Laser cooling of infrared sensors

We present an overview of laser cooling of solids. In this all-solid-state approach to refrigeration, heat is removed radiatively when an engineered material is exposed to high power laser light. We report a record amount of net cooling (88 K below ambient) that has been achieved with a sample made from doped fluoride glass. Issues involved in the design of a practical laser cooler are presented. The possibility of laser cooling of semiconductor sensors is discussed.