Microstat^®He Rectangular Tail liquid helium (LHe) continuous flow optical microscopy/spectroscopy cryostat

A liquid helium cooled, vacuum loading continuous flow (CF) cryostat with a special narrow tail for optical microscopy and spectroscopy measurements requiring:

• Small working distance
• 2.2 - 500 K temperature range
• Optical access in two orthogonal directions
• Integration into an electromagnet
• Operation in any orientation

The MicrostatHe Rectangular Tail cryostat finds widespread use for magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE), Faraday and other magneto-optical measurements.

The core "cold unit" of the MicrostatHe Rectangular Tail, MicrostatHe and OptistatCF-V  is inter-changeable, enabling a modular set of optical cryostats for different experimental set-ups by swapping only the outer body.

Operation

The MicrostatHe Rectangular Tail works on a continuous flow principle using an oil-free pump to draw liquid helium from a storage vessel along a transfer tube to the heat exchanger ("pull mode"). Temperature control is achieved by a combination of automatic or manual helium flow control and power dissipated in an electrical heater, regulated using a temperature controller.

The cryostat can also be used in "push mode", in that case the flow of liquid helium is generated by pressurising the storage dewar. The advantage is that the need for a gas flow pump is removed thus saving cost and eliminating the noise and vibration generated by the pump.

The MicrostatHe will also operate with liquid nitrogen as coolant for measurements to 80 K.