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Cryogen-free optical cryostat with 7-Tesla field or 4-1-1 Vectormagnet

OptiCool and OptiCool Vector from Quantum Design

The OptiCool is a new platform for low temperatures and high magnetic fields from Quantum Design. The cryogen-free cryostat is mounted on an optical table and can be easily integrated into a variety of optical experiments. Optical access to the sample is provided by seven side and one top window. With a diameter of 89 mm and a height of 84 mm, the sample chamber is exceptionally large. The sample itself is located in the center of the magnetic field and all optical beamlines. Due to the special design, the sample vibration is in the range of only a few nanometers.

The optical cryostat is available in two versions: with a superconducting 7 Tesla split-coil magnet and with a superconducting vector magnet with 4 Tesla perpendicular to the optical table and 1 Tesla magnetic field in the plane of the optical table.

Features

Temperature range: 1,7 K to 350 K
7 T split-coil conical magnet or 4-1-1 vector magnet
Automated control of temperature and magnetic field
Low Vibration: <10 nm peak-to-peak
89 mm x 84 mm Sample Volume
Cryogen Free

Further information

Magnet

The superconducting magnet of the OptiCool can be either a superconducting 7 T split-coil magnet or a superconducting 4-1-1 vector magnet.

With the 7 Tesla magnet, the magnetic field is aligned perpendicular to the optical table and has a field homogeneity of ±0.3% over a spherical volume with a diameter of 3 cm. The housing is equipped with 7 side windows (NA > 0.11) and one window on the top (NA > 0.7).

In the vector magnet, the 4 Tesla magnetic field is perpendicular to the optical table and the 1 Tesla magnetic fields of the other two spatial directions are parallel to the optical table. The magnetic current supplies of the OptiCool Vector enable precise adjustment of the magnetic field direction relative to the sample and optical systems. The housing has 4 side windows (along the X and Y axes) and a window on the top (along the Z axis) of the cryostat.

Optionally, both variants can be equipped with an additional window on the underside.

Sample Pods

The OptiCool's Sample Pod provides a place to build and customize your experiment on the bench. When you are ready to make a measurement, the Sample Pod easily plugs into the pre-wired temperature control column. Having multiple experiments arranged on multiple pods allows you to switch experimental hardware quickly. Sample Pods are available in both a standard configuration and a large-volume configuration depending on the experimental needs. Each type of pod can be further configured by changing the riser pieces (available in three lengths; included with the system) to adjust the height of the mounting plate.

Standard Sample Pod – Allows for mounting plate positions from 56.4 mm to 12.4 mm below the magnet center.
Large-Volume Sample Pod – Allows for mounting plate positions from 131 mm below to 87 mm below the magnet center.

Wiring

The OptiCool can be custom configured with three different types of wiring assemblies. Each cryostat can have up to 5 wiring assemblies pre-installed. The wiring assemblies present the necessary connectors to make contact to the pod and take care of thermal lagging, necessary to reach base temperature.

Sample Wiring – Each sample wiring assembly contains eight twisted pairs for a total of 16 wires. Four 4-pin connectors are presented on the pod to make contact to your sample.
Positioner Wiring – The positioner wiring assembly is designed to be compatible with attocube piezo positioner stacks. Each assembly has enough wires to run up to 3 different axes of motion with the RES position feedback. If position feedback is not required, the feedback wires can be repurposed to run an additional 3 axes of motion. Contact Quantum Design for more information.
RF Coax Wiring – The RF coax wiring assembly contains four coaxial cables capable of carrying high frequency signals up to 20 GHz.

Positioning and Microscopy

Many optical applications require precise positioning of the sample to the optical path for focusing or examination of an area of interest. The ability to scan the sample is also required for 2D imaging of sample properties. To meet these needs the OptiCool cryostat can be configured with a piezo-based nanopositioning stack to move your sample in situ. The nanopositioner option comes with all the adapters needed to mount the nanopositioners onto a pod, specialized cryostat wiring, and cabling that can connect to the piezo controller. The nanopositioner stack can be mounted on the standard pod or on the large-volume pod depending on experimental needs.

Many experiments require a high-quality, high-NA objective. To address this need, Quantum Design offers a field-compatible Zeiss 100x LD EC Epiplan-Neofluar, infinity-corrected objective. With a 0.75 NA and a free working distance of 2 mm between your sample and the cold shield aperture, the optics are maintained in vacuum at room temperature to provide the optimal environment to take full advantage of this objective's high performance design.

OptiCool nanopositioner on large-volume pod