Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
A Cold Cycle Dilution Refrigerator for Space Applications, Phase I
Project Introduction
The cold cycle dilution refrigerator is a continuous refrigerator capable of cooling to temperatures below 100 mK that makes use of a novel thermal magnetic pump. The refrigerator will provide continuous cooling at temperatures below 100 mK. This technology will provide cooling for detectors on future infrared and x-ray astrophysics missions and will, in turn, enable NASA to better fulfill strategic sub-goal 3D to discover the origin, structure, evolution and destiny of the universe, and search for Earth-like planets.
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Anticipated Benefits
Potential non-NASA applications include, for example, a microcalorimetry system for X-ray spectroscopy. This system would consist of the cold cycle dilution refrigerator integrated with a single pixel TES microcalorimeter. The advantages of this system would be: high resolution, low vibration, low magnetic field, and low maintenance. There are other potential applications that involve integrating a microcalorimeter-based X-ray spectrometer in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) wafer metrology for use in analysis of materials with small defects or quantitative implant metrology. Finally, X-ray microanalysis systems using superconducting detectors could serve as an alternative method to measuring substrate dopant profiles with high spatial resolution and high precision. NASA applications include cooling for space science instruments to temperatures below 1 Kelvin, which is critical for future infrared and x-ray astrophysics missions. The cutting edge in detector technology for infrared missions are cryogenic detectors, either transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers or microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs). Both detector types require operation at sub-Kelvin temperatures for the highest sensitivity applications. Future x-ray missions that include spectrometers will include microcalorimeters that also need to be cooled to temperatures below 1 K.
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas Scientific | Lead Organization | Industry | San Jose, California |
Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, Maryland |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
California
-
Maryland
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Organizational Responsibility
Responsible Mission Directorate:
- Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)
Lead Organization:
- Atlas Scientific
Responsible Program:
- Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Project Management
Program Director:
Program Manager:
Principal Investigator:
Project Duration
Start: Feb 2011
End: Sep 2011
Technology Maturity (TRL)
| Start: | 1 |
| Current: | 3 |
| Estimated End: | 3 |
Applied Research
Development
Demo & Test
Technology Areas
Primary:
- TX14 Thermal Management Systems
- TX14.1 Cryogenic Systems
- TX14.1.3 Thermal Conditioning for Sensors, Instruments, and High Efficiency Electric Motors
Target Destination
Outside the Solar System
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This is a historic project that was completed before the creation of TechPort on October 1, 2012. Available data has been included. This record may contain less data than currently active projects.