Silicon Heat Exchanger for Use at Low Temperatures

A heat exchanger made largely from pieces of single-crystal silicon has been designed for use as a recuperator in a reverse-Brayton-cycle cryocooler. Its design is optimized for transferring heat between counterflows of neon at a mass flow rate of 0.7 g/s, with an inlet temperature of 300 K and pressure of 2.21 atm (0.224 MPa) on the warm side and an inlet temperature of 60 K and pressure of 1.3 atm (0.13 MPa) on the cold side.