Payload Testbed

Space Satellite Components

Over a dozen TECA Cold/Hot Plates are operating in a cleanroom environment. As part of a significant research undertaking, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) microwave lab has assembled the navigation payload components of a Galileo satellite on a test bench. Components can be separately temperature controlled, using TECA Cold/Hot Plates. “This is important because part of the facility’s job is to recreate anomalies occurring aboard the satellites, which includes reproducing their environment” says ESA microwave engineer César Miquel España.

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BATTERY COOLING

R & D Battery Cooling:

battery cooling

In this example, the customer is using TECA’s AHP-1800CPV to keep a 60 pound lithium ion battery cool during R&D testing. This saves the customer the trouble of using a plate with pumped coolant to cool the battery, which was the original method.

The customer reports that upgrading to the TECA AHP-1800CPV “makes testing much easier”.

The AHP-1800CPV is the largest thermoelectric cold plate on the market with a plate surface area of 12.80 x 13.30 inches.  The large surface area and robust cooling power were ideal for this application.

FIBER OPTICS

Fiber Optics:

optics optics

 

A research and development team in Europe uses the TECA Model AHP-1200CPV Cold Plate with a TECA Model TC-1 Tube Chiller attached.

Their process is proprietary but involves optical material and measurements. The TC-1 Tube Chiller is designed to heat or cool fluid without introducing contaminants to the fluid.

The fluid flows through the flexible tubing (various tubing diameters are possible) within the plate surface.

FIBER OPTICS

Fiber Optics:

fiber optics

The customer makes fiber optics and related components and subsystems, they use an AHP-1200CPV cold plate for testing components.

They are using it to run temperature test on them, they set the temperature, and it goes to temperature and sits there, heating or cooling.

“It works well”.  Before they were cobbling together home brew solutions with a heater here, a circuit and a fan there but it’s nice to have a system that does it all.

HIGH SPEED CRYSTAL OSCILLATORS

High Speed Crystal Oscillators:

High Speed Crystal Oscillators

The customer makes high performance crystal oscillators and atomic clocks for satellites and laboratories and they needed something for temperature control and stabilization.

They found TECA and the AHP-301CPV, tried one and say it is “working fantastic”. Well enough to order more for production, quality and engineering tests. They use them to maintain a stable temperature of the oscillator which in turn provides a stable frequency.

PERFORMANCE TESTING

Performance Testing:

performance testing performance testing

 

Customer needed to test low-temperature performance of inertial measuring devices.  In this application of low temperature thermoelectric cooling; the user is testing inertial measurement devices over a temperature range.

The devices as well as the TECA cascaded cooling assembly are subjected to various rotational and acceleration stimuli while device temperature is controlled.  The custom thermoelectric cold plate cascaded (Peltier cascade) was built up from a standard Model AHP-301CP cold plate.

The finished test fixture was able to function with a maximum rotation rate of 1700° per second and 50 g acceleration.  The rotation is evident in the photo. By using a standard product as the basis for the cooling system, higher costs associated with a custom solution were avoided.

VACUUM CHAMBER

Vacuum Chamber:

vacuum chamber

 

Some engineers at Lucent wanted to cool devices inside a vacuum chamber and they didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. TECA’s been making devices like that for decades. They had a load of 10 to 20 watts generated and wanted -40 °C with about 15 °C to 20 °C water available.

A Custom LHP-800CP / LHP-300CP cascade, controller and power supply were supplied for a reasonable cost in a reasonable time frame.

SAMPLE COOLING IN CLEAN ROOM

Sample Cooling (Clean Room):

Sample Cooling Clean Room Sample Cooling Clean Room

 

A research lab in Europe needed to stabilize the temperature of an acid solution within +-0.5 °C. TECA’s AHP-301CPV Cold/Hot Plate was the ideal solution due to its small footprint, versatile features and programmable temperature controller. The customer offered the following comments:

  • The AHP-301CPV is installed in our big clean room*. Here we fabricate our micro/nano devices for electronic and photonic applications.
  • we have now the possibility to do experiments at controlled temperatures and in a really wide range of temperatures. This allow us to increase the reproducibility of our results, which often are so dependent by Temperature.
  • AHP-301CPV keeps stable the temperature of an acid solution inside a beaker (max 6 or 7cm in diameter and max 10cm in height).
  • The possibility to program the temperature controller it’s really interesting, and it will be worthwhile for future experiments. (The customer is referring to the ability to program ramp & soak profiles)

TECA’s cold/hot plates are not specifically designed for clean room use however the customer determined this product would be suitable given the restrictions in this particular clean room.

COOLING WAFER

Cooling Wafer:

The adjustable feet on this AHP-1200CP Peltier cooling plate (thermoelectric cooling plate) made life easier on the factory floor.

Customer wafers needed cooling at the end of processing and the feet brought the cold plate up to the perfect height to match the production mechanisms. Just a little option that TECA is ready to provide to make the products we build work for you.

ELECTRONIC TEST STATION

Electronic Test Station:

electronic test station

An aerospace contractor was interested in a large cold plate for the testing of electronic components.  We first offered them the AHP-1200CPV but they responded that the AHP-1200DCP was more the size they wanted.  Could we change it to a single plate?  Well, we couldn’t change the plate size but we could add an accessory plate which was larger.  And we could build the unit with one controller including all of the standard options.

Now they are using the 12” x 18” custom accessory plate and a special AHP-1200DCP to test electronic amplifiers by ramping the temperature up and down between +10 °C to +70 °C.  A custom solution at very nearly standard product price to fill a not so unusual need.

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