Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Robert Miles Young

Aaron Ashley Hathaway

John Xavier Przybysz

Carl Baldwin Freidhoff

Edward R Engbrecht

Patrick Loney

Pavel Borodulin

Nabil Abdel-Meguid El-Hinnawy

Robert Samuel Howell

Marc Eisenzweig Sherwin

Daniel Robert Queen

Harvey C Nathanson

Brian Paul Wagner

Matthew Russell King

Patrick Bruckner Shea

Justin C Hackley

Timothy T Braggins

Ishan Wathuthanthri

Michael J Lee

Andris Ezis

Keith H Chung

Nabil El-Hinnawy

Aaron A Pesetski

John D Adam

Narsingh Bahadur Singh

Dennis L Polla

Andre E Berghmans

Frank A Lindberg

Thomas V Congedo

Christopher F Kirby

David A Kahler

Zachary Keane

David J Knuteson

Aurelius L Graninger

Xing Lan

Kenneth J Petrosky

Howard N Fudem

Thomas J Knight

Lawrence E Dickens

Joseph Terence Smith

Ty Richard McNutt

Monica P Lilly

Saptharishi Sriram

Vesna Radisic

Sean R McLaughlin

Gregory R Boyd

Jerry W Hedrick

Harold Clifton Hearne, Iii

Peter J Schiller

Joseph C Kotvas

Archer S Mitchell

George M Bates

Don E Crockett

Dustin Ray Johnson

Gregory DeSalvo

Zachary A Stegen

Greg Boyd

John R Mason, Jr

Evan B Jones

Robert Tranchini

Fred E Sacks

Patrick Alan Loney

John X Przybysz

John K Przybysz

David Robert Queen

A solid-state cooler device is disclosed that includes a first portion having a normal metal heat sink layer and a plurality of first parallel ridges disposed over the normal metal heat sink layer, and a second portion having a normal metal layer, insulator layer, superconductor layer (NIS) junction and a plurality of second parallel ridges disposed over the superconductor layer of the NIS junction. The plurality of first parallel ridges are in contact and orthogonal to the plurality of second parallel ridges to provide a plurality of grid point contacts.

Solid-state cooler device with grid point contacts

One embodiment of the invention includes a switch circuit including a first superconducting transmission line, a second superconducting transmission line and a phase-change material switch that is coupled between the first and second superconducting transmission lines. The phase-change material switch includes a switch portion that includes a phase-change material that is superconducting in a first state of the switch portion and blocking in a second state of the switch portion, such that the phase change material switch is configured to propagate an input signal from the first superconducting transmission line to the second superconducting transmission line in the first state, and to prohibit propagation of the input signal from the first superconducting transmission line to the second superconducting transmission line in the second state.

Superconducting phase-change material switch

A method of integrating a phase change switch (PCS) into a Bipolar (Bi)/Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) (BiCMOS) process, comprises providing a base structure including BiCMOS circuitry on a semiconductor substrate, and forming on the base structure a dielectric contact window layer having metal through-plugs that contact the BiCMOS circuitry. The method includes constructing the PCS on the contact window layer. The PCS includes: a phase change region, between ohmic contacts on the phase change region, to operate as a switch controlled by heat. The method further includes forming, on the contact window layer and the PCS, a stack of alternating patterned metal layers and dielectric layers that interconnect the patterned metal layers, such that the stack connects a first of the ohmic contacts to the BiCMOS circuitry and provides connections to a second of the ohmic contacts and to the resistive heater.

Method to integrate DC and RF phase change switches into high-speed SiGe BiCMOS

A superconductor junction includes a normal metal layer having a first side and a second side, an insulating layer overlying the second side of the normal metal layer, and a first superconductor layer formed of a first superconductor material that overlies a side of the insulating layer opposite the side that overlies the normal metal layer. The superconductor junction further includes a second superconductor layer formed of a second superconductor material with a first side overlying a side of the first superconductor material opposite the side that overlies the insulating layer. The second superconductor material has a higher diffusion coefficient than the first superconductor material and/or the second superconductor material has a lower recombination coefficient than the first superconductor metal layer. A normal metal layer quasiparticle trap is coupled to a second side of the second superconductor layer.

Superconductor junction for a solid state cooler

A solid state cooler device is disclosed that comprises a first normal metal pad, a first aluminum layer and a second aluminum layer disposed on the first normal metal pad and separated from one another by a gap, a first aluminum oxide layer formed on the first aluminum layer, and a second aluminum oxide layer formed on the second aluminum layer, and a first superconductor pad disposed on the first aluminum oxide layer and a second superconductor pad disposed on the second aluminum oxide layer. The device further comprises a first conductive pad coupled to the first superconductor pad, and a second conductive pad coupled to the second superconductor pad, wherein hot electrons are removed from the first normal metal pad when a bias voltage is applied between the first conductive pad and the second conductive pad.

Cooler device with aluminum oxide insulators

A solid state cooler device is provided that includes a substrate, a first and second conductive pad disposed on the substrate, a first and second superconductor pad each having a side with a plurality of conductive pad contact interfaces spaced apart from one another and being in contact with a surface of respective first and second conductive pads, and a first and second insulating layer disposed between respective first and second superconductor pads, and respective ends of a normal metal layer. A bias voltage is applied between one of a first conductive pad or first superconductor pad and one of the second conductive pad or the second superconductor pad to remove hot electrons from the normal metal layer, and the contact area of the plurality of first and second conductive pad contact interfaces inhibits the transfer of heat back to the first and second superconductor pads.

Solid state cooler device

A superconductor thermal filter is disclosed that includes a normal metal layer having a first side, an insulating layer overlying the first side of the normal metal layer, and a multilayer superconductor structure having a first side overlying a side of the insulating layer opposite the side that overlies the normal metal layer. The multilayer superconductor structure is comprised of a plurality of superconductor layers with each superconductor layer having a smaller superconducting energy band gap than the preceding superconductor as the superconductor layers extend away from the normal metal layer. The thermal filter further includes a normal metal layer quasiparticle trap having a first side and a second side with the first side being disposed on a second side of the multilayer superconductor. A bias voltage is applied between the normal metal layer and the normal metal layer quasiparticle trap to remove hot electrons from the normal metal layer.

Superconductor thermal filter

A solid state cooler device is disclosed that includes a first superconductor shunt, a first normal metal pad disposed on the first superconductor shunt, and a first insulator layer and a second insulator layer disposed on the normal metal pad and separated from one another by a gap. The solid state cooler device also includes a first superconductor pad disposed on the first insulator layer and a second superconductor pad disposed on the second insulator layer, a first conductive pad coupled to the first superconductor pad, and a second conductive pad coupled to the second superconductor pad. Hot electrons are removed from the first normal metal pad when a bias voltage is applied between the first conductive pad and the second conductive pad, wherein the first superconductor shunt facilitates even current distribution through the device.

Cooler device with superconductor shunts

An integrated circuit is provided that comprises a thermal sink layer, a first ground plane associated with a first set of circuits that have a first operational temperature requirement, and a first thermally conductive via that couples the first ground plane to the thermal sink layer. The circuit further comprises a second ground plane associated with a second set of circuits that have a second operational temperature requirement that is higher than the first operational temperature requirement, and a second thermally conductive via that couples the second ground plane to the thermal sink layer, wherein the first thermally conductive via has a greater volume of thermal conductive material than the second thermally conductive via to remove heat from the first set of circuits with less gradient than the second set of circuits.

Integrated circuit having a heat sink coupled to separate ground planes through vias with different thermal characteristics

One example includes a method for making a switch. The method includes forming an insulating layer over a substrate. The method also includes forming a resistive heating material over the insulating layer. The method also includes depositing a thermally conductive electrically insulating barrier layer over the heating material. The method also includes forming a phase-change material (PCM) component over the barrier layer spaced apart and proximal to the resistive heating material. The method also includes forming a quench layer proximal to at least one of the resistive heating material and the PCM component. The method further includes forming conductive lines from ends of the PCM component and control lines from ends of the resistive heating material.

PCM switch and method of making the same

A superconducting structure is provided that comprises a first superconducting device coupled to a second superconducting device employing a plurality of superconducting bump bond structures. Each of the plurality of superconducting bump bond structures comprise a first normal metal layer disposed on the top surface of a given one of a plurality of first contact pads, a second normal metal layer disposed on the top surface of a given one of a plurality of second contact pads, and a superconducting metal layer disposed between the first normal metal layer and the second normal metal layer. The metal thicknesses of each of the first normal metal layer, the second normal metal layer, and the specific material of the superconducting metal and normal metal are selected to inhibit the transfer of heat between the first superconducting device and the second superconducting device.

Multichip device with temperature isolating bump bonds

An integrated circuit is provided that comprises a first ground plane associated with a first set of circuits that have a first operational temperature requirement, and a second ground plane associated with a second set of circuits that have a second operational temperature requirement that is higher than the first operational temperature requirement. The second ground plane is substantially thermally isolated from the first ground plane. A superconducting coupler electrically couples the first ground plane and the second ground plane while maintaining relative thermal isolation between the first ground plane and the second ground plane.

Thermally isolated ground planes with a superconducting electrical coupler

One embodiment of the invention includes a phase-change material switch. The switch includes a first terminal that receives an input signal and a second terminal. The switch includes an actuation portion that receives a control signal in one of a first state to emit a first heat profile and a second state to emit a second heat profile. The switch further includes a switch portion comprising a phase-change material arranged as a plurality of longitudinal strips that each interconnect the first terminal and the second terminal and that are each in proximity with the actuation portion. The phase-change material can be selectable between a conducting state in response to the first heat profile to conduct an input signal from the first terminal to the second terminal and a blocking state in response to the second heat profile to block the input signal from the first terminal to the second terminal.

Phase-change material distributed switch systems

Growing community of inventors

Ellicott City, MD, United States of America

Robert Miles Young