Design and Construction of a Thermal Link for Optical Isolation
- Sponsor
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Year
- 2006 – 2007
- Advisor
- Richard Campbell Haskell
- Team
-
Kevin P. Byram (’08)
Christopher J. Lee (’08)
John H. Hankinson (’07)
David W. Mar (’07)
John J. Parker (’07)
Steven (Steve) P. Von der Porten (’07)
The Los Alamos National Laboratory Solid State Optical Refrigerator cools a Ytterbium doped fluoride glass with a high power infrared laser, and presents the means for vibrationless localized cooling to 77 K. For practical cooling implementation, photon absorption on an attached thermal load must be greatly reduced. The team has designed, constructed, and tested a thermal link to attach to the system that optically isolates the thermal load and that minimizes photon absorption within the link.
The Physics Clinic program presents opportunities for students to work on practical projects relevant to industrial work. Students work on teams of 3–5 on a sponsored research or development project.
