Pulse-tube refrigerators : principle, recent developments, and prospects

Abstract Cryocoolers without moving parts at low temperatures have many advantages: there is no need for a liquid–helium bath cryostat with its infrastructure, the cost can be low, the reliability high, there are low mechanical vibrations, and the magnetic interferences are small. In recent years, there has been a rapid development in these cryocoolers, especially in the field of pulse-tube cooling. In this contribution the thermodynamics and hydrodynamics of pulse-tube refrigeration will be explained. The recent developments in this field will be described. Finally, we will discuss the impact, these developments may have on the future of low-temperature research and its applications and what is left to be done to realise that.