[en] An irreversible model of the Carnot cryogenic refrigeration cycle working with an ideal Bose or Fermi gas is established, which is composed of two irreversible adiabatic and two isothermal processes. The effects of the quantum degeneracy of the working substance, the irreversibility of the finite-rate heat transfer between the working fluid and the heat reservoirs, and the internal irreversibility in two adiabatic processes on the optimum performance characteristics of the quantum refrigeration cycle are analyzed. The performance characteristics of the cycle in strong and weak gas degeneracy cases are discussed. Expressions for several important performance parameters such as the coefficient of performance, cooling rate and power input are derived. By using numerical solutions, the cooling rate of the cycle is optimized for a given power input. The maximum cooling rate and the corresponding parameters are calculated numerically. The optimal regions of the coefficient of performance and power input are determined. Some optimum criteria are given