Low cost method for environmental testing at cryogenic temperatures

Development of electronic devices for cryogenic temperatures requires specialized environmental chambers. The Microelectronics Research and Communications Institute required a low-cost alternative to the readily available environmental chambers. The solution was a simple aluminum cylinder cooled by pulsing liquid nitrogen into the cylinder to control the temperature of the electronics under test. National Instruments LabVIEW, GPIB communications, and simple bench top instruments control the temperature inside the chamber. This low-cost alternative will reach and sustain any set point temperature between room temperature and -190 degrees C with an accuracy of +/- 5 degrees C.