Air force 16. 1 Small Business Innovation Research (sbir) Proposal Submission Instructions

The Air Force seeks to develop novel IC analysis techniques and methodologies to produce fingerprints for authentication and reliability monitoring of the IC die before DER, after DER and while in operation. The approach needs to cover legacy parts and potentially new or more complex part integration including analog, digital, radio frequency (RF) or any combination. The end tool should detect malicious circuitry and give an estimated end of life when the IC is queried. The technology created needs to be adaptable to a variety of electronic packaging technologies including ball grid array (BGA), quad flat no-lead (QFN), small outline integrated circuit (SOIC), plastic quad flat pack (QFP) and low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC). Depending on the application the materials could include plastic, ceramic, or newer packaging materials like liquid crystal polymer (LCP).

This research should be based on sound theory of operation and degradation with the appropriate non-destructive sensor apparatus to detect the fingerprint. The characterization will cover the full military temperature range when comparing methodologies to predict counterfeit parts and develop end of life estimations.

No government furnished equipment will be provided.

PHASE I: Demonstrate feasibility through analysis of IC behavior, phenomenology and sensor choice to identify modified/counterfeit/Trojan/used/bad parts. Conduct preliminary analytical modeling and simulation.

PHASE II: Develop and demonstrate tools that non-destructively identify modified/counterfeit/Trojan /used/bad parts and estimates remaining life. The characterization will cover the full military temperature range

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The commercial IC community is being negatively affected in the same manner as the military with counterfeit components in the supply chain. The techniques developed under the topic will be captured in such a way that the commercial community will be able to easily leverage the capabilities.

REFERENCES:

1. A. Sadeghi and D. Naccache (Eds). Towards Hardware-Intrinsic Security, Foundations and Practice. (Springer, Heidelberg, 2010).

2. GAO Report on Counterfeits. February 2012.

3. Low Cost Universal Reliability System On-A-Chip for Multi-Channel Characterization. Air Force SBIR Topic call AF121-166.

4. U. Guin, K. Huang, D. DiMase, and J. Carulli, Counterfeit Integrated Circuits: A Rising Threat in the Global Semiconductor Supply Chain. 2014 Proceedings of the IEEE | Vol. 102, No. 8, August.

KEYWORDS: authentication, integrated circuits, packaging, reliability, additive manufacturing, 3D printing, liquid crystal polymer, die extraction, die extraction, die reassembly

AF161-142

TITLE: Integrated Circuit (IC) Die Extraction and Reassembly

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Materials/Processes

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Develop and assess tools/techniques to evaluate performance, lifetime, and safety of integrated circuits re-packaged using DER techniques for suppliers to certify parts for DoD and high-reliability commercial applications.

DESCRIPTION: DoD and extreme-condition commercial applications continually face diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages for obsolete electronics. As the number of known ICs in the appropriate package goes to zero, the community has few options: new manufacturing of the existing IC (if the design is available and foundry has capability--usually neither is available), reverse engineer the IC function and either emulate the IC with a more current IC (rare, if possible), or fabricate a redesigned IC. Other options include board redesign and worst case, system redesign. Redesigns usually take over a year and can cost several million dollars for each IC design.

Recently, another option has emerged if the needed IC is available but not in the required package. The process is called IC DER. An individual IC is also called a die. Typically, the same IC or die is used in many different packages that are specifically chosen for cost, operation, and environment. The DER process takes an equivalent obsolete die from an undesirable package and reassembles that die into the needed package. The oil drilling industry’s need for high-reliability, high-temperature electronics drove early development of the DER process. The goal was to take parts in low-cost plastic packages, developed for systems with benign operating conditions and environments and re-package them for the drilling industry’s extreme-use and extreme-environments. DoD has similar requirements, but the technique has not been certified for DoD use. Furthermore, the tools, techniques, and knowledge do not exist to certify DER parts. Innovations are sought to develop tools and techniques that will eventually lead to a DoD certification process, similar to MIL-STD-883. Also, innovations are sought to develop the necessary understanding to determine the operating and environmental limits for DER ICs in ground, air, and/or space applications.

There will be no government-furnished equipment.

PHASE I: Feasibility study of DER ICs for DoD use & corresponding T&E for certification. Address operating use, environment, & complexity for analog & digital high performance military and commercial ICs (e.g., radar part). Include techniques to evaluate package yield, IC performance stability & long-term reliability. Statistical accuracy & limitations of the developed techniques should be addressed.

PHASE II: Development and demonstration of the tools, techniques and knowledge identified in Phase I. Lifetimes of pre-DER ICs will be assessed and compared to lifetimes of DER ICs for both MIL-grade and commercial ICs when available. Part performance stability and reliability will be assessed stressing parts for military use.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Air Force plans to install DER ICs in some non-flight critical LRUs on some F-16 aircraft to assess their performance and long-term reliability. If successful, the DER process could transition to rest of DoD for use. Processes will be documented for IC community to leverage.

REFERENCES:

1. Electronic Circuits-Preserving Technique for Decapsulating Plastic Packages, IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 30, No. 6, Nov. 1987, pp. 446-447.

2. United States Patent 6,429,028, 6 August 2002 DPA Labs, Incorporated (Simi Valley, CA).

3. Patented DPEM Process for Die Removal DPA Components International (Simi Valley, CA) http://www.dpaci.com/patented-dpem-process-for-die-removal.html.

4. Global Circuit Innovations Website: http://www.gci-global.com/Global Circuit Innovations (Colorado Springs, CO).

5. Die Extraction Strategy Solves DMSMS Challenges Global Circuit Innovations (Colorado Springs, CO) http://www.cotsjournalonline.com/articles/view/102446.

KEYWORDS: diminishing manufacturing sources, DMS, die extraction and reassembly, integrated circuit, IC, microcircuit, reliability, MIL-STD-883

AF161-143

TITLE: Electronic Image Stabilization for Staring Infrared Search and Track (IRST) Sensors

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Sensors

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Develop concepts for stabilizing video frame rate imagery in staring (non-scanned) infrared arch and track (IRST) that utilize large format focal plane arrays (FPAs) in the presence of the full aircraft kinematic environment.

DESCRIPTION: Successful implementation of an offensive staring infrared search and track (IRST) system can potentially yield significant benefits when incorporated into a fighter aircraft fire control system. It is anticipated that this type of passive sensor will yield higher performance in a more compact, lighter weight design with greater installation flexibility. Advancements in large format two-dimensional FPAs and readout integrated circuits offer potential advantages in clutter rejection, more frequent updates, longer integration times, multi-frame detection techniques, and image stabilization. It is expected that by exploiting these advantages, an IRST can be developed that supports long range detection and tracking of targets in cluttered environments with a low false alarm rate over a large field-of-view (FOV).

By leveraging advancements in the development of large format two-dimensional FPAs for wide FOV search and track to maximize aircraft installation flexibility and yield the highest performance in the most compact and light weight design, it is preferable to eliminate all mechanical pointing and line of sight stabilization components. This is especially critical for embedded/conformal sensors on highly dynamic aircraft. It is expected that successful implementation of electronic image stabilization and exploitation of other advantages of large format arrays will result in a novel and innovative IRST. It is envisioned that such a system can be developed to support long range detection and tracking of targets along clear atmospheric paths and in cluttered environments with low false alarm rates while staring over the system FOV.

The technical focus of this topic is to explore novel techniques and sensor chip assembly design concepts that can provide rapid control of the field of view from the subpixel level to a substantial fraction of the field of view to enable fine line-of-sight stabilization in addition to image motion compensation during aircraft maneuvering. The sensor wavelength bands of interest are midwave (3.0 to 5.0 microns) and longwave (8.0 to 12.0 microns). Stabilization must occur during the integration time of the FPA and requires an appropriate bandwidth input source.

Non-mechanical stabilization techniques such as those implemented in the FPA/readout integrated circuits of the sensor are of primary interest, but other techniques shall be considered. Mechanical and non-mechanical beam steering approaches are specifically excluded from this solicitation.

Teaming/collaborating with prime contractors to develop transition approaches is encouraged.

PHASE I: Investigate component-level concepts and techniques. Perform initial component prototype development and experiments to validate concepts. Establish system design implementation and provide technical analysis that supports the proposed design and quantify expected performance. Develop business case analysis and transition plan.

PHASE II: Based on Phase I results, construct and test a prototype imaging sensor to demonstrate and evaluate the design concept. Identify and reduce the risk of the component technologies needed to perfect the design and demonstrate the approaches needed for commercialization of a flight-capable instrument. Refine business case and transition plan.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Transition the newly demonstrated design to DoD industry partners. There may be some commercial applications that could benefit from the proposed approach.

REFERENCES:

1. Tyrell, B., et al., "Time Delay Integration and In-Pixel Spatiotemporal Filtering Using a Nanoscale Digital CMOS Focal Plane Readout," IEEE Trans. On Electron Devices, Vol. 56, No. 11, 2516-2523 (2009).

2. Kleinfelder, S., et al., "A 10000 Frames/s CMOS Digital Pixel Sensor," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 36, No. 12, 2049-2059 (2001).

KEYWORDS: infrared, focal plane, stabilization, sensor

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Air Platform

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Research the use of continuous HPRF to improve detection range and other improvements for air-to-air and air-to-ground scenarios. Also, determine optimum tracking techniques to resolve ambiguities, computational requirements, and cost trade-offs.

DESCRIPTION: In the first look, first kill environment against lower Radar Cross Section (RCS) targets, fourth and fifth generation fighters need to maximize their detection range, range resolution, and velocity resolution. Fighters, surveillance aircraft, and even commercial airliners want to be able to detect and identify targets at lower signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) while minimizing the radar beam dwelling on a target. Commercial aircraft have the problem of locating and avoiding small aircraft or micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Being able to accurately determine the range and velocity, and track a target is problematic in many ways and involves non-ideal waveforms. The probability of detection in coherent radar depends on the signal energy contained in the coherent processing interval (CPI) and processing gain. The Doppler (velocity) resolution is improved by increasing the duration of the CPI, which prompts the use of longer coherent train of pulses. The range resolution improves with the bandwidth of the signal, which prompts the use of narrow pulses or modulated longer pulses. Two problems associated with long modulated pulses are extended blind range regions due to eclipsed transmission and reduced Doppler tolerance or resolution of the individual pulses.

The best technique for increasing the energy in a CPI, while improving range and velocity resolution, can be accomplished by more pulses within a CPI. For a fixed CPI, this implies using a continuous HPRF waveform. HPRF offers many advantages in addition to improved maximum detection range. For example: better exo-clutter performance, improved range resolution, Doppler bins are narrower with decreased filter straddling losses, and more points in FFT for better processing gain. However, the single most significant advantage will be the system's ability to use one continuous PRF and dwell for long periods of time on a single resolution cell to increase detection probability for low RCS targets at longer ranges.

However, the HPRF waveform, or mode, can suffer multiple unknown range ambiguities that are attributed to the delay of returns from distant targets being longer than the pulse repetition interval (PRI). Currently, one common approach to resolve range ambiguity is the use of several CPIs within a single dwell, where each CPI has a different PRF (i.e., PRF hopping). Resolving true range and Doppler is then performed noncoherently, using an M out of N decision statistic. Where, for example, M is 2 or 3 PRFs, while N could be as large as 8 PRFs. Thus, a 2 out of 8 detection decision implies that in the worst case only 2 out of the possible 8 CPIs contribute energy to the detection process. This is a grossly inefficient use of the transmitter energy which, in turn, reduces the maximum detection range.

Today processing power and sophisticated tracking techniques could be used to resolve these range ambiguities (i.e., eliminating second time around targets) in high PRF systems. The Air Force can take advantage of ambiguous pulses more likely producing illogical tracks due to the far-out targets moving through resolution cells slower than near-in targets, in addition to other factors. Tracking filters, Bayesian logic, and/or track-before-detect techniques could also be used to eliminate these ambiguities.

Teaming/coordination with prime contractors is encouraged to facilitate transition opportunities.

PHASE I: Develop techniques to resolve range ambiguities in a continuous HPRF mode. Complete trade-off study for various ambiguity reduction techniques such as tracking filters. Evaluate each approach in various air-to-air and air-to-ground scenarios against various targets. Determine SNR, processing gains, resolution improvements, computational requirements, and perform trade-off analysis.

PHASE II: Integrate developed techniques into a real radar or a simulated radar system using real data in a continuous HPRF mode. Determine sampling, data bandwidths, and computational requirements. . Determine performance parameters. Test and evaluate the most promising algorithms to resolve ambiguities using measured data.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Construct a prototype system and validate techniques in production representative environment. Determine performance parameters through experiments and prototype. Follow-on activities include any customer-unique requirements, training, and operation documentation.

REFERENCES:

1. “Medium PRF for the AN/APG-66 radar,” Proceedings of the IEEE, W. H. Long, and K. A. Harriger, (Feb. 1985), p 301-311.

2. Introduction to Airborne Radar, George W. Stimson, SciTech Publishing, 1998, p 230.

3. “Mitigating Range Ambiguity in High PRF Radar using Inter-Pulse Binary Coding,” Nadav Levanon, Life Fellow, IEEE, Tel Aviv University, 2009.

4. “Particle Filter for HPRF Radar Range Ambiguity Resolving In Clutters,” Tan Shuncheng, Wang Guohong, Guan Chengbin, and Wang Na, China, 2011.

5. Medium PRF Performance, Analysis, S.A. Hovanessian, Senior Member, IEEE, Hughes Aircraft Company, May 1982.

KEYWORDS: radar, signal processing, high pulse repetition period, HPRF, ambiguity, tracking, particle filter, Kalman filter, fighter aircraft

AF161-145

TITLE: Compact Wideband Direction Finder

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Electronics

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation and within the AF Component-specific instructions. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. Please direct questions to the AF SBIR/STTR Contracting Officer, Ms. Gail Nyikon, gail.nyikon@us.af.mil.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a compact, wideband aperture for direction finding (DF) with a broad field of view, polarization independence, and an operating bandwidth of 2 to 18 GHz.

DESCRIPTION: Direction finding, or the ability to measure the direction from which a received signal was transmitted, has a variety of applications including navigation, search and rescue, tracking, and signal intelligence. For the Air Force, direction finding on incoming RF energy plays a critical part in current electronic support (ES) systems. While improved angle-of-arrival (AOA) accuracy is always desired, increasing the pool of candidate signals which the system can DF will improve ES capabilities to cover a wider variety of threats. More flexible DF systems are desired that possess increased bandwidth, a wider field of view (FOV), two-dimensional scanning, and dual polarization apertures. However, applications that involve installation on an airborne platform always constrain the size, weight, and power (SWAP) of the system.

In many cases, the required baseline at the upper end of the frequency band cannot be met due to the physical size of elements, which are sized according to the lower end of the frequency band. For this reason, many interferometers used today break the operating band into sub-bands with multiple apertures per sub-band. This creates a few challenges when installing the DF aperture on an aircraft. Multiple apertures on multiple baselines require a large amount of real estate to operate effectively. In addition, the DF receiver behind the aperture now has risen in complexity to handle all the different apertures at the various bands.

Given the limitations of traditional interferometric approaches, this topic desires technical solutions that provide improvements to the aperture to increase bandwidth coverage while maintaining a compact form factor. This overall goal will allow for expansion of the platforms that can support direction finding missions that may currently be too small for a typical interferometer suite.

Therefore, this solicitation requests an innovative design on a wideband aperture for DF with constraints on SWAP, FOV, bandwidth, polarization, and AOA estimation accuracy. The aperture should be suitable for direction finding from 2 to 18 GHz and be dual polarized. The field of view should span a minimum 120 degrees in both azimuth and elevation with a minimum gain of 0 dBi at boresight. A signal with a minimum of 80 MHz of tunable bandwidth and 15dB SNR should have an RMS angle error less than 3deg over the entire FOV, frequency band, and polarization space. The aperture should fit in an opening 8 in. by 8 in. and maintain a low profile, allowing installation on an aircraft.