Liquid Metal Cooling Of Synchrotron Optics

The installation of insertion devices at existing synchrotron facilities around the world has stimulated the development of new ways to cool the optical elements in the associated x-ray beamlines. Argonne has been a leader in the development of liquid metal cooling for high heat load x-ray optics for the next generation of synchrotron facilities. The high thermal conductivity, high volume specific heat, low kinematic viscosity, and large working temperature range make liquid metals a very efficient heat transfer fluid. A wide range of liquid metals were considered in the initial phase of this work. The most promising liquid metal cooling fluid identified to date is liquid gallium, which appears to have all the desired properties and the fewest number of undesired features of the liquid metals examined. Besides the special features of liquid metals that make them good heat transfer fluids, the very low vapor pressure over a large working temperature range make liquid gallium an ideal cooling fluid for use in a high vacuum environment. A leak of the liquid gallium into the high vacuum and even into very high vacuum areas will not result in any detectable vapor pressure and may even improve the vacuum environment as the liquid gallium combines with any water vapor or oxygen present in the system. The practical use of a liquid metal for cooling silicon crystals and other high heat load applications depends on having a convenient and efficient delivery system. The requirements for a typical cooling system for a silicon crystal used in a monochromator are pumping speeds of 2 to 5 gpm (120 cc per sec to 600 cc per sec) at pressures up to 100 psi.