Imagine a tiny, electric refrigerator that works like a computer chip instead of using bulky tanks of rare gases or giant magnets. It can chill high-tech electronics down to temperatures colder than deep space. This makes it possible to put powerful quantum sensors on satellites or drones where weight and space are limited.
Current sub-kelvin cooling requires rare 3He gas or heavy magnets, making quantum sensors too bulky and expensive for wide deployment, especially in space or airborne platforms.
A scalable Al–AlOx–Nb superconducting tunnel junction cooler and a 3D assembly to test chip-to-chip thermal resistance at cryogenic temperatures.
If you are a hardware manufacturer dealing with the high cost and bulk of dilution refrigerators — this project developed a solid-state cooler that reaches performance comparable with dilution refrigeration at a fraction of the mass and cost.
If you are a payload developer dealing with strict weight limits for space-oriented applications — this project developed a compact electrical cooler that provides a breakthrough reduction in payload mass and complexity.
If you are a sensor manufacturer dealing with the need for sub-kelvin temperatures for X-ray calorimeters — this project developed a 3D stacked multi-chip cooler that operates without rare 3He cryogens.
The technology aims to provide cooling performance comparable to dilution refrigeration but at a fraction of the cost by removing the need for expensive 3He cryogens and heavy magnets.
Yes, the project uses a superconducting tunnel junction approach that provides full scalability for the total cooling power through a 3D stacked multi-chip system.
Based on available project data, the technology is being developed by VTT, but specific licensing terms are not listed in the project summary.
It is designed as a 3D assembly that can be integrated directly with cryogenic electronics and photonics, reducing thermal resistance between chips.
The project is active from 2023-06-01 to 2026-05-31, with the first year focused on building blocks and commercial landscape analysis.
The project is managed by a single partner, VTT (a Finnish research center), with 0 industry partners and 0 SMEs. This indicates a technology-push approach where the research entity is driving the development of the core IP before seeking industrial partners for commercialization.
Contact VTT (Finland) regarding the SoCool project for licensing inquiries.
Contact us to find potential industrial partners for the pilot phase of SoCool.
