Form 9.B Project Summary

Chron:

971321

Proposal Number:

23.04-8750

Project Title:

A Lightweight, Low Cost, Long

Lifetime Cryostat and Magnetic

Refrigerator

Technical Abstract (Limit 200 words)

We propose to build a lightweight, low cost, long

lifetime cryostat and magnetic refrigerator for

cooling detectors to 0.1 K. The passively cooled

cryostat will be compact, highly reliable and will

have a lifetime greater than 100 days. The passive

cooling bypasses the use of active cryocoolers and

their associated vibration, reliability, and power

dissipation problems. The magnetic refrigerator will

have lower power consumption (0.2 W nominal), and

it will be remotely recyclable. This system makes

use of several innovative design features that

include: a two stage adiabatic demagnetization

refrigerator (ADR) that operates from a 4 K liquid

helium stage rather than a 1.5 K pumped helium

stage, a 17 K solid neon (SNe) reservoir that is

used as the secondary coolant, and very efficient

heat exchangers and two vapor cooled shields. In

Phase I we will build a prototype LHe-SNe ADR

that has a lifetime of at least 10 days, and in Phase

II we will build a LHe-SNe ADR with a lifetime of

at least 100 days that can be used in NASA's 100

Day Ultra Long Duration Balloon program. These

unique design features are readily transferable to

cryostats used in more conventional applications.

Potential Commercial Applications (Limit 200 words)

A long lifetime cryostat and magnetic refrigerator

can be used for cooling bolometers made from

superconducting tunnel junctions and transition

edge sensor microcalorimeters, for detecting

electromagnetic radiation in the millimeter, far IR

and X-ray regions. In addition to their usefulness in

astrophysical measurements, they can also be used

in conjunction with scanning electron microscopes

for precision surface characterization for

microanalysis of systems used in the semiconductor

industry. They can also be used as particle

detectors and combined with mass spectrometers

for applications in heavy molecule mass

spectroscopy for studying biological samples and

DNA sequencing. A low loss, vibration free

cryogenic cooling system would be a welcome

addition to these and other related applications,

especially if it also offers long uninterrupted

operation that would only require servicing three

times a year.

Name and Address of Principal Investigator (Name,

Organization Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip)

Munir N. Jirmanus

Janis Research Company, Inc.

2 Jewel Drive - P.O. Box 696

Wilmington , MA 01887-0696

Name and Address of Offeror (Firm Name, Mail Address,

City/State/Zip)

Thomas G. Pasakarnis

Janis Research Company, Inc.

2 Jewel Drive - P.O. Box 696

Wilmington , MA 01887-0696