For multiple decades, Thales is the European leader in cryogenic technology and supplier of cryogenic coolers. Our product catalog is filled with various cooler technologies, such as Rotary Monobloc (RM), Linear Flexure bearing split Stirling (LSF), Linear Pulse-tube (LPT) cryocoolers, for cooling small sensors and/or circuits to cryogenic temperatures and ranging up to 10 Watt cooling power.
We have two Thales facilities where cryogenic cooling technology is developed and manufactured. These two facilities are located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands and in Blagnac, France. The company uses state-of-the-art design software and can call on extensive production, measurement and test facilities. Striving for the highest reliability on every level, our cryogenics teams holds multiple ISO certifications (9001, 14001).
At Thales, we produce single-stage cryocoolers based on Stirling or Pulse-tube technology suitable for lifting up to 10 W of heat, and suitable for cooling down small items as low as below 50 Kelvins. Between the two sites, we have complementary technologies and all knowledge in-house to provide best-in-class cryogenic cooling technologies to our customers, as well as all associated equipment and services.
Thales conducts research to develop high-tech coolers for demanding markets, whether it’s for military, airborne, space or industrial applications. Our drive for innovation has made us the leader in breakthrough technology and our global presence is focused on customer service and satisfactory. More than forty years of experience has paid off in a fully developed product program in which future requirements are always included. Our flexible designs can be tailored to fit your applications and still offer a proven reliability.
To get a first impression of our cryogenics capabilities and facilities, you can watch the video below.
Besides the high-quality cryogenic coolers and electronics, additional training and services are also part of our product range. Any customer complaints are taken into serious account and we strive to provide the best solution for every situation. In order to fulfill our goal to deliver highly reliable cryocooling solutions, we offer customized training sessions, technical advice, integration support, measurement & testing facility services, as well as lifetime estimations & calculations. All to meet our customers’ needs and demands.
Thales conducts research to develop coolers adapted to the harshest environmental conditions. Our industrial platform allows us to cost-effectively manufacture cryocoolers while adhering to the highest quality and environmental standards. Our product portfolio includes rotary monoblock coolers, linear pulse tube coolers and linear flexure bearing split stirling coolers for cooling small sensors and circuits to cryogenic temperatures.
Rotary Monobloc Stirling coolers (RM)
Linear Stirling coolers
Linear Pulse-tube coolers
The Linear Pulse-tube coolers use a flexure bearing linear dual opposed-piston compressor to drive a pulse-tube cold finger.
Drive Electronics
Cooler drive electronics are available for all our cryocoolers, offering high efficiency, temperature stability, compactness and robustness.
No two cryocooler applications and requirements are alike. However, at Thales, we have all technology building blocks available to address a wide variety of applications – whether there is need of low SWaP, high efficiency, or ultra-quiet operation. Thales can meet a wide variety of demanding applications, used in the hostile and performance-demanding environments of defence and military use, the low vibration and long lifetime needed for many civil, industrial and scientific applications, or the extremely high availability required by space applications.
Many cryocooler applications involve the cooling of sensitive infrared detectors, used to detect low-energy photons of thermal radiation.