Superconducting Core Technologies of Golden, Colo., believes it has developed an industry first-a superconductor that is automatically tuned by microprocessors to allocate frequencies and improve channel re-use.
“We are committed to demonstrating that so-called virtual manufacturing companies can efficiently work with the public laboratory system to rapidly commercialize cutting edge technologies,” said Robert Yandrofski, SCT president and chief executive officer.
Founded in 1989, SCT is privately funded but receives technology information from public research institutions. The company has collaborated with the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, the Naval Research Lab, the Electrotechnical University of St. Petersburg, Russia, and recently received a $1.5 million investment from Comsat Corp. Laboratories. Comsat researches and develops satellite technology.
Superconductivity is the absence of electrical resistance in a substance at a very low temperature. The technology is used in cellular and personal communications networks to decrease noise and improve sensitivity.
SCT is using “high temperature” superconductor technology, which operates at temperatures of minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cost-effective cryogenic coolers are becoming commercially available to meet the demands of this technology, SCT said. And as developments continue in cryogenics-the branch of physics that deals with the effects of very low temperatures-cooler costs should drop even lower, SCT said.
SCT is not the only U.S. company manufacturing superconductor products for the wireless industry, but the company claims it is the only one whose components are automatically tuned by microprocessors.
Ferroelectricity makes electronic frequency tunability possible in microwave communications devices, SCT said. The company said it received patent approval for integrating ferroelectrics and superconducting thin-film materials.
All three assets-high temperature, low cost coolers and automatic tuning-are needed to start the nationwide build-out of PCS, the company said.
“SCT’s materials will provide the foundation for an enhanced wireless communications network, which will benefit the service providers, the equipment manufacturers and ultimately, the consumers,” Yandrofski said.
SCT recently signed an agreement with the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, a research arm of the U.S. Commerce Dept.’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to research and develop voltage tunable superconducting microwave filters and oscillators for use in wireless systems.
