Solid-state Optical Refrigeration to Sub-100 Kelvin Regime

Book excerpt: We report that since the first demonstration of net cooling twenty years ago, optical refrigeration of solids has progressed to outperform all other solid-state cooling processes. It has become the first and only solid-state refrigerator capable of reaching cryogenic temperatures, and now the first solid-state cooling below 100 K. Such substantial progress required a multi-disciplinary approach of pump laser absorption enhancement, material characterization and purification, and thermal management. Here we present the culmination of two decades of progress, the record cooling to ≈91K from room temperature.