Cryocoolers 9

Proceedings of the 9th International Conference held in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, June 25-27, 1996

Cryocoolers 10 is the premier archival publication of the latest advances and performance of small cryogenic refrigerators designed to provide localized cooling for military, space, semi-conductor, medical, computing, and high-temperature superconductor cryogenic applications in the 2-200 K temperature range. Composed of papers written by leading engineers and scientists in the field, Cryocoolers 10 reports the most recent advances in cryocooler development, contains extensive performance test results and comparisons, and relates the latest experience in integrating cryocoolers into advanced applications.

The last two years have witnessed a continuation in the breakthrough shift toward pulse tube cryocoolers for long-life, high-reliability cryocooler applications. One class of pulse tubes that has reached maturity is referred to as “Stirling type” because they are based on the linear Oxford Stirling-cooler type compressor; these generally provide cooling in the 30 to 100 K temperature range and operate at frequencies from 30 to 60 Hz. The other type of pulse tube cooler making great advances is the so-called “Gifford-McMahon type. ” Pulse tube coolers of this type use a G-M type compressor and lower frequency operation to achieve temperatures in the 2 to 10 K temperature range. Nearly a third of this proceedings covers these new developments in the pulse tube arena. Complementing the work on low-temperature pulse tubes is substantial continued progress on rare earth regenerator materials and Gifford-McMahon coolers. These technologies continue to make great progress in opening up the 2 - 4 K market. Also in the commercial sector, continued interest is being shown in the development of long-life, low-cost cryocoolers for the emerging high temperature superconductor electronics market, particularly the cellular telephone base-station market. At higher temperature levels, closed-cycle J-T or throttle-cycle refrigerators are taking advantage of mixed refrigerant gases to achieve low-cost cryocooler systems in the 65 to 80 K temperature range.

The last two years have witnessed a continuation in the breakthrough shift toward pulse tube cryocoolers for long-life, high-reliability cryocooler applications. New this year are papers de scribing the development of very large pulse tube cryocoolers to provide up to 1500 watts of cooling for industrial applications such as cooling the superconducting magnets of Mag-lev trains, coolmg superconducting cables for the power mdustry, and liquefymg natural gas. Pulse tube coolers can be driven by several competing compressor technologies. One class of pulse tube coolers is referred to as "Stirling type" because they are based on the linear Oxford Stirling-cooler type compressor; these generally provide coolmg m the 30 to 100 K temperature range and operate ^t frequencies from 30 to 60 Hz. A second type of pulse tube cooler is the so-called "Gifford-McMahon type. " Pulse tube coolers of this type use a G-M type compressor and lower frequency operation (~1 Hz) to achieve temperatures in the 2 to 10 K temperature range. The third type of pulse tube cooler is driven by a thermoacoustic oscillator, a heat engine that functions well in remote environments where electricity is not readily available. All three types are described, and in total, nearly half of this proceedings covers new developments in the pulse tube arena. Complementing the work on low-temperature pulse tube and Gifford-McMahon cryocoolers is substantial continued progress on rare earth regenerator materials.

Composed of papers written by leading engineers and scientists in the field, this valuable collection reports the most recent advances in cryocooler development, contains extensive performance test results and comparisons, and relates the latest experience in integrating cryocoolers into advanced applications.

The number of satellite systems that require some form of cryogenic cooling has grown enormously over the last several years. With so many engineers, scientists, and technicians working on cryogenic systems for the first time in their careers, the need for a single resource that touched on all the technologies relevant to cryogenics was apparent.

This book, in essence the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute with the same title, is designed to provide in-depth coverage of many, but not all, of the major current applications of superconductivity, and of many that still are being developed. It will be of value to scientists and engineers who have interests in the research and production aspects of the technology, as well as in the applications themselves. The ftrst three chapters (by Clarke, Vrba and Wikswo) are devoted to an understanding of the principles, fabrication and uses of SQUID magnetometers and gradiometers, with the greatest emphasis on biomagnetism and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). For the most part, traditional low-temperature superconductor (LTS) SQUIDs are used, but particularly for NDE, high-temperature superconductor (HTS) SQUIDs are proving useful and often more convenient. The succeeding three chapters (by Przybysz, Likharev and Chaloupka) cover broader aspects of superconducting electronics. The ftrst two of these deal primarily with digital L TS circuits, while the third discusses in great detail passive component applications using HTS materials. Currently, HTS ftlters are undergoing intense J3-site testing at cellular telephone base stations. While it is clear that HTS ftlters outperform conventional ftlters in reducing signal loss and allowing for more channels in a given bandwidth, it isn't yet certain that the cellular telephone industry sees sufficient economic beneftts to make a ftrm decision to use HTS ftlters universally in its systems. If this application is generally adapted, the market for these ftlters should be quite large.

Devoted to the preparation, characterization and evaluation of HTS electronic devices, this reference provides information on using high-Tc thin films and junctions to increase speed, lessen noise, lower power consumption and enhance upper frequency limits in superconductor electronics.