Micro throttling cooler and its application method, infrared detector

Abstract

The present invention relates to a micro-throttling refrigerator, including a refrigeration plate, in which a multi-stage refrigeration module is formed, and each stage of the refrigeration modules is arranged in sequence along the thickness direction of the refrigeration plate. It also relates to an application method of the throttling refrigerator and an infrared detector equipped with the throttling refrigerator. In the present invention, the micro-throttling refrigerator adopts a multi-stage refrigeration module with a hierarchical distribution, and the upper stage refrigeration module can cool the lower stage refrigeration module. Therefore, the throttling refrigeration effect of the working fluid of each stage of the refrigeration module after the first stage refrigeration module can be achieved at a lower conversion temperature, such as hydrogen, neon, helium and other working fluids, which can effectively broaden the scope of application of the working fluid, and at the same time achieve a refrigeration temperature below 70K on the ultra-micro refrigerator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of throttling coolers, and in particular relates to a micro throttling cooler and an application method thereof, and an infrared detector equipped with the micro throttling cooler. Background Art

[0002] The micro-throttling refrigerator (MMR) has the characteristics of novel technology, small size, low vibration and non-magneticity. It was invented by Professor Little of Stanford University in the United States in the 1970s and has been successfully applied to electronic technology and superconducting technology. For example, the University of California uses MMR to cool the optical detector of 500×500 array charge-coupled devices, and the University of Tokyo in Japan uses MMR as a sample cooler for differential spectroscopic diffractometers. In addition, it also has many applications in microelectronics science and solid state science, such as the determination of small sample properties, electron and optical microscopy, etc.

[0003] Under room temperature conditions, a single-stage ultra-micro throttling refrigerator can only use fluids with a throttling conversion temperature higher than room temperature. For fluids with a throttling conversion temperature lower than room temperature, such as neon, hydrogen and helium, a single-stage throttling refrigerator cannot produce a throttling cooling effect, which limits the minimum cooling temperature of throttling cooling. Summary of the invention

[0004] The invention relates to a micro-throttling refrigerator and an application method thereof, and an infrared detector equipped with the micro-throttling refrigerator, which can at least solve some defects of the prior art.

[0005] The invention relates to a micro throttling refrigerator, comprising a refrigeration plate, wherein a plurality of refrigeration modules are formed in the refrigeration plate, and the refrigeration modules at each level are arranged in sequence along the thickness direction of the refrigeration plate.

[0006] As one of the embodiments, each level of the refrigeration module includes a high-pressure fluid channel and a low-pressure fluid channel which are layered in the thickness direction of the refrigeration plate and connected through a throttling expansion unit. In two adjacent levels of refrigeration modules, the low-pressure fluid channel of the upper level refrigeration module is adjacent to the high-pressure fluid channel of the lower level refrigeration module.

[0007] As one of the implementation modes, the refrigeration plate includes a plurality of stacked refrigeration unit plates, and each of the high-pressure fluid channels and each of the low-pressure fluid channels are distributed on each of the refrigeration unit plates.

[0008] As one of the implementation modes, the high-pressure fluid channel and the low-pressure fluid channel of each stage of the refrigeration module are respectively formed on two adjacent refrigeration unit boards.

[0009] As one of the implementation modes, the high-pressure fluid channel and the low-pressure fluid channel of each stage of the refrigeration module are respectively formed on the two side panels of the same refrigeration unit board, and the fluid channels between two adjacent refrigeration unit boards do not flow in series.

[0010] As one of the implementation modes, each of the refrigeration unit plates is a glass plate, and the high-pressure fluid channel and the low-pressure fluid channel are micro-grooves photoetched on the corresponding plate body.

[0011] As one of the implementation modes, the air inlet of the next-stage refrigeration module is arranged corresponding to the middle part of the low-pressure fluid channel of the previous-stage refrigeration module, wherein the working medium flow directions of the low-pressure fluid channel and the high-pressure fluid channels on both sides are opposite.

[0012] As one of the implementation modes, the high-pressure fluid channel includes a plurality of high-pressure flow channel segments, the plurality of high-pressure flow channel segments are distributed in a serpentine shape and are connected in sequence, and each high-pressure flow channel segment adopts a serpentine flow channel.

[0013] The present invention also relates to an application method of the above-mentioned micro-throttling refrigerator, comprising:

[0014] The throttling refrigerator adopts a two-stage refrigeration module, in which:

[0015] The primary refrigeration module uses a first refrigerant, which is argon or nitrogen; the secondary refrigeration module uses a second refrigerant, which is neon or hydrogen;

[0016] or,

[0017] The throttling cooler adopts a three-stage cooling module, in which:

[0018] The first-stage refrigeration module adopts a first refrigerant, which is argon or nitrogen; the second-stage refrigeration module adopts a second refrigerant, which is neon or hydrogen; the third-stage refrigeration module adopts a third refrigerant, which is helium.

[0019] The present invention also relates to an infrared detector equipped with the micro-throttling cooler as described above.

[0020] The present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0021] In the present invention, the micro-throttling refrigerator adopts a multi-stage refrigeration module with a hierarchical distribution. The upper-stage refrigeration module can cool the lower-stage refrigeration module. Therefore, the throttling refrigeration effect of the working fluid of each stage of refrigeration modules after the first-stage refrigeration module can be achieved at a lower conversion temperature. For example, working fluids such as hydrogen, neon and helium can effectively broaden the applicable scope of the working fluid and achieve a refrigeration temperature below 70K on the ultra-micro refrigerator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a micro-throttling refrigerator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the first-level high-voltage side unit board;

[0025] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the first-level low-voltage side unit board;

[0026] Figure 4 for Figure 1 The structural diagram of the secondary high-voltage side unit board;

[0027] Figure 5 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the secondary low-voltage side unit plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are described clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] Embodiment 1

[0030] like Figure 1 An embodiment of the present invention provides a micro-throttling refrigerator, including a cooling plate, wherein a plurality of cooling modules are formed in the cooling plate, and the cooling modules at each level are arranged in sequence along the thickness direction of the cooling plate.

[0031] The above-mentioned micro-throttling refrigerator adopts a multi-stage refrigeration module with a hierarchical distribution. The upper-stage refrigeration module can cool the lower-stage refrigeration module. Therefore, the throttling refrigeration effect of the working fluid of each stage of refrigeration modules after the first-stage refrigeration module can be achieved at a lower conversion temperature. For example, working fluids such as hydrogen, neon and helium can effectively broaden the applicable scope of the working fluid and achieve a refrigeration temperature below 70K on the ultra-micro refrigerator.

[0032] Preferably, each level of refrigeration module includes a high-pressure fluid channel 21 and a low-pressure fluid channel 22 which are layered in the thickness direction of the refrigeration plate and connected through a throttling expansion unit. In two adjacent levels of refrigeration modules, the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the upper-level refrigeration module is adjacent to the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the lower-level refrigeration module.

[0033] The high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 are micro-grooves. To facilitate the processing of the high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22, preferably, the refrigeration plate includes a plurality of refrigeration unit boards, each of the high-pressure fluid channel 21 and each of the low-pressure fluid channel 22 is distributed on each of the refrigeration unit boards, and after the corresponding fluid channels are processed on the corresponding refrigeration unit boards, each of the refrigeration unit boards are overlapped and connected to form the refrigeration plate, and specifically, each of the refrigeration unit boards can be sealed and combined together by bonding.

[0034] The throttling expansion unit includes a throttling element 231 and an expansion chamber 232. The inlet end of the throttling element 231 is connected to the outlet end of the high-pressure fluid channel 21, the outlet end of the throttling element 231 is connected to the expansion chamber 232, and the outlet end of the expansion chamber 232 is connected to the inlet end of the low-pressure fluid channel 22. The throttling element 231 can be provided with multiple channels side by side to prevent one of the channels from being blocked and affecting the normal operation of the refrigerator.

[0035] In one embodiment, if Figure 1-Figure 5 The high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of each stage of the refrigeration module are respectively formed on two adjacent refrigeration unit boards. For the convenience of description, in this embodiment, the refrigeration unit board with the high-pressure fluid channel 21 is defined as the high-pressure side unit board, and the refrigeration unit board with the low-pressure fluid channel 22 is defined as the low-pressure side unit board. Furthermore, a cover plate is superimposed on the high-pressure side unit board of the first-stage refrigeration module.

[0036] Taking the two-stage refrigeration module as an example, correspondingly, Figure 1-Figure 5 The refrigeration plate includes five plates, namely, the cover plate 11, the first-level high-pressure side unit plate 12, the first-level low-pressure side unit plate 13, the second-level high-pressure side unit plate 14 and the second-level low-pressure side unit plate 15. Preferably, the air inlet of the first-level refrigeration module is extended from the hole of the cover plate 11 to the first-level high-pressure side unit plate 12, and the air outlet of the first-level refrigeration module can be set on the side wall of the first-level low-pressure side unit plate 13; the air inlet of the second-level refrigeration module is extended from the hole of the second-level low-pressure side unit plate 15 to the second-level high-pressure side unit plate 14, and the air outlet of the second-level refrigeration module can be set on the side wall or plate surface of the second-level low-pressure side unit plate 15.

[0037] Optionally, the thickness of the high-pressure side unit plate and the low-pressure side unit plate is in the range of 0.1 to 0.3 mm; controlling a certain distance between the high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the same level and between the high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 between adjacent levels can reduce the heat leakage loss of the refrigerator.

[0038] For the arrangement of the throttling expansion unit, preferably, in each stage of the refrigeration module, the throttling element 231 is connected to the high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the two are formed on the same refrigeration unit board, and the expansion cavity 232 extends from one refrigeration unit board to the other refrigeration unit board and the two ends are respectively connected to the throttling element 231 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22. That is, the throttling element 231 is formed on the high-pressure side unit board, and the expansion cavity 232 extends from the high-pressure side unit board to the low-pressure side unit board.

[0039] In another embodiment, the high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of each stage of the refrigeration module are respectively formed on the two side panels of the same refrigeration unit board, and the fluid channels between two adjacent refrigeration unit boards do not flow in series with each other. Preferably, a cover plate is superimposed on the high-pressure side panel of the first-stage refrigeration module and the low-pressure side panel of the final-stage refrigeration module. Taking the two-stage refrigeration module as an example, the refrigeration plate includes four plates, namely, an upper cover plate, a first-stage refrigeration unit board, a second-stage refrigeration unit board and a lower cover plate. Preferably, the air inlet of the first-stage refrigeration module extends from the hole of the upper cover plate to the first-stage refrigeration unit board, and the air outlet of the first-stage refrigeration module can be set on the side wall of the first-stage refrigeration unit board; the air inlet of the second-stage refrigeration module extends from the hole of the lower cover plate to the second-stage refrigeration unit board, and the air outlet of the second-stage refrigeration module can be set on the side wall of the second-stage refrigeration unit board.

[0040] A heat-conducting membrane can be sandwiched between two adjacent refrigeration unit boards to prevent the fluid channels between the two adjacent refrigeration unit boards from flowing into each other; the heat-conducting membrane is preferably a metal membrane, which ensures both pressure resistance and good heat exchange efficiency; the metal can be grown on the refrigeration unit board by sputtering or thermal evaporation to form the above-mentioned heat-conducting membrane. In another scheme, the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the upper-level refrigeration module and the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the lower-level refrigeration module are staggered, which can also achieve the above-mentioned purpose of "preventing the fluid channels between the two adjacent refrigeration unit boards from flowing into each other".

[0041] Preferably, each refrigeration unit plate is a glass plate. Since the thermal conductivity of the glass plate is relatively small, the radial heat conduction heat leakage loss of the refrigerator can be effectively reduced; the above-mentioned cover plate can also be made of a glass plate. Further preferably, the high-pressure fluid channel 21, the low-pressure fluid channel 22 and the throttling element 231 can all be formed by photolithography etching, especially for the glass plate type refrigeration unit plate, which is easy to process and shape, and can ensure the processing quality of the micro throttling refrigerator / ultra-micro throttling refrigerator.

[0042] Preferably, if Figure 2-Figure 5 The high-pressure fluid channel 21 is arranged in a serpentine manner, and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 is also preferably arranged in a serpentine manner, which can improve the heat exchange area and heat exchange efficiency; wherein the channel cross-sectional area of ​​the low-pressure fluid channel 22 is larger than the channel cross-sectional area of ​​the high-pressure fluid channel 21. Preferably, a rib column is provided in the low-pressure fluid channel 22, which can improve the heat exchange efficiency.

[0043] As a preferred solution, Figure 2 and Figure 4 The high-pressure fluid channel 21 includes a plurality of high-pressure flow channel segments, which are serpentinely distributed and connected in sequence, and each high-pressure flow channel segment adopts a serpentine flow channel. Based on this solution, the heat exchange area of ​​the high-pressure fluid channel 21 can be significantly increased, and the cooling effect and efficiency can be improved; and when the cooling requirements are met, the volume of the refrigerator can be further reduced, and it is convenient to integrate it into the infrared detector.

[0044] More preferably, if Figure 2-Figure 5 In the same level refrigeration module, the high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 are positioned opposite to each other. Taking the horizontal arrangement of the refrigeration plate as an example, the high-pressure fluid channel 21 is located directly above or directly below the low-pressure fluid channel 22. The low-temperature working fluid in the low-pressure fluid channel 22 can pre-cool the high-temperature working fluid in the high-pressure fluid channel 21, and the flow direction of the working fluid in the high-pressure fluid channel 21 is opposite to that in the low-pressure fluid channel 22 (i.e., a countercurrent heat exchange effect is formed), which can effectively improve the refrigeration efficiency and effect.

[0045] Furthermore, if Figure 3 and Figure 4 The air inlet of the next-stage refrigeration module is arranged corresponding to the middle part of the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the previous-stage refrigeration module. The previous-stage low-pressure fluid channel 22 can quickly cool the next-stage high-pressure fluid channel 21, so that the working fluid of the next-stage refrigeration module is quickly cooled to its conversion temperature.

[0046] In this embodiment, a multi-stage refrigeration module is used. The low-pressure fluid channel 22 in the refrigeration module of the same stage can cool the high-pressure fluid channel 21, and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the upper-stage refrigeration module can also cool the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the lower-stage refrigeration module. Therefore, the throttling refrigeration effect of the working fluid of each stage of refrigeration modules after the first-stage refrigeration module is easy to achieve and the refrigeration efficiency is significantly improved, which can effectively broaden the refrigeration temperature range of the throttling refrigerator and the applicable range of the working fluid. For example, the refrigeration temperature can reach below the liquid nitrogen temperature.

[0047] In one embodiment, if Figure 3 and Figure 4, the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the next-level refrigeration module and the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the previous-level refrigeration module only partially overlap for heat exchange. For example, the air inlet of the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the next-level refrigeration module is opposite to the middle of the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the previous-level refrigeration module. On the one hand, the working fluid flow direction of the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the two is opposite to the working fluid flow direction of the low-pressure fluid channel 22, which can achieve the effect of countercurrent heat exchange; on the other hand, the low-pressure fluid channel 22 of the previous-level refrigeration module can better meet the cooling requirements of its own high-pressure fluid channel 21 and the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the next-level refrigeration module, wherein the high-pressure fluid channel 21 of the next-level refrigeration module can be quickly cooled.

[0048] The embodiment of the present invention also provides an application method of the above-mentioned micro-throttling refrigerator, including:

[0049] The throttling refrigerator adopts a two-stage refrigeration module, in which:

[0050] The primary refrigeration module uses a first refrigerant, which is argon or nitrogen; the secondary refrigeration module uses a second refrigerant, which is neon or hydrogen;

[0051] or,

[0052] The throttling cooler adopts a three-stage cooling module, in which:

[0053] The first-stage refrigeration module adopts a first refrigerant, which is argon or nitrogen; the second-stage refrigeration module adopts a second refrigerant, which is neon or hydrogen; the third-stage refrigeration module adopts a third refrigerant, which is helium.

[0054] It can be seen that the micro-throttling refrigerator provided in this embodiment can use a working fluid with a maximum conversion temperature lower than room temperature, and has a wide range of applications.

[0055] Embodiment 2

[0056] An embodiment of the present invention provides an infrared detector equipped with the micro-throttling cooler provided in the first embodiment above.

[0057] The arrangement structure of the micro-throttling cooler in the detector is conventional technology in the field and will not be described here.

[0058] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A micro throttling refrigerator, characterized in that: It comprises a refrigeration plate, wherein a plurality of refrigeration modules are formed in the refrigeration plate, and the refrigeration modules at each level are arranged in sequence along the thickness direction of the refrigeration plate; Each level of refrigeration module includes a high-pressure fluid channel and a low-pressure fluid channel which are layered in the thickness direction of the refrigeration plate and connected through a throttling expansion unit. In two adjacent levels of refrigeration modules, the low-pressure fluid channel of the upper-level refrigeration module is adjacent to the high-pressure fluid channel of the lower-level refrigeration module; the low-pressure fluid channel in the refrigeration module of the same level can cool the high-pressure fluid channel, and the low-pressure fluid channel of the upper-level refrigeration module can also cool the high-pressure fluid channel of the lower-level refrigeration module at the same time; The air inlet of the high-pressure fluid channel of the next-stage refrigeration module is arranged corresponding to the middle part of the low-pressure fluid channel of the previous-stage refrigeration module, wherein the working medium flow direction of the low-pressure fluid channel is opposite to that of the high-pressure fluid channels on both sides; The refrigeration plate includes a plurality of stacked refrigeration unit plates, and each of the high-pressure fluid channels and each of the low-pressure fluid channels are distributed on each of the refrigeration unit plates; the high-pressure fluid channels and the low-pressure fluid channels of each level of refrigeration module are respectively formed on both side surfaces of the same refrigeration unit plate, and a heat-conducting film is sandwiched between two adjacent refrigeration unit plates to prevent the fluid channels between the two adjacent refrigeration unit plates from flowing into each other.

2. The micro-throttling refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the refrigeration unit plates is a glass plate, and the high-pressure fluid channel and the low-pressure fluid channel are micro-grooves photoetched on the corresponding plate body.

3. The micro-throttling refrigerator as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The high-pressure fluid channel comprises a plurality of high-pressure flow channel segments, the plurality of high-pressure flow channel segments are distributed in a serpentine shape and are connected in sequence, and each high-pressure flow channel segment adopts a serpentine flow channel.

4. The application method of the micro-throttling refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: include: The throttling refrigerator adopts a two-stage refrigeration module, in which: The primary refrigeration module uses a first refrigerant, which is argon or nitrogen; the secondary refrigeration module uses a second refrigerant, which is neon or hydrogen; or, The throttling cooler adopts a three-stage cooling module, in which: The first-stage refrigeration module adopts a first refrigerant, which is argon or nitrogen; the second-stage refrigeration module adopts a second refrigerant, which is neon or hydrogen; the third-stage refrigeration module adopts a third refrigerant, which is helium.

5. An infrared detector, characterized in that: A micro-throttling refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is provided.

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