Scientists from the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands have constructed a micro-sized Joule-Thomson (JT) cryogenic cooler, in an effort to help develop a more affordable and reliable version for cooling electronics.
According to the project abstract, published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, “Cryogenic temperatures are required for improving the performance of electronic devices and for operating superconducting sensors and circuits. [However,] the broad implementation … has long been constrained by the availability of reliable and low cost cryo-coolers.”
The researchers were able to “demonstrate a load on the microcooler at cryogenic temperatures” by “successfully [cooling] a [yttrium barium copper oxide] (YBCO) film through its superconducting transition state.” The micro-sized cryogenic cooler operated in two stages; in the first stage, nitrogen gas was used to cool the device down to 100K (-173°C, -180°F) while in the second stage, hydrogen gas was used to cool the device down further to 30K (-240°C, -410°F). The process took approximately an hour.
“30K is sufficiently cold to cool most electronic devices such as infrared detectors, low-noise amplifiers and high-temperature superconducting devices,” researcher Haishan Cao said.
For more information, visit IOP Science and Phys.org.
