Optimum operating regimes of common paramagnetic refrigerants

Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerators (ADRs) are commonly used in cryogenic laboratories to achieve subkelvin temperatures. ADRs are also the technology of choice for several space borne instruments which make use of cryogenic microcalorimeters or bolometers [1], [2], [3] and [4]. For these applications, refrigerants with high ratios of cooling capacity to volume, or cooling capacity to mass are usually required. In this manuscript, two charts for the simple selection of the most suitable of several common refrigerants (CAA, CMN, CPA, DGG, FAA, GGG, GLF and MAS) are presented. These graphs are valid for single stage cycles. The selection of the refrigerants is uniquely dependent on the starting conditions of the refrigeration cycle (temperature and magnetic field density) and the desired final temperature. Only thermodynamic properties of the refrigerants have been taken into account, and other important factors such as availability and manufacturability have not been considered.

► We review the thermodynamic principles of adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration.
► We present a compilation of the properties of many paramagnetic refrigerants.
► We show simple graphs for the quick selection of the optimum refrigerant.