VITAL Cryogenic treatment is the process of cooling materials to cryogenic temperatures temporarily to improve their material properties at room temperature. This is distinct from cooling materials down to cryogenic temperatures to take advantage of phenomena such as superconductivity that only occur at cryogenic temperatures. Cryogenic treatment, sometimes also referred to as deep cryogenic treatment, is best thought of as an adjunct to other material processing steps such as heat treatment, quenching and cold work.