Traditionally cryogenic liquids were used to achieve low temperatures for research and industrial purposes, with a variety of liquefied gases and a range of applications. Liquid nitrogen is the most commonly used cryogenic liquid these days. Another popular cryogenic is liquid helium.

While cryogenic liquids have been used for maintaining cooler temperatures in research laboratories, they are not only potentially hazardous but also extremely expensive. Not to mention rare to harness in the natural state. In addition making sensitive measurements in cryogenic environments poses many difficulties to researchers.

For these reasons research has been ongoing to create a cryogenics free environment, which would still be able to maintain the cooler temperatures that are requisite in certain science experiments. At Oxford Instruments researchers are working on nano technology based instruments that can help eliminate the dangers and uncertainty of using cryogenic liquids.

Since Nano Devices are extremely sensitive, they can be used to make a wide range of temperature measurements. This means that they can be used effectively at room temperature as well as extremely low cryogenic temperatures. As the instruments are improved, they may well take over the niche, removing the need to use cryogenic liquids in science experiments.