A 250 mK Refrigerator for Remote Astronomical Observing

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This work will develop a new type of refrigerator to cool astronomical infrared detectors to less than 1K using the new pulse tube technology. USAP currently spends about $1M per year providing liquid helium to South Pole for this purpose. If this effort is fully successful than most of that money can be saved and even more science will be obtained from the South Pole telescopes. The cooler will have application at other sites as well and possibly eventually in space.