Design, assembly, and initial test results of a cryostat for holographic characterization of microwave telescopes

Abstract

We describe the design, fabrication, assembly, and room-temperature vacuum qualification of a 1.4-m long cylindrical cryostat developed for holographic testing of cryogenic microwave telescope optics. The system consists of a welded 6061-aluminum vacuum vessel containing nested 45- and 4-K aluminum radiation shields, cooled by a two-stage pulse-tube cryocooler through commercial OFHC copper flexible thermal straps. The intermediate 45-K stage intercepts radiative, conductive, and wiring heat loads from room temperature, while the 4-K stage defines the volume used for optical testing. The cryostat includes a 38-cm aperture for a microwave-transparent vacuum window and is sized to accommodate full-scale optical assemblies relevant to cosmic microwave background instrumentation. We summarize the cryostat architecture, lightweighted radiation shields, G-10 support flexures, welded vacuum-vessel fabrication, and room-temperature leak-checking campaign. Iterative helium leak checking and weld repair reduced the observed leak rate in the cryostat by over three orders of magnitude.