Air force 17. 1 Small Business Innovation Research (sbir) Phase I proposal Submission Instructions

There are five (5) key technical challenges associated with AAR of UAVs:

1. The refueling procedure will require the UAV to operate in close proximity of the tanker aircraft. Therefore, it is critical for at least one of the aircraft to know, with a high level of accuracy, where it is relative to the other.

2. UAV and tanker must avoid collisions with each other.

3. One or both the tanker and UAV must respond quickly if an unsafe refueling condition occurs.

4. From a cost, maintenance, and availability point of view, minimize modifications to both the tanker and the UAV, e.g., avoid changes to structural members, and try to keep size and weight of refueling hardware under 3%.

5. The refueling system must operate under broad weather conditions and day and night conditions.

This list of technical challenges is not all inclusive. Rather, there are additional technical challenges such as, redundancy or contingency management, beyond line of sight communications between the tanker, UAV and their operators, and full airspace collision avoidance. These issues are beyond the scope of this program and will not be addressed; however, the architecture chosen should lend itself to accommodate these challenges in the future.

For this effort, offerors should consider both the tanker and UAV for how a potential refueling system will work. One element of the problem is for the system to be applicable to unmanned refueling aircraft, rather than existing manned tankers (e.g. KC-135). Offerors should also consider automation of probe/drogue deployment and retraction, coordination between unmanned systems (cooperative control), and possible influence (flight dynamics or other) of a smaller tanker aircraft, if any.

PHASE I: The contractor shall conduct an AAR concept study of Groups 4 and 5 UAVs with maximum airspeeds of 130 KCAS that demonstrates: (A) feasibility of proposed system architecture, (B) minimal impacts to proposed tanker/UAV combination, (C) feasible AAR concept of operations, (D) capability to control the systems, and (E) risk analysis of proposed concept.

PHASE II: The contractor shall demonstrate the following: (A) Ability for both aircraft to rendezvous at the designated refueling point, (B) Ability to safely operate both aircraft in close proximity to each other, (C) Ability to transfer fuel from the tanker aircraft to the UAV, and (D) Ability to conduct mission planning.  All of this will be done and require minimal modifications to either aircraft.  Cooper Harper Ratings or a similar approach for qualifying “goodness” shall be used.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The contractor shall pursue commercialization of the various technologies developed in Phase II for potential government applications. There are potential commercial applications in a wide range of diverse fields that include cargo, resupply, airdrop, or ISR type missions.

REFERENCES:

1. Nalepka, J. P., and Hinchman, J. L., “Automated Aerial Refueling: Extending the Effectiveness of Unmanned Air Vehicles,” AIAA Paper 2005-6005, 15–18 Aug. 2005.

2. Tandale, M.D., Bowers, R., and Valasek, J., “Trajectory Tracking Controller for Vision-Based Probe and Drogue Autonomous Aerial Refueling,” Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol 29, No 4, July-August 2006, pgs 846-857.

3. U.S. military UAS groups. In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 19, 2016, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._military_UAS_groups

4. Cooper-Harper Rating Scale. In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 19, 2016, fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper%E2%80%93Harper_rating_scale

KEYWORDS: air to air refueling, probe and drogue, refueling boom, autonomous operation, flight controls, unmanned air vehicle, unmanned aircraft system, vision based sensing, remotely piloted vehicle, aircraft conversion, drone

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, 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 integrated analog photonic modulator components compatible with photonic foundry production.

DESCRIPTION: The advent of foundry-based integrated photonic circuit technology has opened up a significant design space for system engineers designing analog photonic signal processing circuits. In the commercial world, communication systems such as radio over fiber or proposed 5G architectures benefit from analog signal processors, while the military can find use of it in electronic warfare and RADAR signal processing applications. Photonic foundry design libraries provide a large number of components that can be used to create complex and functional circuits. Nevertheless, the two primary integration platforms silicon and Indium Phosphide (InP) have yet to be fully exploited for analog signal processing and the lack of reliable linearized analog optical modulators with broad bandwidth operation in a compact form is one of the reasons. Many RF system analyses indicate that low optical losses, low drive voltages, linearity, and wide bandwidth operation are still best addressed using commercial off-the-shelf lithium niobate modulators. One possible option would be the hybrid integration of thin film lithium niobate, which may provide better RF analog system performance than the integrated modulators available today at the cost of integration complexity.

In order for RF analog signal processing fully benefiting from integrated photonic circuit platforms, integrable optical modulators are needed (including, but not limited to, silicon, InP, lithium niobate, and others) low optical losses of less than 4 dB per modulator, low drive voltage of less than 2V, broad bandwidth of at least 50 GHz, and a high spur-free dynamic range of at least 120 dB-Hz2/3. The modulators need to be able to be integrated with other optical components compatible with photonic foundry design platforms to demonstrate analog RF signal processing capabilities in a packaged, compact form.

PHASE I: Demonstrate that the choice of material for achieving the desired modulator performance metrics is compatible and integrable with photonic foundry material platforms such as silicon or InP.

PHASE II: Fabricate and integrate the compact modulators with silicon or InP based integrated circuits and demonstrate the described modulator performance in any analog system of choice (e.g., an RF optical link) in integrated circuit form. In particular, compact designs and approaches that do not limit back end of the line (BEOL) options are sought.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Transition the modulator structure manufacturing technique to a photonic foundry. Develop packaging techniques for the analog system of choice to demonstrate ruggedized prototype units that should suffer minimal performance degradation when subjected to temperature fluctuations, shock, and vibration.

REFERENCES:

1. Qi Li et al, “High-Speed BPSK Modulation in Silicon”, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Volume 27, Issue 12, Page: 1329-1332.

2. Ashutosh Rao et al, “Heterogeneous Microring and Mach-Zehnder Modulators Based on Lithium Niobate and Chalcogenide Glasses on Silicon”, Optics Express, 24 Aug 2015, Volume 23, No 17.

3. J. S. Barton et al, “Monolithically Integrated 40 Gbit/s Widely Tunable Transmitter Using Series Push Pull Mach Zehnder Modulator SOA and Sampled Grating DBR Laser”, Optical Fiber Communication, 2005 OM3.

KEYWORDS: RF integrated Photonics, Integrated Optical Modulators, radio over fiber, Electronic Warfare, Microwave Photonics, RADAR

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, 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 a feed network for use in compact far-field ranges to extend the lower frequency cutoff of ranges with smaller reflectors.

DESCRIPTION: Smaller compact far-field ranges suffer from the inability to measure lower frequency targets due to the size of the range and the size of the reflector used in the range. The edge treatment of the reflector is chosen during its design for a certain low frequency cutoff and utilizing the reflector below that frequency can introduce secondary scattering terms that cannot be removed by hardware time gating and/or software time gating. To measure lower frequency targets engineers would need to design and build a much larger compact far-field range with a larger reflector designed for a specific frequency cutoff goal. Large compact far-field ranges serve the purpose of measuring lower frequency targets, but using a large compact range for prototypes is an inefficient use of the ranges time and can introduce extra costs and scheduling issues for the prototype measurements.

Utilizing a programmable feed that includes phase and amplitude control offers the ability for a smaller compact range to measure targets with lower frequencies than can be accommodated by the use of the main reflector. A programmable feed that includes phase and/or amplitude control can give the degrees of freedom necessary to create a plane wave at lower frequencies using a smaller reflector than required for a given frequency, but without the secondary scattering terms.

This program will develop a programmable feed that would add a measurement capability down to 1 GHz to a Government far-field compact range utilizing a reflector designed for a frequency cutoff of 4 GHz. This far-field compact range features a 7'x6' reflector with a 7.5' focal length. The programmable feed would be capable of producing a plane wave that has < +/- 5 degree phase ripple and < +/- 1 dB amplitude taper and < +/- .25 dB amplitude ripple across a 3 ft wide target.

The programmable feed, if successful, could give several Government and Industry groups the capability of utilizing, or building, a smaller compact far-field range and be capable of measuring lower frequency targets than were possible before, saving costs on the design/fabrication on a larger reflector and range structure that would typically be required. It would also allow more Industry groups the capability of owning their own compact-range instead of renting time in larger ranges, potentially saving costs and schedules for current and future programs. These programs could be both Government-funded programs or Commercial applications.

PHASE I: Phase I will investigate conceptual design for a programmable feed to determine feasibility and perform simulations towards an appropriate feed antenna/array, antenna/array structure, and the amount of phase and amplitude control required to create a plane wave for a specific compact range scenario.

PHASE II: Phase II will design, model, fabricate, and test a programmable feed for application as a feed antenna in a compact far-field range. It is also anticipated that the applicability to other small far-field compact range geometries will also be demonstrated with the designed system.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Phase III will develop a programmable feed antenna that would be capable of being implemented in a variety of Government and Industry compact far-field ranges.

REFERENCES:

1.  McKay, J.P.; Rahmat-Samii, Y., An array feed approach to compact range reflector design, in Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on, vol.41, no.4, pp.448-457, Apr 1993

2.  H. Wang, J. Miao, J. Jiang, and R. Wang, "Plane-wave synthesis for compact antenna test range by feed scanning," Progress In Electromagnetics Research M, Vol. 22, 245-258, 2012.

KEYWORDS: Phased Array, Compact Far-Field Range, Antenna Measurement

AF171-128

TITLE: Advanced Analog-to-Digital Converter for GPS Receivers

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, 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 an advanced analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that enables >100 megasamples per second (MSps) & up to 350 MSps with 16 effective number of bits (ENOB) conversion for GPS receivers. Design should limit cycle latency & minimize power and complexity.

DESCRIPTION: The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

Ground, airborne, and sea GPS receivers in contested environments with high-dynamic range requirements need high-resolution data converters (ADCs and DACs) to maximize signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and anti-jam (AJ) performance within navigation bands. While there are non-ideal effects, the effective number of bits of the converter is primarily a function of the signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR or SINAD). The highest resolution converters currently available have approximately 13 to 14 ENOB and typical SNDR of approximately 80 dB, which is insufficient for desired GPS applications. Current commercial high speed 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) topologies can operate at 100 MHz and higher conversion speeds, but they do not perform with 16 ENOB across the desired bandwidths.

The USAF is interested in this development for use in a digitally-processed GPS receiver with strong anti-jam performance. The focus of this effort will seek to develop an ADC architecture with the following capabilities:

1. 100 MSps (T)/350 MSps (O) sampling speed

2. 16 ENOB across all desired frequency bands

3. Covers all navigation bands (with emphasis on just above L1 center frequency to just below L2 center frequency)

4. Minimized power and complexity

5. Architecture shall also be compatible/portable to existing commercial Integrated Circuit (IC) processes

Proposals should clearly indicate how the result of the effort would be shown to improve military GPS receiver capabilities through a test and validation plan. Testing and validation of risk reduction components of the overall effort is encouraged in Phase I.

Offerors are encouraged to work with military GPS receiver prime contractors throughout the effort/program to help ensure applicability of their efforts and begin work towards technology transition.

Offerors should clearly indicate in their proposals what government furnished property or information are required for effort success. Requests for other DoD contractor intellectual property will be rejected.

PHASE I: The contractor shall deliver ADC architectures with detailed designs of critical pieces/blocks required for meeting the performance requirements, they shall deliver libraries with complete modeling & simulation results demonstrating the desired capabilities and requirements. The design should also target existing readily accessible IC processes. The contractor shall propose a plan for the manufacturing & testing of prototype hardware performance in electrical environments to be conducted in Phase II.

PHASE II: The contractor shall produce prototype hardware defined in Phase I, show met performance via laboratory testing, & deliver a formal assessment report including findings & discoveries for further technology advancement. Complete design libraries, macro ADC models, updated modeling & simulation results, prototype hardware, & final GDS shall be delivered at phase end. The contractor should coordinate their efforts with military GPS (e.g., MGUE) & specific platform (e.g. PGMs) receiver contractors.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Given successful completion of Phase II, the contractor shall work with military GPS and platform receiver contractors to implement, test, & demonstrate the technology in an RF front end that provides the best size, weight, power, and cost trade-off for the application spaces.

REFERENCES:

1. Analog Devices, “Analog-Digital Conversion Handbook Third Edition”, Prentice Hall 1986.

2. H. Johnson and M. Graham, “High-Speed Digital Design”, Prentice Hall 1993.

3. M. Pelgrom, “Analog-to-Digital Conversion”, Springer 2010.

4. Jo et al, “RF front-end architecture for a triple-band CMOS GPS receiver,” Microelectronics Journal, Vol. 46, Issue 1, pp 27-35, January 2015.

KEYWORDS: Analog to digital converter; ADC; A/D Converters, microelectronics; integrated circuit design; GPS receiver, Navigation bands, GPS bands, L-band, MGUE

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, 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 innovative fast framing small format FPAs needed for multi-function coherent sensors in the short wave infrared. Successful solutions will be low noise and compatible with space constrained airborne environments.

DESCRIPTION: Coherent imaging systems have the capability to provide high-resolution 3-D imagery for target identification at stand-off ranges. Coherent imaging methods which combine image synthesis and multi-wavelength 3-D imaging offer exciting possibilities for future imaging systems [1,2]. High bandwidth FPAs would not only allow these capabilities from an airborne platform, but would also enable additional modalities such as vibrometry [3]. An opportunity exists to reduce some of the conventional requirements for FPAs while extending their performance in factors relevant to coherent imaging. The innovative sensor would enable new holographic imaging techniques and may also lead to low volume, conformal active imaging systems. Possible commercial applications include diffuse correlation spectroscopy, speckle contrast imaging and others that would benefit from low noise high speed measurements.

Current state of the in frame rates for short-wave infrared (SWIR) FPAs is substantially less than 100kHz (even lower when not operated in a windowed mode), which is inadequate for the applications mentioned above [4]. FPAs with <100 noise equivalent photons and quantum efficiencies >0.8 are commonly available with simple thermoelectric cooling at 1.5 microns, but similar performance for detection at 2 microns typically requires more advanced cooling.

Systems designed to utilize coherent imaging modalities will require high frame rate FPAs, with a threshold of 250kHz, and an objective of 1MHz. The FPAs will be small format, with a threshold of 32 x 32 pixels and an objective of 64x64. The desired dynamic range is 8 bits, but can be traded with the array size and frame rate so that the total throughput is <10Gb/s. Due to the small format, high operability is critical (>99%).

Pixel pitches <40 microns with 100% fill factor and quantum efficiencies >0.7 are desired, where the quantum efficiency and the fill factor can be traded. A global shutter with minimum integration times on the order of 1 microsecond is needed, with dead times between frame integrations as low as 100ns. Detectors with less than 50 noise equivalent photons are strongly preferred, but higher noise counts are acceptable (<250) for solutions that extend the detector sensitivity to cover both 1.5 and 2 microns. However, the dynamic range should scale with the noise such that the full well depth of the detectors is roughly 8X the square of the noise equivalent photons.

Low SWAP designs (< 64 cubic in, < 2 kg) are preferred, and auxiliary requirements such as cooling should be considered in the system design. Solutions that do not need liquid cooling are strongly preferred. The FPA should be capable of external triggering and a communication protocol that compatible with an industry standard such as Camera Link is desirable.

No use of government materials, equipment, data, or facilities is anticipated.