSFP optical transceivers
The copper extrusion base provides excellent thermal conductivity, allowing heat to rapidly transfer away from high-power ICs and optical components. By integrating a Vapor Chamber directly into the heatsink base, heat can be spread quickly and uniformly across the entire cooling surface
The combination of copper’s superior thermal conductivity and the outstanding temperature uniformity of Vapor Chamber technology enables:
This hybrid copper + VC cooling architecture is especially suitable for:
Compared with conventional solid aluminum heatsinks, the Renxin VC-integrated copper cooling solution provides significantly improved thermal performance while maintaining compatibility with existing air-cooled infrastructure.
Maximum temperature reduction achieved with VC integrated copper heatsink architecture
Advanced thermal solutions for AI networking and data center optical systems
We can design and manufacture the following options:
Results from our verification tests showed that vapor chambers integrated at the board level of the transceiver can provide up to 25% improvement in resistance compared to traditional methods (Testing is based on 30W @6 CFM fed to heatsink)
Results from our verification tests showed improvement to resistance by 20%-35% compared to conventional solid metal heatsinks.
Share your optical module type, power dissipation, airflow condition, available space, material preference, and thermal targets. Our engineering team can support customized copper heatsink and Vapor Chamber cooling solutions for your application.
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