Small Cryogenic Refrigerator for Single FPA Dewars

ABSTRACT: This Air Force SBIR Phase I project will devllopa cryocooler that will reduce mass, volume by over 30%, and increase efficiency (by over 20% relative) from the state-of-the art pulse tube cryocoolers and maintain its long life and low vibration characteristics. Our specific technical objectives also include: a total cryocooler mass of less than 500 g, compressor dimension of 110 mm in length and approximately 40 mm in diameter. The power consumption is less than 20 W, and the life time is expected to be 10 years. BENEFIT: Applications of such a cryocooler include cooling of telecommunication base station components, sensors in space and in-flight applications and (other) military applications (e.g., in tanks and missiles), high temperature superconductor components such as those used in electronics and fault circuit limiters. The experience obtained from such a project will also help us in developing cryocoolers, using some of the principles of the cryocoolers in the current proposal, for superconductor magnets in magnetic resonance imagingiMRIjsystems, transformers, motors and generators, such as those on wind turbines, and for cryogenic vacuum pumping in semiconductor and flat panel display manufacturing processes.