The LSST camera 500-watt -130 degC mixed refrigerant cooling system

Gordon B. Bowden; Brian J. Langton; William A. Little; Jacob R. Powers; Rafe H. Schindler; Sam Spektor

doi:10.1117/12.2054990

18 July 2014 The LSST camera 500-watt -130°C mixed refrigerant cooling system

Gordon B. Bowden, Brian J. Langton, William A. Little, Jacob R. Powers, Rafe H. Schindler, Sam Spektor

Proceedings Volume 9151, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation; 91513D (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2054990
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2014, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

The LSST Camera has a higher cryogenic heat load than previous CCD telescope cameras due to its large size (634 mm diameter focal plane, 3.2 Giga pixels) and its close coupled front-end electronics operating at low temperature inside the cryostat. Various refrigeration technologies are considered for this telescope/camera environment. MMR-Technology’s Mixed Refrigerant technology was chosen. A collaboration with that company was started in 2009. The system, based on a cluster of Joule-Thomson refrigerators running a special blend of mixed refrigerants is described. Both the advantages and problems of applying this technology to telescope camera refrigeration are discussed. Test results from a prototype refrigerator running in a realistic telescope configuration are reported. Current and future stages of the development program are described.

Citation Download Citation

Gordon B. Bowden, Brian J. Langton, William A. Little, Jacob R. Powers, Rafe H. Schindler, and Sam Spektor "The LSST camera 500-watt -130°C mixed refrigerant cooling system", Proc. SPIE 9151, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation, 91513D (18 July 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2054990

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