The proposed Hybrid CCE optimally meets the drive and control requirements for the Creare/Raytheon Hybrid RTB-Stirling Cryocooler. The Hybrid CCE provides an integrated electronics solution for the associated Hybrid Cryocooler, reducing mass and packaging volume while enabling a Cryocooler that provides low jitter, remote cooling, and high efficiency down to 10K. The Hybrid CCE also supports “monolithic” RTB-only and Stirling-only cryocoolers. During the proposed Phase I Program, Iris, in collaboration with Creare and Raytheon, will develop a Preliminary Design for a spaceflight-design Hybrid CCE.
Benefit: The Hybrid CCE enables the usage of the associated Hybrid Cryocooler for spacefight applications. Furthermore, by architecting the Hybrid CCE in accord with the modular approach Iris employs for all of our Cryocooler Electronics, broad applicability is assured. The Hybrid CCE will be readily configurable, for example, for a wide range of temperatures and power levels, and it will also support RTB, Stirling, pulse tube, and hybrid Stirling/pulse tube cryocoolers. It will substantially advance the state of the art in RTB and Stirling/pulse tube electronics, in particular, with TRL 6 electronics for both available after Phase II. Iris is actively commercializing this concept of open architecture, vendor agnostic cryocooler electronics for the DoD. This proposal is tightly aligned with that overall strategy.
Keywords: Reverse Turbo Brayton, Stirling, Pulse Tube, Hybrid Cryocooler, 10k Refrigeration, Cryocooler Electronics
