Cryogen free dilution refrigerator

NWO institute SRON wishes to purchase a cryogen free dilution refrigerator for the study and development of superconducting energy-resolving single-photon detectors (MKIDs). The system will be used in the context of a new project to develop the most sensitive MKIDs for exoplanet spectroscopy at visible to near-infrared wavelengths, and demonstrate them at a scale of ten-thousands of pixels. To that end, optical access to the cryostat from outside is required to characterise the detectors. The aim is to demonstrate the detectors at a scale that requires readout with at least 16 coaxial lines. To keep operational costs low, the system should be cryogen free, i.e. not require liquid Helium for operation. Since the detectors include thin membranes, we have particular requirements on the vibration isolation. The system will be primarily used by PhD students and postdocs, and should offer fully automated cryogenic operation, but at the same time allow full manual control and custom