Non-Fluid Refrigeration Technology for Cooling Infrared Focal Planes and Other System Components below 50 K in Cryo-Vacuum Test Chambers

ABSTRACT: FG Systems proposes to develop a Solid State Magnetocaloric Refrigerator (SSMR) which will provide a means of cooling infrared focal planes and other system components to their operating temperatures without significant consumption of cryogens. The SSMR will be a low vibration level system suitable for space-borne and air-borne applications, as well as have a very high efficiency compatible with battery/solar panel operation. The output of this Phase I project will show the feasibility of the SSMR approach by demonstrating the performance potential of the TRL 4 Phase I breadboard prototype. In Phase II, FG Systems will deliver the ultra compact cryogenic refrigerator system ready for commercial production that will be tested at a user facility, and Phase III will utilize user feedback and produce efficient and compact unit ready for mass production. BENEFIT: Magnetocaloric refrigeration is the next generation of refrigeration technology and a new development in materials science, which could render current refrigeration systems obsolete and lead to far more efficient designs. The resulting product will be a highly marketable cryogenic refrigeration technology that can be used in a wide range of applications, from security applications and other DOD payloads to environmental monitoring. This refrigeration, once proven viable, could also be used in any possible application where cooling, heating, or power generation is used today, such as MRI machine magnet cooling and other medical applications, cooling of IR cameras, gas liquefaction and use in telecommunications cooling.