Abstract
In a scientific laboratory setting, standard equipment such as cryocoolers are often
used as part of a custom “sample environment” system designed to regulate temperature
over a wide range. The end user may be more concerned with precise sample temperature
control than with base temperature. But cryogenic systems tend to be specified mainly in
terms of cooling capacity and base temperature. Technical staff at scientific user facilities
(and perhaps elsewhere) often wonder how to best specify and evaluate temperature control
capabilities. Here we describe test methods and give results obtained at a user facility that
operates a large sample environment inventory. Although this inventory includes a wide
variety of temperature, pressure, and magnetic field devices, the present work focuses on
cryocooler-based systems.
