Design and on-orbit operation of the adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator on the Hitomi Soft X-ray Spectrometer instrument

Peter J. Shirron; Mark O. Kimball; Bryan L. James; Theodore Muench; Edgar R. Canavan; Michael J. DiPirro; Thomas G. Bialas; Gary A. Sneiderman; Kevin R. Boyce; Caroline A. Kilbourne; Frederick S. Porter; Richard L. Kelley; Ryuichi Fujimoto; Yoh Takei; Seiji Yoshida; Kazuhisa Mitsuda

doi:10.1117/12.2231301

11 July 2016 Design and on-orbit operation of the adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator on the Hitomi Soft X-ray Spectrometer instrument

Peter J. Shirron, Mark O. Kimball, Bryan L. James, Theodore Muench, Edgar R. Canavan, Michael J. DiPirro, Thomas G. Bialas, Gary A. Sneiderman, Kevin R. Boyce, Caroline A. Kilbourne, Frederick S. Porter, Richard L. Kelley, Ryuichi Fujimoto, Yoh Takei, Seiji Yoshida, Kazuhisa Mitsuda

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9905, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray; 99053O (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231301
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2016, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer instrument on the Astro-H observatory contains a 6x6 array of x-ray microcalorimeters, which is cooled to 50 mK by an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR). The ADR consists of three stages in order to provide stable detector cooling using either a 1.2 K superfluid helium bath or a 4.5 K Joule-Thomson (JT) cryocooler as its heat sink. When liquid helium is present, two of the ADR’s stages are used to single-shot cool the detectors while rejecting heat to the helium. After the helium is depleted, all three stages are used to cool both the helium tank (to about 1.5 K) and the detectors (to 50 mK) using the JT cryocooler as its heat sink. The Astro-H observatory, renamed Hitomi after its successful launch in February 2016, carried approximately 36 liters of helium into orbit. On day 5, the helium had cooled sufficiently (<1.4 K) to allow operation of the ADR. This paper describes the design, operation and on-orbit performance of the ADR.

Citation Download Citation

Peter J. Shirron, Mark O. Kimball, Bryan L. James, Theodore Muench, Edgar R. Canavan, Michael J. DiPirro, Thomas G. Bialas, Gary A. Sneiderman, Kevin R. Boyce, Caroline A. Kilbourne, Frederick S. Porter, Richard L. Kelley, Ryuichi Fujimoto, Yoh Takei, Seiji Yoshida, and Kazuhisa Mitsuda "Design and on-orbit operation of the adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator on the Hitomi Soft X-ray Spectrometer instrument", Proc. SPIE 9905, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2016: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 99053O (11 July 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2231301

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available