Refrigerator and throttling refrigeration detector

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigerator and a throttling refrigeration detector, and the refrigerator comprises a semiconductor refrigerator which is provided with a cold end, a hot end and a semiconductor assembly, the cold end and the hot end are in contact with an electronic component, and the semiconductor assembly is connected with the cold end and the hot end at the same time; the throttling refrigerator is provided with a throttling hole located below the hot end; the control unit is connected with the semiconductor cooler and used for adjusting the power supply voltage of the semiconductor cooler in real time according to the temperature of the cold end so as to adjust the temperature of the cold end based on the Peltier effect. Refrigeration is completed successively through the throttling refrigerator and the semiconductor refrigerator, so that accurate control over the cold end temperature is achieved, meanwhile, the temperature uniformity of different sites of an electronic component can be greatly improved, and the performance requirement for the electronic component high in temperature sensitivity is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of refrigerators, and in particular to a refrigerator and a throttling refrigeration detector. Background Art

[0002] Throttling cooling detectors are widely used in infrared detection and other fields due to their small size, fast cooling, and low electromagnetic interference, especially in situations where rapid cooling is required. However, the low temperature ultimately obtained by using a throttling cooler is limited by the properties of the working fluid itself, usually the boiling point of the working fluid under atmospheric pressure, such as 77.4K for nitrogen working fluid and 87.2K for argon working fluid.

[0003] The working temperature required by the detector chip is often different from the low temperature that can be obtained by the throttling cooler. For example, according to the different wavelengths, infrared chips are divided into different chip types such as short-wave infrared, medium-wave infrared, long-wave infrared, and extreme far infrared. Different infrared chips require different stable working temperatures and have different sensitivities to temperature fluctuations. The stable cooling temperature of a conventional throttling cooler depends on the type of working fluid. Currently, nitrogen and argon are commonly used working fluids, which can only create stable cooling temperatures of 77K and 87K, and cannot adapt to the working environment temperature requirements of different infrared chips.

[0004] At the same time, the pressure in the expansion chamber of the throttling refrigerator will fluctuate within a certain range with the change of working state, resulting in fluctuations in the final refrigeration temperature. In severe cases, the temperature fluctuation will be more than 5K, which cannot meet the performance requirements of infrared detection chips with high requirements for temperature measurement accuracy.

[0005] In addition, in the prior art, a working fluid jet is output into the expansion chamber through the cold head of the throttling refrigerator to obtain low temperature through the working fluid jet impact heat exchange. However, since the jet impact heat exchange process is very complicated and difficult to predict, the temperature distribution in different areas of the cold plate is quite different. For example, the temperature difference between the center position and the edge position may reach more than 10K, which further causes the operating temperature of the infrared detector chip array in contact with the cold plate to be different, affecting the infrared imaging effect. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator and a throttling cooling detector, which complete cooling through a throttling refrigerator and a semiconductor refrigerator in sequence to achieve precise control of the cold end temperature, and at the same time can greatly improve the temperature uniformity of different locations of electronic components to meet the performance requirements of electronic components with high temperature sensitivity.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] In one aspect, a refrigerator is provided, comprising:

[0009] A semiconductor refrigerator, which has a cold end in contact with electronic components, a hot end, and a semiconductor component connected to the cold end and the hot end;

[0010] a throttling refrigerator having a throttling hole located below the hot end;

[0011] And a control unit, which is connected to the semiconductor refrigerator and is used to adjust the power supply voltage of the semiconductor refrigerator in real time according to the temperature of the cold end, so as to adjust the temperature of the cold end based on the Peltier effect.

[0012] Preferably, the refrigerator further comprises:

[0013] The dewar assembly comprises a shell and a dewar cold finger, wherein the dewar cold finger is provided with a cold finger opening which is closed by the hot end, and the shell, the dewar cold finger and the hot end are enclosed together to form a closed internal vacuum cavity.

[0014] Preferably, the throttling refrigerator is clearance-matched with the Dewar cold finger to form an expansion chamber and a reflux channel communicating with the expansion chamber below the hot end.

[0015] Preferably, the shell and the Dewar cold finger are integrally formed.

[0016] Preferably, the refrigerator further comprises:

[0017] A lead assembly is connected to the Dewar assembly and is partially located inside the Dewar assembly and partially located outside the Dewar assembly, and is used to connect the power-requiring structure inside the Dewar assembly and an external power source respectively, so as to supply power to the power-requiring structure inside the Dewar assembly through the external power source.

[0018] Preferably, one or both of the cold end and the hot end are made of ceramic material.

[0019] Preferably, the throttling refrigerator is a JT refrigerator, which can achieve refrigeration based on the JT effect.

[0020] On the other hand, a throttling cooling detector is also provided, which includes the above-mentioned refrigerator and electronic components; wherein the electronic components are placed on the cold end of the semiconductor refrigerator and are in contact with the cold end.

[0021] Preferably, the throttling cooling detector further comprises a cold shield covering the electronic components.

[0022] Preferably, the electronic components include infrared detector chips.

[0023] In summary, the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0024] The refrigerator in the present invention is a bipolar refrigerator structure composed of a semiconductor refrigerator and a throttling refrigerator. It first cools in a short time through the throttling refrigerator, and further accurately controls the temperature of the cold end through the semiconductor refrigerator. At the same time, through the power supply voltage control, the semiconductor refrigerator can stabilize the temperature range of the cold end within a predetermined range so that it does not produce large temperature fluctuations, thereby allowing electronic components to be in a temperature-stable working environment.

[0025] At the same time, the refrigerator in the present invention can also greatly improve the temperature uniformity of different locations of electronic components, and can control the temperature difference at different locations within a very small range to meet the performance requirements of electronic components with high temperature sensitivity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is the overall structure diagram of the refrigerator in the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the refrigerator in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] Example 1

[0030] like Figure 1-2 As shown, this embodiment provides a refrigerator, which includes:

[0031] A Dewar assembly, comprising a housing 1 and a Dewar cold finger 2 connected to the housing 1, wherein the Dewar cold finger 2 is provided with a cold finger opening 21, and the housing 1 and the Dewar cold finger 2 can be integrally formed;

[0032] A semiconductor refrigerator, which has a cold end 4 in contact with an electronic component 100 (such as a chip, etc.), a hot end 5 for closing the cold finger opening 21, and a semiconductor component 6 connected to the cold end 4 and the hot end 5 at the same time, and the housing 1, the Dewar cold finger 2 and the hot end 5 together enclose a closed internal vacuum cavity 3, and the cold end 4 and the semiconductor component 6 are both located in the internal vacuum cavity 3; in this embodiment, one or two of the cold end 4 and the hot end 5 are made of ceramic material, so that electrical connection structures such as circuits and metal electrodes can be directly set on the cold end 4 and the hot end 5, so that the electronic component 100 can be electrically connected to other functional modules or devices through the above-mentioned circuits and electrical connection structures, thereby eliminating the need to set up an insulating ceramic substrate separately, simplifying the structural design, and at the same time, the semiconductor component 6 includes an N-type semiconductor and a P-type semiconductor connected to each other;

[0033] A throttling refrigerator 7, which has a throttling hole 71 located below the hot end 5 and is clearance-matched with the Dewar cold finger 2 to form an expansion chamber 8 and a reflux channel 9 communicating with the expansion chamber 8 below the hot end 5; at the same time, the throttling hole 71 and the expansion chamber 8 are communicated with each other;

[0034] and a control unit connected to the semiconductor refrigerator, for adjusting the power supply voltage of the semiconductor refrigerator in real time according to the temperature of the cold end 4, so as to adjust the temperature of the cold end 4;

[0035] The throttling refrigerator 7 generates a throttling refrigeration effect through its throttling element to cool the high-pressure gas working medium (such as nitrogen or argon) flowing in from the outside. Furthermore, the cooled low-pressure and low-temperature gas working medium enters the expansion chamber 8 through the throttling hole 71 on the throttling refrigerator 7 to cool the hot end 5 of the semiconductor refrigerator. The gas working medium that has completed the cooling of the hot end 5 is discharged through the reflux channel 9. On this basis, the control unit obtains the temperature of the cold end 4 in real time, and adjusts the power supply voltage of the semiconductor refrigerator in real time according to the temperature of the cold end 4, so as to reduce the temperature of the cold end 4 based on the Peltier effect, and finally cools the electronic components 100 through the cold end 4.

[0036] In this embodiment, the throttling refrigerator 7 is a JT refrigerator, which can complete cooling based on the JT effect (Joule-Thomson effect). Furthermore, the throttling refrigerator 7 includes a conical throttling refrigerator.

[0037] Therefore, in this embodiment, a bipolar refrigerator structure can be formed by a semiconductor refrigerator and a throttling refrigerator 7. First, the throttling refrigerator 7 is used to cool in a short time to quickly reduce the temperature of the cold end 4 to a predetermined range, and the temperature of the cold end 4 is further accurately controlled by the semiconductor refrigerator, so as to widen the temperature range of the environment in which the electronic component 100 is located to between 70K and room temperature. Compared with the use of a throttling refrigerator alone, it can have a larger cooling temperature range. At the same time, through the power supply voltage control, the semiconductor refrigerator can stabilize the temperature range of the cold end 4 within a predetermined range so that it does not produce large temperature fluctuations, thereby placing the electronic component 100 in a temperature-stable working environment (the temperature fluctuation of the working environment can be made less than ±0.1K) to meet the working requirements of electronic components 100 that are extremely sensitive to temperature (such as infrared detector chips, etc.).

[0038] Furthermore, the refrigerator in this embodiment can also greatly improve the temperature uniformity of different positions of the electronic component 100. In the working state, the temperature difference of each point on the electronic component 100 is less than 0.1K / mm, and the temperature difference from the center to the edge is less than 1K. The smaller the volume of the electronic component 100, the higher the temperature uniformity. The reason is that the cold end 4 and the hot end 5 of the semiconductor refrigerator are connected through the semiconductor component 6, and the semiconductor component 6 has uniformly arranged semiconductor particles. Therefore, by controlling the power supply voltage, the temperature of the cold end 4 and the hot end 5 is accurately adjusted through the positive and negative electrodes of the semiconductor particles, so that the temperature uniformity of the cold end 4 is good, thereby ensuring the temperature uniformity of different points on the electronic component 100.

[0039] In addition, it should be noted that during use, the throttling refrigerator 7 or the semiconductor refrigerator can be turned on separately according to actual cooling needs.

[0040] Embodiment 2:

[0041] The difference between this embodiment and embodiment 1 is that the refrigerator further includes:

[0042] A lead assembly 10 is connected to the housing 1 of the Dewar assembly, and is partially located inside the housing 1 and partially located outside the housing 1, and is used to respectively connect the power-requiring structure inside the housing 1 and the external power supply to supply power to the power-requiring structure inside the housing 1 through the external power supply. The power-requiring structure inside the housing 1 includes one or more of the electronic components 100 and the semiconductor refrigerator.

[0043] Embodiment 3:

[0044] This embodiment provides a throttling cooling detector, which includes: the refrigerator, electronic components 100 and cold shield 11 described in Embodiment 1 or 2;

[0045] The electronic component 100 is placed on the cold end 4 of the semiconductor refrigerator and is in contact with the cold end 4. In this embodiment, the electronic component 100 includes a chip, preferably an infrared detector chip; the cold shield 11 is covered on the electronic component 100.

[0046] To summarize, the present application forms a bipolar refrigerator structure through a semiconductor refrigerator and a throttling refrigerator. It first uses the throttling refrigerator to cool in a short time to quickly reduce the temperature of the hot end to a predetermined range, and further uses the semiconductor refrigerator to accurately control the temperature of the cold end, thereby widening the temperature range of the environment in which the electronic components are located to between 70K and normal temperature. At the same time, through the power supply voltage control, the semiconductor refrigerator can stabilize the temperature range of the cold end within a predetermined range so that it does not produce large temperature fluctuations, thereby allowing the electronic components to be in a temperature-stable working environment.

[0047] Furthermore, the refrigerator in this embodiment can also significantly improve the temperature uniformity of different locations of electronic components, and can control the temperature difference at different locations within a very small range to meet the performance requirements of electronic components with high temperature sensitivity.

[0048] 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 refrigerator, characterized in that: include: A semiconductor refrigerator, which has a cold end in contact with electronic components, a hot end, and a semiconductor component connected to the cold end and the hot end; a throttling refrigerator having a throttling hole located below the hot end; And a control unit, which is connected to the semiconductor refrigerator and is used to adjust the power supply voltage of the semiconductor refrigerator in real time according to the temperature of the cold end, so as to adjust the temperature of the cold end based on the Peltier effect.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that The refrigerator also includes: The dewar assembly comprises a shell and a dewar cold finger, wherein the dewar cold finger is provided with a cold finger opening which is closed by the hot end, and the shell, the dewar cold finger and the hot end are enclosed together to form a closed internal vacuum cavity.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that The throttling refrigerator is clearance-matched with the Dewar cold finger to form an expansion chamber and a reflux channel communicating with the expansion chamber below the hot end.

4. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that The shell and the Dewar cold finger are integrally formed.

5. The refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that: The refrigerator also includes: A lead assembly is connected to the Dewar assembly and is partially located inside the Dewar assembly and partially located outside the Dewar assembly, and is used to connect the power-requiring structure inside the Dewar assembly and an external power source respectively, so as to supply power to the power-requiring structure inside the Dewar assembly through the external power source.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that One or both of the cold end and the hot end are made of ceramic material.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that The throttling refrigerator is a JT refrigerator, which can achieve refrigeration based on the JT effect.

8. A throttling refrigeration detector, characterized in that: include: The refrigerator and electronic components according to any one of claims 1 to 7; wherein the electronic components are placed on the cold end of the semiconductor refrigerator and are in contact with the cold end.

9. The throttling cooling detector according to claim 8, characterized in that: The throttling refrigeration detector also includes a cold shield covering the electronic components.

10. The throttling cooling detector according to claim 8, characterized in that: The electronic components include infrared detector chips.

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