Feature: Interconnects


The automotive industry is a vital parrnover


Cryogenic cable assembly


the quantum puzzle – not to mention most first-world economies’ governments pledging huge sums for such developments. The interest is not surprising, since cryogenics also has applications in the medical, space, defence, aerospace, education, test and measurement, biological research, chemistry and other sectors.


Making the right cryogenic connections


By Roy Phillips, Managing Director, CryoCoax


C


ryogenics can simply be defined as the branch of physics dealing with the production and effects of very low temperatures. Its early origins were in the late nineteenth century, when Faraday et al experimented with the liquefaction of various gases. Since then,


the science has developed tremendously, to become a key engineering field, set to become even bigger in the near future, especially when it comes to quantum computing. Blue-chip companies the likes of IBM, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Honeywell are all working on cracking


34 May 2021 www.electronicsworld.co.uk


Superconductivity The use of electronics, particularly RF, within cryogenic applications is especially interesting since it involves a phenomenon called superconductivity. Superconductivity occurs within certain materials at ultra-


low temperatures when a charge or signal moves through the material without resistance. The obvious benefits are a massive increase in capacity, speed, efficiency and the signal integrity of an RF system. One of the biggest challenges in this market is the very


narrow supply chain for the exotic materials required to manufacture cryogenic products, and the technology required to combine components into a working system or sub-assembly. Whilst not insurmountable, this remains the biggest challenge to successful creation of manufacturable products with reliable and repeatable performance. Technical specifications, both electrical and mechanical,


are significantly different in the cryogenics world, which means product design engineers work with scientists outside the customary world of electronics, presenting a new set of challenges in terms of both perception of risk and performance parameters (e.g., extremely tight contact resistance parameters). Intelliconnect has been involved in the design and manufacture of cryogenic cables, interconnects and sub-


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44