GRE were asked by The Science & Technology Facilities Council to design and supply a Helium Cooling System for one of the most advanced laser amplifiers in the world.
GRE were privileged to be asked to be a partner in this exciting project.
The entire system was a bespoke design developed and manufactured by GRE including tailored software based on Siemens PLC and HMI.
The design was based on liquid nitrogen with a heat exchanger to cool helium gas in the range of 90K up to 320K (-183°C to +47°C)
Key Features:
- Suitable for ultra-high vacuum applications, and therefore immaculately clean and free from any trace of oil grease, swarf, dust.
- Set point is adjustable from 90K to 320K with a control tolerance of ± 0.5K
- Rate of temperature ramp tightly controlled to avoid thermal stress
- Temperature stability within 5 minutes of reaching set point
- Liquid Nitrogen level controlled independently with pneumatic valve
- Helium temperature controlled by pair of pneumatic valves in a flow / bypass configuration.
- Helium operation pressure 2 to 25 barg
- Colour touchscreen HMI with trend graphs on key operating factors
The improved thermal performance led to a higher pulse energy, increased repetition rates and improved efficiency. The result is that a precise laser wavelength is maintained, desired beam quality is achieved, and there is reduced thermal stress on a laser system.
This GRE unit is now providing precise and highly effective cooling for the next generation of laser amplifiers – used in cuUng edge laser research across many applications.
