Innovative Manufacturing Processes

Cryocoolers are an enabling technology for many space-based infrared (IR) sensors. With industry-wide improvements in lifetime and reliability, closed-cycle mechanical cryocoolers have become the accepted baseline technology for most cryogenically-cooledsensors. The IR sensor community has found that the majority of cryocooling needs are best met with a modified Stirling refrigeration cycle. These reciprocating cryocoolers are available in two basic embodiments at present, the Stirling and the pulsetube. The Stirling cryocooler utilizes a mechanical displacer piston to create the expansion (refrigeration) power, while the pulse tube creates expansion power passively through the oscillation of a