Pulsed Tube Cryo-cooler with integrated Knudsen Micropump – PuCK

Cryo-coolers are versatile systems for different scientific and industrial applications, ranging from sample preparation in biology and medicine to application of sensors in science and industry. For these objectives, pulsed tube coolers (PTC) have been experimentally investigated. However, due to the needed combination of mechanic pumps and PTC, vibrations are brought into the total system, which makes it hard to apply PTC to any type of sensor system. The development of a Knudsen micropump, with no moving parts and without any vibration, being able to run in combination with a miniaturized PTC will enhance measurement possibilities dramatically by removing the thermal background noise of measurements. Sensors can be cooled down to very low temperatures as well as the samples can. Signal over noise ratio can be reduced, and sensitivity of the whole analytical system can thus be increased significantly. This could allow enhanced infrared and other optical sensors as well as micro nuclear magnetic resonance systems applying supercooled coils for high magnetic fields in very small devices.