Cryogenic treatment

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It was fun going through that paper, thanks for the link.

It is fun seeing the 1 nanoampere number being bandied about, I suspect my 3 inch diameter diodes are a tad more.

Really interesting is the vf vs temp dependence discussion and graph. I found out back in the 80's that 2.2 mV per degree C is wishful thinking. Typical diodes run .7 to 1 mV per degree C.

The reference to light sensitivity also brings back memories.....some of them good, others...well...

That was a rather well written piece for a student...wonder if he could use a job???

Jn
 
If anything, heat will remove stress in a metal that has been worked on, called tempering or annealing. You could call this 'let the atoms find their place in the lattice' if you want.

Some materials undergo a change in structure below a certain temp, and stay that way because the reverse process might take place above ambient. While I might expect a slight effect for brass instuments, conductivity is not changed permanently.

It would make sense to freeze MOSFETs while active though, google cryo-MOS. Current capability can be several times higher at -200C.
 
Not sure its safe to have cables cryo-treated: the insulation wmay brittle fracture when well below the glass-transition temperature, causing cracking.

For actual cryogenic scientific apparatus they have to use special cables, often insulated with PTFE or polyimide which are usable at very low temperatures. (Incidentally copper is usually avoided for cryogenic use as it conducts heat into the experiment too well!)

Anyway cryo-treatment for audio is woo, I don't believe in woo. (Audio woo - RationalWiki)

If you want to harden tungsten carbide and steel cutting tools, its very useful, but other than that...
 
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