The solution is a primary thermometer, the Coulomb Blockade Thermometer (CBT), first experimentally verified by Jukka Pekola on 1994 and then later developed at both Aalto and VTT. However, early progress was slow due to limitations in material science and measurement techniques, restricting its use primarily to research labs. In recent years, advances in fabrication and measurement techniques have allowed us to overcome the key barriers that have previously hindered the wider adoption of the CBT. These innovations will allow us to outperform other cryogenic thermometer solutions in the market.
Compared to other solutions, the CBT is easy to operate, robust in high magnetic fields (a challenge for most other options), and maintains high accuracy even at the lowest temperatures. Laboratory tests have demonstrated that the CBT can cover the entire cryogenic temperature range down to the microkelvin scale, where much of the cryogenic industry and research labs operate. In this project, we aim to leverage our extensive research experience in cryogenic thermometry and validate our CBT technology applicable for commercial use.
In short, the invention is to measure a temperature dependent resonance frequency in the cooled structure instead of a physical core characteristics like resistance, capacitance or inductance.
