High power MEMS circuit breaker project for submarines
Menlo Microsystems in the US is to develop a high power circuit breaker for defence systems using its MEMS technology.
Menlo Micro is using its MEMS Ideal Switch architecture as a circuit breaker for up to 1kVDC/10kADC for US Navy electrical systems.
The contract from the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is for a high-current circuit breaker for power distribution for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Programme’s Advanced Technology Innovation Pipeline (ATIP) Programme.
Menlo Micro will provide 100A building blocks that will be assembled and tested for future integration into advanced circuit breakers for the DoD. This will provide more reliable state-of-the-art performance in a much smaller form factor, compared to traditional circuit breakers, says the company.
This new circuit breaker uses Menlo Micro’s high-power MM9200 SMT Ideal Switch®, combined with a solid-state switch for a hot-switch system that is up to 5X smaller, 4X lighter, and with less complicated external cooling and heatsinking solutions than the old generation solutions based on mechanical switches.
This circuit breaker also provides fast dI/dT switching for better reliability, lower maintenance, and 5X lower surge current, as well as using low resistivity contacts.
“The 1kV / 10kA circuit breaker solution using Menlo Micro’s technology will be ground breaking and the first evolution in the circuit breaker field in decades. We look forward to our partnership with the U.S. Navy demonstrating the scalability of these advanced circuit breakers,” said Russ Garcia, Chief Executive Officer at Menlo Microsystems.
“Menlo Micro’s high-current solution offers vastly improved performance, protection, and reliability that will not only drastically change power control for defense ground, air and sea vessels, but will revolutionize power control in buildings, microgrids, and other energy distribution applications. We understand the greater energy efficiency goals the DoD is targeting for powering the future and look forward to supporting their initiatives.”
The DIU works with organizations across the Department of Defense (DoD) to rapidly prototype and field dual-use capabilities that solve operational challenges at speed and scale.
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