A Temperature-Controlled Chamber Based on Vortex Cooling

We describe the construction and performance of a temperature-controlled chamber, based on a 'vortex' cooler. The chamber is capable of operation between room temperature and -42 C. The only nontrivial infrastructure requirement is dry compressed gas at 100 psi and 8 cfm. The chamber is economical, easy to operate and to build using commercially available parts. Since the refrigerant is compressed air, the chamber has minimal environmental impact. It does not generate mechanical vibrations nor electrical noise. It is suitable for testing electronically sensitive and low-power electronics at cold temperatures. We measured the reserve cooling capacity of the cold plate to be 17 watts at -27 C. At the limiting temperature of -42 C, reserve cooling power reduces to zero.