CRYONOISE

Purpose and goal

We aim to set a new global industrial standard for lowest noise in semiconductor electronics. The key innovation is a unique transistor technology optimized for lowest noise at cryogenic temperatures 3 - 20 K. The consortium will for the first time develop an industrial value chain for cryogenic low noise amplifier products.

Expected results and effects

There are two main markets for cryogenic low noise amplifiers: radio astronomy and quantum computing. The former is growing due to the transition from single to massive antenna systems where each antenna is in need of a cryogenic low noise amplifier. Both markets are growing rapidly and with the new industrial process developed in this project, we will be able to satisfy the increased demand in the future as well. The consortium is likely to be able to consolidate its almost total dominance of the market.

Planned approach and implementation

The project is based on two methods: (1) Innovation in a low noise transistor design, InP HEMT, optimized for cryogenic operation. (2) To bring the innovation to an industrial stage by establishing a production chain for CLNA. We have divided the project into five work packages where the first three focus on optimizing the performance of the transistor. The fourth focuses on the design and manufacture of various amplifiers from 0.3-115 GHz. In the fifth work package, the performance of the amplifiers at cryogenic temperatures is verified. All packages are completed today.