By Kaushik Rajashekara

and Bilal Akin

Cryogenic Power
Conversion Systems
The next step in the evolution of power
electronics technology.

n transportation applications,
lower weight and volume of the power
conversion systems is very important to
achieve high power density, high efficiency, and superior performance. The
thermal management of these power conversion units
plays a significant role in reducing the weight and
volume. The use of superconductive motors/generators, degaussing coils, energy storage modules, and
cables has been considered to increase power density and efficiency. High-temperature superconducting (HTS) components combined with cryogenic
power converters will provide significant benefits in
the electrification of transportation and high power
density power conversion systems. Cryogenic power
converter modules offer other promising benefits
over their room temperature counterparts in terms of
reduced size and weight (i.e., increased power density) and improved efficiency, switching speed, and reliability. Such an integration could result in significant
weight and space savings for next-generation mass
transportation systems. In this article, the current
research on cryogenic power electronics and superconducting motors/generators is discussed for future aircraft
and ships.
Power electronics is the key enabling technology for electromechanical drives, transportation, renewable energy systems, and
power grids. Cryogenic power electronics technology is the next step

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2013.2282195

Date of publication: 26 February 2014

64

I EEE E l e c t r i f i c a t i on M a gaz ine / december 2013

ice image courtesy of stock.xchng/axonite

2325-5987/13/$31.002013IEEE

in the evolution of power electronics technology to obtain

high power density, high efficiency, and superior performance for various applications. The overall system efficiency will also increase due to the improved properties
of semiconductor materials at low temperatures. The
performance of semiconductor devices, down to liquid
nitrogen (LN2) temperatures (6377.2 K), has been shown
to improve with the decrease in temperature due to the
improved thermal, electrical, and electronic properties of
the materials. Specifically, the field-effect semiconductor
devices operating at low temperatures have shown
important advantages over those
operating at room temperature,
including lower power dissipation,
improved switching characteristics,
reduced interconnect resistance, and
increased carrier mobility.
The operation of power electronic
and control equipment at cryogenic
temperatures has been investigated
for a number of applications, not
only for controlling superconducting
machines and devices but also for
use in satellites and spacecraft to
remove the need for the auxiliary
heaters that are frequently used
to keep the electronics warm. In
addition, low-temperature electronics have potential uses in
deep space and terrestrial
applications that include magnetic levitationbased transportation systems, military all-electric vehicles (EVs), medical diagnostics, cryogenic
instrumentation, and superconducting magnetic
energy storage systems. Furthermore, superconducting motors offer a significant advantage to
cruise and cargo ships to significantly expand
their capacity. Because of the higher efficiency of
superconducting motors and cryogenic power
electronics, the fuel consumption is reduced. This
leads to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel
savings per year for an average cargo ship. The
HTS system provides superior degaussing over legacy copper coils, and it is more efficient and weighs
significantly less than copper systems.

operated at room temperature. This is because the semiconductor materials seem to demonstrate better electrical
and thermal properties at lower temperatures up to about
50 K. They also have higher carrier mobility and saturation
velocity at low temperatures, resulting in high-speed operation. It was also found that the thermal conductivities of
the device and substrate materials improve significantly at
lower temperatures, leading to simpler thermal management, lower on-state power loss, and improved reliability. In
addition to the conduction losses, the switching losses of
power devices also decrease at cryogenic temperatures,
leading to increased overall power
conversion efficiency.
Significant improvements in performance have been reported for
many power devices when operated at
cryogenic temperatures: for power
metaloxidesemiconductor fieldeffect transistors (MOSFETs) the onstate resistance falls by about four to
five times; for the diode, the reverse
recovery is reduced by an order of
magnitude; and for insulated-gate
bipolar transistors (IGBTs), the tail current effects are reduced. It has been
demonstrated that MOSFET operation
at low temperatures provides advantages such as reduced physical size,
enhanced reliability, and higher current density. It is also reported that the
MOSFET threshold voltage and transconductance increase
at low temperatures. At 77 K, the threshold voltage has
been found to increase by 1 V due to carrier concentration
reduction when compared to room temperature, and the
breakdown voltage of the power MOSFETs reduces up to
23%. The simulation results of operating silicon power
MOSFETs at room temperature and at liquid nitrogen temperature show that when operating at liquid nitrogen temperature, the channel mobility increased ten times, the
drain current capability increased three times, and the onstate resistance reduced two to three times, from 300 K to
77 K for that particular device, because of higher carrier
mobility at lower temperatures.
The commercially available MOSFETs in plastic or
metal packages have also been found to work well if they
are immersed in a bath of liquid nitrogen, although these
devices have not been designed for cryogenic applications,
according to a study by Mueller. They can be operated at
much higher current levels with lower conduction losses;
hence, high-efficiency power converters could be
designed. It was also shown that heat sinks other than the
liquid nitrogen may not be required. In a previous work,
Mueller showed that the on-resistance of commercially
available high-voltage MOSFETs (5001,000 V) decreases by
a factor of 1030 or more depending on the drain current if
cooled down to 77 K. These results show that even when

The use of
cryogenically cooled
power converters
will change the way
lightweight, highpower converters
are designed and
manufactured for
various applications.

Cryogenic Power Electronics

Power Devices
The understanding of the characteristics and operation of
power semiconductor devices at cryogenic temperatures
is necessary for integrating the power electronics with the
superconducting power applications. As reported in several
research studies, the operation of power semiconductor
devices at cryogenic temperatures results in improved
switching speed and lower on-state voltage than when

IEEE Elec trific ation Magazine / d ec emb er 201 3

65

using commercial MOSFETs at low temperatures, the

design of extremely small, lightweight, and low-cost
power converters is possible.
The cryogenic performance of wide-bandgap semiconductor FETs for extreme environmental applications has
also been reported in the literature. At low temperatures,
the 4H-silicon carbide (SiC) metalsemiconductor field
effect transistors (MESFETs) demonstrated a reduction in
the output currents and a positive shift of the threshold
voltage. It was observed that the high-temperature operation of 4H-SiC Infineon Schottky rectifiers rated 300 V and
600 V was fairly stable at cryogenic
temperatures, but the rectifiers displayed certain anomalies. Tunneling
was observed to be dominant in the
reverse characteristics at all temperatures. An increase in the output current and a negative shift of the
threshold voltage were observed from
AlGaN/GaN HFETs at cryogenic temperatures. These devices showed
superior cryogenic performance and
higher stability. The tests on the forward conduction and reverse blocking
performance of a 600-V, 4-A GaN
Schottky rectifier from Velox showed
certain anomalies similar to those observed for the SiC
Schottky rectifiers. The characteristics of the recent SiC
and GaN devices need to be further investigated to understand how they operate at very low temperatures.
The characteristics of various power devices at temperatures as low as 20 K have been investigated by Leong, and
the observed on-state behavior for all the measured devices
in their known temperature range is summarized in
Table 1. It is concluded that among the commercially available power devices, silicon n -channel power MOSFETs are
the most optimized for cryogenic applications. They can
achieve an extremely low on-state resistance and reasonable breakdown voltages. A large portion of the measured
devices experienced carrier freeze-out effects. GaN HEMTs
show good potential in cryogenic applications but still need
further investigation.
The studies related to cryogenic performance of the IGBT
devices show that these devices could work more efficiently
at low temperatures with the decrease of on-state voltage
and turn-off time despite the decrease of breakdown levels.
The reductions in on-state voltage drop were found to be
about 2030%, and the turn-off time reduction was by a factor of approximately two to three over the temperature
range from room temperature to as low as 50 K. Similar to
the MOSFETs, the gate threshold voltage of the IGBTs was
found to increase approximately 1 V because of the intrinsic
carrier concentration at 77 K, and the transconductance
increase was observed to increase twofold for the same temperature. Overall, most IGBTs exhibited low forward voltage
drop at temperatures as low as 100 K and slightly above this

temperature due to carrier freeze out. The switching performance of the IGBTs also improved at low temperatures.

Passive Components and Integrated Circuits

Many passive components and off-the-shelf integrated circuits have been shown to operate satisfactorily at temperatures as low as 50 K. The published research has shown that
the low-temperature operation of the capacitors depends on
the dielectric medium such as polypropylene, polycarbonate, mica, film, and ceramic. These capacitors seem to function properly at 77 K with decreasing leakage current and
dissipation factor at cryogenic temperatures. Regarding the magnetic components, it was observed that the
magnetic losses generally increase with
cooling, and the power dissipation is
not too different than at room temperature. If superconducting windings are
substituted with copper windings, then
the loss comparison between the core
and windings becomes more promising. As a better option, a coreless design
is suggested for inductors in cryogenic
environments for maximum efficiency.
Most powder cores maintain a constant inductance value, exhibiting good
stability, but the quality factor and resistance change based
on test frequency and temperature. The long-term effects
and the repeated cyclic operation of passive components at
low temperatures are not as well understood. More comprehensive research should be conducted to characterize the
cryogenic behavior of passive components.

Cryogenic
refrigeration is
a key technology
for superconducting
generators and
cryogenic power
electronics.

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I E E E E l e c t ri f i c a t i on M a gaz ine / december 2013

Converters
To investigate the feasibility of building a cryogenic power
converter and collocating this converter for energizing the
field winding of a superconducting generator, a project
was carried out by a group of universities in partnership
with Rolls-Royce. A dcdc converter consisting of a number of parallel-connected power MOSFETs was tested at
cryogenic temperatures. The overall performance of the
unit in terms of reliability and efficiency was reported to
be improved at cryogenic temperatures. An advanced radiation-hardened dcdc converter was characterized in
terms of its performance as a function of temperature in
the range of 133293 K. The converter was evaluated with
respect to its steady-state output voltage regulation, efficiency, output voltage ripple, input current ripple, and output current ripple at various input voltage levels and
loads. This converter showed good performance in regulation, efficiency, and dynamic characteristics at temperatures as low as 173 K. Some instability was observed as the
temperature was decreased further. More testing under
long-term thermal exposure is needed to fully characterize this type of converter for potential application in lowtemperature environments.

Table 1. The summarized ndings of the on-state behavior for all of the measured devices.
On-State Behavior
Temperature
Range
Si n-channel MOSFETs and
superjunction MOSFETs

20 K

50 K

100 K

Little degradation in the on state

Optimum range

Non-ohmic behavior and negative temperature

dependence
Si p-channel MOSFETs

Negative temperature dependence

Optimum range

Non-ohmic behavior
SiC MOSFETs

Positive temperature dependence

Negative temperature dependence

No improvements compared to higher temperatures

GaN HEMTs

Almost temperature independent

Small positive temperature dependence

Si/SiC Schottky diodes

No improvements when compared to higher temperatures

GaAs Schottky diodes

Improvements at high current levels

(With permission from K.K. Leong, 2011.)

The commercial off-the-shelf integrated circuits, such

as digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters, dcdc
converters, operational amplifiers, and oscillators, have
been investigated for potential use at low temperatures. In
these studies, it is shown that these c
omponents operate
well and maintain stability in temperatures as low as 80 K.
Ray et al. evaluated a 175-W buck dc
dc converter operating at 50 kHz. This
converter exhibited full-load efficiency of 97% at liquid-nitrogen temperature compared to 95.8% at room
temperature. A similar test on a 60-W
dcdc buck converter showed full
functionality at temperatures as low
as 77 K with a slight efficiency degradation. Another comparative study by
Chunjiang reported the testing of dc
dc converters, such as synchronous
rectifiers, zero-voltage switching
(ZVS), and multilevel topologies, operating from 120 to 500 V in temperatures as low as 20 K. Among these
converters, ZVS has been suggested as
the most efficient option; its overall
losses were 18% fewer than the room temperature losses.
Gardiner et al. evaluated a 50-kW three-phase inverter
with soft switching at 77 K and observed that the total
inverter loss was about 1% of the input power.

large electric machines. A depiction of such a machine is

shown in Figure 1. The high-temperature superconductors
enable practical operation at temperatures well above liquid nitrogen. Naturally, a higher operating temperature
reduces the cooling cost while maintaining the superconductivity of the coils. Also, the reduced ohmic losses in HTS
motors yield significant annual savings
in electricity consumption by a factor
of 50%. Since the HTS wires are capable of carrying a significantly higher
current than copper and create a very
strong magnetic field in the air gap, a
lighter superconducting motor with a
smaller form factor could be used to
produce the same amount of torque as
that produced by a traditional motor.
The size and weight reduction may
reduce the assembling time as well as
the manufacturing material, transportation, and labor costs. The elimination
of iron teeth in the armature (stator
windings) of HTS synchronous motors
not only results in smaller-size and
lighter-weight designs but also
decreases the motor noise caused by rotor and stator interaction. Superconducting motors operate more stably during
transients than conventional motors due to their small load
angles (15 versus 70 for a conventional motor) and yield
up to three times higher peak torque. As a result, the motor
can operate even under large transients without losing synchronism, which is essential for transportation systems in
which the motor operates with a varying duty cycle. In

The advent of
high-temperature
superconductors
created an
important
opportunity for the
commercialization
of large electric
machines.

Superconducting Motors
The advent of high-temperature superconductors created
an important opportunity for the commercialization of

IEEE Electrific ation Magazine / d ec emb er 201 3

67

Stator
Back-Iron
Copper Stator
Vacuum Superconductor
Coils
Chamber
Rotor Coil
Figure 1. A high-temperature superconducting motor. (Image used
with permission from Bretz.)

Figure 2. The 36.5-MW HTS motor designed for naval applications.

(Photo used with permission from Gamble et al.)

2008, the Sumitomo Electric Institute demonstrated an EV

prototype using an HTS motor cooled by liquid nitrogen.
This motor developed around 30 kW with 120-Nm torque.
The EV prototype can run about 13% longer than a conventional EV. The prototypes of superconducting motors for
buses and large trucks are almost ready, and the company
hopes to commercialize the HTS motors by 2020 for buses,
forklifts, and small trucks.

Cryogenic Systems Applications

Low-temperature electronics have potential uses in deep
space and in terrestrial applications that include magnetic
levitation transportation systems, military all-EVs, medical
diagnostics, cryogenic instrumentation, and superconducting magnetic
energy storage systems. Superconducting generators and cryogenic
power electronic systems offer significant advantages in wind power generation, distributed propulsion of
aircraft, and many defense applications. Several studies have reported
the potential for cryogenic power conversion and superconducting
machines in future military systems,
ships, and aircraft for propulsion and
onboard power generation, where size
and weight are the primary design
considerations. A number of programs are currently under way in the United States and
around the world to develop these superconducting
machines. Recently, a 36.5-MW (49,000-hp), 120-r/min synchronous air-core machine producing 2.81 MNm of torque

was tested at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Philadelphia. This machine, shown in Figure 2, has been specifically designed for the next-generation all-electric ships for
naval applications. A traditional electrical machine with
equivalent electromechanical features weighs about four
times more, occupies much more space, and costs more.
This machine was built for the Office of Naval Research to
show the superiority of HTS motors as the main propulsion technology for all-electric ships and submarines.
Based on the literature review, it is clear that the only
technology that can reduce the weight of the power conversion system to acceptable levels in many of the applications
is a superconducting machine with cryogenic power electronics. It provides savings not only in
the drivetrain cost of the generator/
motor alone but also in the total cost of
energy, which can be 2025% less than
similar systems. While superconducting technology can reduce the size and
weight of these multimegawatt generators and motors to acceptable levels,
the collocation of the power converter
that converts the generator output to
the required power within the cryogenic environment offers many system-level benefits: lower power losses,
low current feed-through connections,
and overall increased power density
and efficiency. In field-excited superconducting generators, the cryogenic power converter provides extremely high levels of controlled generator
excitation with extremely low losses. The use of cryogenically cooled power converters will change the way

Power electronics
is the key enabling
technology for
electromechanical
drives, transportation,
renewable energy
systems, and
power grids.

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I E E E E l e c t ri f i c a t i on M a gaz ine / december 2013

Table 2. NASAs technology goals for future subsonic vehicles.

Corners of the
Trade Space

N+1 (2015)
Technology Benefits
Relative to a Single Aisle
Reference Configuration

N+2 (2020)
Technology Benefits Relative to
a Large Twin Aisle Reference
Configuration

N+3 (2025)
Technology Benefits

Noise

32 dB

42 dB

71 dB

LTO nitrogen oxide

emissions

60%

75%

Better than 75%

Performance
aircraft fuel burn

33%

50%

Better than 70%

Performance
field length

33%

50%

Exploit metroplex concepts*

*Concepts that enable optimal use of runways at multiple airports within the metropolitan areas. (Used with permission from Luongo et al.)

lightweight, high-power converters are designed and manufactured for various applications.
The aerospace industry is facing challenges similar to
those of the automotive industry in terms of improving
emissions, fuel economy, and cost. Another similarity is the
move toward replacing mechanical and pneumatic systems
with electrical systems, thus transitioning toward more
electric architectures. The Advisory Council for Aeronautics
Research in Europe has set several
goals to be achieved by 2020 for air
transportation. These include a 50%
reduction of CO2 emissions through a
drastic reduction of fuel consumption;
an 80% reduction of nitrogen oxide
emissions; a 50% reduction of external
noise; and a green design, manufacturing, maintenance, and disposal product
life cycle. Most of these goals could be
achieved through more electrification
of air transportation. The electrical
power being used by both civil and military aircrafts is also growing. Passenger
aircrafts, such as the Boeing 787 and
Airbus 380, are employing many new
electrical technologies. For example,
the Boeing 787 employs a bleedless
environmental control system. These
loads create a substantial increase in
the total electrical power drawn from
the aircraft engine-driven generators. For example, the
power generation in the Boeing 747 is 480 kVA, whereas the
power generation in the more recent A380 aircraft is 840
kVA, and that of the the Boeing 787 is 1,450 kVA.
The sustainability of the aviation industry requires
aircraft that are significantly quieter and more fuel
efficient than todays fleet. Achieving this will require
revolutionary new concepts, in particular, for electric

propulsion. Superconducting machines with cryogenic

power electronics offer a viable path to achieve the
power densities needed in electric propulsion airborne
applications. For example, NASAs technology goals for
future-generation aircraft are shown in Table 2. To
achieve this goal, NASA is proposing to develop a
blended wing body aircraft with a turboelectric distributed propulsion system. The system consists of at
least two turbine-driven generators mounted at the tip of the
wings. The outputs of the generators are rectified and connected to
a number of power converters.
Each power converter converts the
input dc to variable frequency and
variable voltage ac to power the
electric motors that drive the propulsors as shown in Figure 3. The
propulsion system provides the
required propulsive power for the
aircraft and also assists in aircraft
yaw control through differential
thrust. To achieve maximum efficiency and reduce the weight,
NASA is proposing the use of a
superconducting and cryogenic
electrical system with dc distribution consisting of a superconducting generators and cryogenically
cooled power converters.
A few recent studies have focused on faster and more
efficient rail transportation systems since the traditional
railway propulsion systems have mechanical limitations
and maintenance issues due to the dependence on friction
between the wheels and railways. In particular, the maintenance of the traditional systems is quite expensive and
time consuming, thus leading the researchers to look for

Superconducting
machines with
cryogenic power
electronics offer
a viable path to
achieve the power
densities needed
in electric
propulsion airborne
applications.

IEEE Electrific ation Magazine / d ec emb er 201 3

69

Rear View

30-MW Superconductor
6-MW Superconductor
Power Transmission
Electrical Motor Turbo Fans

superconductors due to their cooling

advantages. The first HTS-based prototype shown in Figure 4 was tested
in Japan and successfully exceeded
500 km/h the very first day of testing.
The Japan Railway Company is planning to finalize the railway to provide
passenger service by 2025, connecting
the cities of Tokyo and Nagoya.

Cryogenic Cooling Systems

Cryogenic refrigeration is a key technology for superconducting genera30-MW Superconductor

tors and cryogenic power electronics.
Electrical Generator
The choice of the cryogenic plant is
Superconductor
Power
determined by several factors such
Power
Power
Applications
Generators
Motors
Transmission
as availability of cryogenic media,
Inverters
Electronics
Needed
Cables
temperature, response to dynamic
Power Levels 3040 MW
46 MW
570 MW
130 MW 3040 MW
loads, power requirements in steady
state and recovery, and the control
Figure 3. The hybrid electric distributed propulsion (HEDP) Aircraft, 45 MW. (Photos used with persystem. The power requirements of
mission from Luongo et al. and Haugan.)
refrigeration are very dependent on
the unit power losses and the
alternative frictionless mass transportation systems that
required cooling temperature. For example, 1 W of power
can exceed the maximum speed (350 km/h) of conventionloss in the unit to be cooled may require about 810 W of
al railway systems. For this purpose, research teams in
refrigeration power (cryogenic plant) at liquid nitrogen
Japan and the United States have been working on supertemperature (6377 K), whereas to cool at 4 K may require
conducting maglev trains using linear synchronous motor
about 8001,000 W of refrigeration power. The cooling
superconducting magnets and armature coil on the ground.
requirements at low temperatures incur significantly
The superconducting maglev train is one of the most promhigher cryogenic costs. Although the refrigeration cost
ising high-speed mass transportation systems in the world,
may have a small impact on the overall cost, it does affect
offering a fast, reliable, and environmentally friendly systhe selection of a cryogenic plant.
tem that will encourage people to use train transportation
Cryocoolers are generally divided into three types:
over aircraft and automobiles. It is also known as one of the
recuperative (steady flow), regenerative (oscillating flow),
safest transportation alternatives with an accident-free
and a hybrid of the two. There are two major types of
safety record so far. The CO2 emissions are about one-third
recuperative cycles: JouleThomson and Brayton cycleof traditional transportation systems. The recent trend for
based systems in which there is a steady flow of gas in
superconducting maglev trains is to replace the low-temone direction with steady low and high pressures in the
perature superconducting element with high-temperature
appropriate locations. They primarily use heat exchangers
to transfer heat between a working fluid and a transportation fluid. There are three main regenerative cycle cryocoolers: Stirling cycle, GiffordMcMahon (GM), and pulse
tube refrigerators. All three use a transport fluid that passes cyclically through a regenerator and a displacer. The
flow of the gas is controlled such that one end of the displacement tube forms a cold head and the other end
forms a hot end. The frequencies vary from about 1 Hz for
the GM cycle and some pulse tube cryocoolers to about
60 Hz for Stirling cycle coolers. In these regenerative cryocoolers, heating occurs as the pressure increases, and
cooling occurs as the pressure decreases. Depending on
the required power and the cryogenic temperature, a particular cooling system needs to be selected. In general, the
liquefaction plants are relatively more efficient than
regenerative systems. However, they are expensive and
Figure 4. The ultra-high-speed superconducting maglev train tested
in Japan. (Photo used with permission from Sawada.)
suitable mainly for large-scale systems.

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I E E E E l e c t ri f i c a t i on M a gaz ine / december 2013

Conclusions
The interest of investigating cryogenic power electronics
stems from the idea of building power conditioning systems with higher efficiency by cooling electronics to cryogenic temperatures. As can be observed from the reported
literature, most of the research results are on the
characterization of the operating behavior of the devices
instead of the entire power conversion system. Significant
advancements in cryogenic power conversion technology
are required for application in maglev trains, aircraft based
on NASAs distributed propulsion system, ship propulsion,
and other high-power applications. With the advancement of cryogenic power electronics, the manufacturing
of a superconducting generator unit fully integrated with
the converter, cooling, and coupling components could
become a real possibility. Several studies have concluded
that there is a great potential for cryogenic power conversion in applications such as propulsion motors and power
generators for ships, future military applications, and aircraft where size and weight are the primary design considerations. Although the cryogenic media have not been
discussed in this article, the selection and integration of
the right cryogenic system for a given application contribute to the overall performance, efficiency, power density,
and cost of the overall system.

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Biographies
Kaushik Rajashekara (k.raja@utdallas.edu) is with the Erik
Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science,
University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson. He is a Fellow of
the IEEE.
Bilal Akin (bilal.akin@utdallas.edu) is with the Erik
Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science,
University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson. He is a Senior
Member of the IEEE.


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