Cryocooling arbitrary payloads: optical refrigeration coming of age (Conference Presentation)

Optical refrigeration of Yb:YLF crystals is used to cool an arbitrary payload (HgCdTe IR sensor) for the first time to below 135K in a completely vibration free environment. This milestone is made possible by the design and fabrication of a specialty thermal link that efficiently shields the payload from the intense fluorescence while sustaining frequent thermal cycling. We also show the latest advances in the design and implementation of novel thermal links that promise sub-100K payload temperatures. This investigation considers thermal link materials that are CTE-matched to YLF and includes rigorous optical and thermal modeling under various geometries.