High Power Density, Thermally Controlled Capacitors for Power Electronics Applications

The Navy is moving forward with all-electric hybrid ship and vehicle propulsion systems, rail guns, directed energy weapons, and electromagnetic launchers and sensors. Cryogenically cooling the power electronics in these systems will facilitate the transition to these new technologies, providing exceptional performance and efficiency, even when the refrigeration penalty is taken into consideration. Significant reductions in size and weight can come from the use of cryogenic capacitor banks, which could offer up to a 75% decrease in size and weight over conventional capacitors. Cryogenic capacitors also promise extremely low losses, possibly well below 1%. Such a system could also be configured to operate in environments with ambient temperatures of up to 200°C, while still allowing for the use of superconducting buss work. MTECH Laboratories, a pioneer in Cryogenic Power Electronics, is uniquely qualified to develop these advanced capacitors. The Phase I effort will consist of a feasibility study and design work, to be followed by a prototype demonstration in Phase II.