A team of researchers led by University at Albany's
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) has successfully demonstrated the world’s first 50,000 Watt cryogenic power inverter, a development that could play a critical role in the future introduction of an all-electric fleet by the US Navy.
Researchers developed and successfully tested cryogenically-cooled power electronic components that are compact and extremely fast - key drivers in building smaller, lighter and more reliable integrated power systems that are necessary for the Navy’s transition to all-electric ships.
This next-generation technology is designed to provide power throughout a Navy vessel to support propulsion, sensors, high-energy weapons and auxiliary systems, while at the same time offering enhanced ship survivability, improved combat capability, reduced crew size and lowered ship life-cycle costs.
The demonstration power inverter utilized a revolutionary approach in which metal heat sinks and other bulky cooling hardware were replaced by a liquid nitrogen bath, a cooling method that is compatible with forthcoming superconducting device technologies.
The next phase of the project will attempt to extend the technology to higher power levels and to more compact packaging. The ultimate goal is the development of a technology for integrated power systems that offers dramatic reductions in size and weight and increased power density for key military applications.
About CNSECNSE is the first college in the world devoted exclusively to the research, development and deployment of innovative nanoscience, nanoengineering and nanoeconomics concepts.
CNSE is located in the most advanced research complex of its kind at any university in the world. The $3 billion, 450,000-square-foot complex attracts corporate partners from around the world and offers students a one-of-a-kind academic experience, and it is growing.
The complex is also home to CNSE’s New York State Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics. The CNSE complex, financed through more than $500 million in governmental support and over $2.5 billion in corporate investments, houses the only pilot prototyping facilities in the academic world for the two standard sizes in computer chip design, the 200-millimeter (or 8-inch) wafer, and the 300-millimeter (or 12-inch) wafer.
CNSE has more than 150 U.S. and worldwide partners, including some of the world's largest semiconductor and semiconductor-related tool manufacturing companies. For more information, visit the CNSE Web site at
http://cnse.albany.edu.