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Solution Overview
Problem
The bottleneck in throughput testing of superconducting devices in a cryogenic environment is the long time it takes for a cryogenic cooling chamber to cool down from room temperature to a target cryogenic temperature, typically taking days or weeks.
Innovation Solution
A cryogenic cooling system comprising a pre-cooling chamber and a cooling chamber with a sample transfer mechanism, where the pre-cooling chamber pre-cools devices to a first cryogenic temperature, and the cooling chamber maintains a second cryogenic temperature, allowing for rapid transfer and further cooling to the target temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a device is loaded directly into a cryogenic cooling chamber from room temperature, then the device can be cooled to the target cryogenic temperature, but the cooling process takes days or weeks
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling process is divided into two distinct stages: a pre-cooling chamber that performs initial cooling from room temperature to an intermediate cryogenic temperature, and a main cooling chamber that completes the cooling to the final target temperature. This segmentation allows each chamber to be optimized for its specific temperature range, significantly reducing total cooling time while maintaining the ability to reach the target cryogenic temperature.
2Loss of time
If a pre-cooling chamber is added to the system, then the cooling time is reduced from days or weeks to hours, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-cooling chamber is positioned within or adjacent to the main cooling chamber structure, with the sample transfer mechanism nested between them. This nested configuration allows the pre-cooling chamber to be integrated into the existing cryogenic system architecture, reducing overall system footprint and minimizing the number of separate components needed, thereby limiting the increase in system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-cooling chamber performs preliminary cooling of the device before it enters the main cooling chamber. This preliminary action removes the majority of the thermal load upfront, allowing the main cooling chamber to operate more efficiently and reach the final target temperature faster. The sample transfer mechanism is pre-positioned and ready to quickly move the pre-cooled device into the main chamber, further reducing total cooling time without requiring complex real-time control systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system significantly reduces the time required to cool a device from room temperature to the target cryogenic temperature, from days or weeks to hours, enhancing the throughput of quantum computing component and device testing and prototyping.
Implementation Method 1
The pre-cooling chamber is configured to pre-cool a device to a first cryogenic temperature
Implementation Method 2
the cooling chamber maintains a second cryogenic temperature, which is the same or less than the first cryogenic temperature
Data Source
AI summary
A system comprises a cooling chamber, a pre-cooling chamber, and a sample transfer mechanism. The pre-cooling chamber is operatively connected to the cooling chamber. The pre-cooling chamber is configured pre-cool a device to a first cryogenic temperature. The sample transfer mechanism is configured to transfer the device from the pre-cooling chamber into the cooling chamber with the cooling chamber maintained at a second cryogenic temperature, which is the same or less than the first cryogenic temperature.