Pulse tube refrigerator
![Figure 1: Schematic drawing of a Stirling-type single-orifice PTR. From left to right: a compressor, a heat exchanger (X1), a regenerator, a heat exchanger (X2), a tube (often called](/Images/godic/202502/05/Schematic_pulstuberefridgerator5923.jpg")
![Figure 2: Left: (near X2): a gas element enters the pulse tube with temperature TL and leaves it with a lower temperature. Right: (near X3): a gas element enters the tube with temperature TH and leaves it with a higher temperature.](/Images/godic/202502/05/Carnotcycle5923.jpg")
![Figure 3: The temperature of PTRs over the years. The temperature of 1.2 K is reached in a collaboration between the groups of Giessen and Eindhoven. They used a superfluid vortex cooler as an additional cooling stage to the PTR.](/Images/godic/202502/05/Ontwikkelingkoeler5923.jpg")
The pulse tube refrigerator (PTR) or pulse tube cryocooler is a developing technology that emerged largely in the early 1980s with a series of other innovations in the broader field of thermoacoustics. In contrast with other cryocoolers (e.g. Stirling cryocooler and GM-refrigerators), this cryocooler can be made without moving parts in the low temperature part of the device, making the cooler suitable for a wide variety of applications.