Design Considerations for Cryogenic Liquid Refill Systems for Cooling Infrared Detection Cells

A few years ago headlines carried the story of airplanes in actual combat being shot down by Sidewinder missiles. This type missile was guided to the target by an infrared guidance system which detected the infrared radiation from the exhaust stack of the airplane. The kill-rate achieved during combat was extremely high. This paper is concerned with methods of cooling the “eye” of the infrared detection system, the sensing element. By cooling these devices, the sensitivity of the detection cell is increased many times and the range and accuracy of the missile is increased accordingly.