ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with various techniques that are useful in the construction of cryogenic apparatus. A substantial fraction of the space will be devoted to various methods of putting together the tubing, plates, chambers, etc. typically found in a cryostat, and the remainder to more specialized procedures such as sintering, electroplating, and heat treating of materials. Cryostats usually consist mainly of cans filled with vacuum, helium, or experimental apparatus connected to the rest of the world by thin-walled tubing and electrical wiring. Many European cryostats are made with tubing which contains small corrugations every few inches of length, which provides very good stiffening against collapse, and permits much thinner walls. Making thermal contact at low temperatures involves both establishing strong thermal links between a refrigerator and a sample, but also heat sinking of wiring, fill lines, structural members, etc. at various intermediate temperature levels in a cryostat to reduce unwanted heat leaks into the sample.
