Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications
Gram-scale sailcraft for the Breakthrough Starshot project are currently being designed to travel to Proxima Centauri, 4.24 light years away, and transmit back images and data [1]. In order to meet the size, weight, and power constraints of the mission, superconducting electronics should be consider...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2023
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150688 |
| _version_ | 1811087622308626432 |
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| author | Sorenson, Andrew |
| author2 | Berggren, Karl K. |
| author_facet | Berggren, Karl K. Sorenson, Andrew |
| author_sort | Sorenson, Andrew |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Gram-scale sailcraft for the Breakthrough Starshot project are currently being designed to travel to Proxima Centauri, 4.24 light years away, and transmit back images and data [1]. In order to meet the size, weight, and power constraints of the mission, superconducting electronics should be considered for onboard processing and interfacing with the communications system. Previous research has shown that superconducting nanowire electronics consume over 100𝗑 less switching energy than 7 nm CMOS electronics [2]. In order to pursue application of superconducting electronics on Starshot probes, fundamental questions must be answered regarding the suitability of superconducting materials in the interstellar environment. To investigate this suitability, we performed numerical analysis of the effects of both radiation and temperature on superconducting electronics. We also designed, simulated, and tested superconducting nanowire devices tailored to Starshot operations. We found that with an edge-on sail transit configuration, equilibrium temperature of the sail may be below the critical temperature of common superconductors and that the anticipated error rate from radiation is 1. 23 𝗑 10⁻¹⁸ µ𝑚⁻² 𝑛𝑠⁻¹ also present the design and simulation of a circuit modification that may drastically reduce the error rate in exposed superconducting nanowires. By finding that there are no immediate show-stoppers for using superconducting electronics onboard, we hope to inspire future investigations into the use of superconducting nanowire electronics for Starshot and other deep space missions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:49:23Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/150688 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:49:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1506882023-05-16T03:24:15Z Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications Sorenson, Andrew Berggren, Karl K. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Gram-scale sailcraft for the Breakthrough Starshot project are currently being designed to travel to Proxima Centauri, 4.24 light years away, and transmit back images and data [1]. In order to meet the size, weight, and power constraints of the mission, superconducting electronics should be considered for onboard processing and interfacing with the communications system. Previous research has shown that superconducting nanowire electronics consume over 100𝗑 less switching energy than 7 nm CMOS electronics [2]. In order to pursue application of superconducting electronics on Starshot probes, fundamental questions must be answered regarding the suitability of superconducting materials in the interstellar environment. To investigate this suitability, we performed numerical analysis of the effects of both radiation and temperature on superconducting electronics. We also designed, simulated, and tested superconducting nanowire devices tailored to Starshot operations. We found that with an edge-on sail transit configuration, equilibrium temperature of the sail may be below the critical temperature of common superconductors and that the anticipated error rate from radiation is 1. 23 𝗑 10⁻¹⁸ µ𝑚⁻² 𝑛𝑠⁻¹ also present the design and simulation of a circuit modification that may drastically reduce the error rate in exposed superconducting nanowires. By finding that there are no immediate show-stoppers for using superconducting electronics onboard, we hope to inspire future investigations into the use of superconducting nanowire electronics for Starshot and other deep space missions. M.Eng. 2023-05-15T19:32:32Z 2023-05-15T19:32:32Z 2022-05 2022-05-27T16:19:06.621Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150688 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright MIT http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Sorenson, Andrew Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications |
| title | Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications |
| title_full | Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications |
| title_fullStr | Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications |
| title_short | Superconducting Electronics for Breakthrough Starshot Communications |
| title_sort | superconducting electronics for breakthrough starshot communications |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/150688 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sorensonandrew superconductingelectronicsforbreakthroughstarshotcommunications |