Cryogen free dilution refrigerator

NWO institute SRON wishes to purchase a cryogen free dilution refrigerator for the study and development of superconducting energy-resolving single-photon detectors (MKIDs). The system will be used in the context of a new project to develop the most sensitive MKIDs for exoplanet spectroscopy at visible to near-infrared wavelengths - and demonstrate them at a scale of ten-thousands of pixels. To that end - optical access to the cryostat from outside is required to characterise the detectors. The aim is to demonstrate the detectors at a scale that requires readout with at least 16 coaxial lines. To keep operational costs low - the system should be cryogen free - i.e. not require liquid Helium for operation. Since the detectors include thin membranes - we have particular...