Army sbir 09. 2 Proposal submission instructions
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| OBJECTIVE: Proposals are sought to develop novel flexible electronic sensor arrays with an integrated flexible display. The SBIR program is to focus on the demonstration of flexible electronics for sensors. The functionality of interest includes sensor arrays on a flexible substrate. The sensor array may include optical, x-ray, acoustic or chemical sensors. The sensor array shall interface to a flexible display for direct imaging to enable large area sensor arrays for improved field of view with enhanced capability.
DESCRIPTION: The Army has been developing flexible displays with improved performance to include ultra-low power, sunlight readability, and novel bi-stable imaging. Bi-stable imaging enables a sensor to direct map to a display and the image to remain on the display with zero-power. This unique display characteristic integrated with sensor array will enable novel sensor demonstrators. The Army is developing flexible displays through the Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University. The bi-stable flexible displays are based on the electrophoretic (electronic-paper) technology. The FDC displays include 3.8 inch diagonal displays with a 320x240 resolution. This SBIR topic will not fund flexible display development. The proposed effort shall address the development of novel sensor array technology on flexible substrates and the integration of the array to a bi-stable flexible display. The sensor technology of interest shall include; optical imaging, x-ray imaging, acoustic array imaging. Other sensor technologies will be of interest. The sensor array need not be fabricated directly on the flexible display. The sensor demonstrators and flexible displays can be fabricated separately and integrated together. These novel sensor systems will offer unique capabilities current not available with conventional technology. The application can include medical imaging, structural imaging, assessment of high-value assests, and demonstrations towards very large area sensor arrays for ultra-large apertures as well ultra-light weight flexible electronics for UAVs and micro-UAVs. PHASE I: During Phase I, the program shall design the sensor array technology and necessary interface capability for the flexible display. The sensor is to be designed for fabrication on a flexible substrate to include; plastic (such as PEN) or stainless steel. The sensor array may include optical, x-ray, acoustic or chemical sensors. The initial design phase shall include the demonstration of single device performance adequate for the sensors. These demonstrations shall be used to design the array layout. The overall array specifications shall be no smaller than 1.1" diagonal with a 64x64 resolution up to 4" diagonal with a resolution of 320x240 pixels. The Phase I deliverable shall be a final report to include; the individual device performance data, the system level design and archeticture as well as the anticipated performance of the device. The Phase I effort shall not include the design or the development of a new flexible technology. PHASE II: During Phase II, the program shall complete the final design the sensor array technology on a flexible substrate and intergated with a flexible display. The Phase II program shall first develop and fabricate the sensor array on a fleixble substrate (to include plastic or stainless steel) and demonstrate functionality. Following the successful demonstration of the sensor array, the system shall be integrated with a flexible display for direct imaging. This interface will likely include necessary interface chips and related electronics. These electronics are not necessarily fabricated using flexible electronics. The final design shall include the trade-offs with using COTs chips for these interface designs. The Phase II deliverables shall include a final report detailing the overall system design and performance. In addition, the contractor shall deliver (2) sensor arrays integrated with flexible displays. PHASE III: The final product from the SBIR will be used to evaluate the novel applications for the World's First fully intergate flexible electronic and imaging device. The sensor platform shall transitions to the Army's Flexible Display Center for future applications to be developed from the flexible electronics pilot-line current established at Arizona State University. In the long term, the FDC will have the capability of fabricating flexible displays and electronics at 370x470mm scales for these emerging integrate sensor platform applications. The technology will have an opportunity to transition to the more than 21 industry partners that participate in the FDC. REFERENCES: 1. "Amorphous silicon thin film transistor circuit integration for organic LED displays on glass and plastic", Nathan A, et.al IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS 39 (9): 1477 (2004). 2. "Self-organized organic thin-film transistors on plastic", Choi HY, Kim SH, Jang J ADVANCED MATERIALS 16 (8): 732 (2004). 3. “Excimer laser crystallization and doping of silicon films on plastic substrates”, P.M. Smith, P.G. Carey, T.W. Sigmon Appl. Phys. Lett., 70, pp. 342-344, (1997). 4. “Pentacene organic thin-film transistors - Molecular ordering and mobility”, D.J. Gundlach, Y.Y. Lin, T.N. Jackson, S.F. Nelson, D.G. Schlom IEEE Elect. Dev. Lett. 18, pp. 87-89, (1997). 5. “Organic Thin-Film Transistor-Driven Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Displays on Flexible Polymeric Substrates”, C. D. Sheraw, et.al Appl. Phys. Lett, 80, pp. 1088-1090, (2002). 6. “Effect of process parameters on the structural characteristics of laterally grown, laser-annealed polycrystalline silicon films” Voutsas AT, Limanov A, Im JS JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 94 (12): 7445-7452 DEC 15 2003. 7. “Flexible Displays for Military Use”, E.W. Forsythe, D.C. Morton, G.L. Wood, SPIE Aerosense Proceedings, Proc. SPIE-Int. Soc. Opt. Eng, 4712, 262-273 (2002). KEYWORDS: Flexible Electronics, flexible displays, sensor arrays A09-045 TITLE: Development of GaN Substrates for High Power and Multi-Functional Devices TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Materials/Processes, Electronics ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors OBJECTIVE: Higher quality GaN substrates will lead to better high power devices used in hybrid electric vehicles, more output power in RF radar systems, and will enable multi-function devices such as those used in acousto-optic devices all of which are of great interest to the Army. The objective of this research is to improve upon those GaN substrates currently being grown so that devices made using them are better than those currently being manufactured. Examples are power diodes and transistors. In theory devices made from GaN should out perform those made from SiC, but those fabricated from current GaN substrates do not because the quality of reasonably sized GaN substrates is not good enough. DESCRIPTION: GaN power devices have the potential to out perform those made from SiC and be made more cheaply, RF HEMTs (high electron mobility transistor) can be made more reliable, and multi-function devices could be enabled by improved GaN substrates. Great strides have been made recently towards increasing the size of these substrates and reducing the number of crystalline defects, but more improvement is still necessary. How these improvements in the quality of the GaN substrates leads to an improvement in the devices made from them must also be demonstrated, and in so doing create a market for these substrates. Currently, the substrates that are of high enough quality to demonstrate the improved device characteristics are too small - < 1 inch in diameter - to be economically viable. Although there have been great improvements recently in the large area crystals, they still contain too many crystalline defects and are not yet uniform enough for good quality devices to be fabricated uniformly across the wafer. The goal of this research is to be able to produce GaN substrates that are large enough to be economically viable, contain few enough crystalline defects such as dislocations and domain boundaries so that devices fabricated on them will have better operating characteristics and be more reliable than those currently being made, and be uniform enough across the wafer so that reasonable yields can be obtained. PHASE I: Do simulations of a current high power, multi-functional, or RF device that is made using a GaN substrate and one that is made using an alternate substrate. Determine what the parameters of the GaN must be for the device fabricated on the GaN substrate to be as good as the one fabricated on the alternate substrate. Describe what must be done with your GaN substrates so that 50% of the devices over a 2" diameter substrate will meet or exceed the values you have calculated, and provide a meaningful path by which you will obtain the substrates that will meet this goal. One such example is a Schottky diode for the 600 V market. The simulations should show what the parameters for the GaN material must be so that devices made using the GaN substrate will have breakdown voltages that exceed 600 V and have a switching loss at 20 kHz that is at least as small as that obtained from a comparable SiC device. These simulations and report will be delivered to ARL. PHASE II: Using your simulations as a guide, develop GaN substrates at least 2" in diameter from which the device you chose in Phase I can be fabricated with the properties that meet or exceed those that you described, and do so with a yield of at least 50%. These substrates and devices will be delivered to ARL for testing and verification. PHASE III: Develop a plan for selling your GaN substrates by being able to show that customers who use them will be able to make a better device as demonstrated in Phase II and be able to do so with a reasonable yield at a reasonable cost. Show how much better and/or more reliable the devices will be using your substrates and provide justifications for any increased costs that would be incurred if your customer used your substrate. Identify the market for the improved device you have demonstrated using your GaN substrates and provide a plan on how you intend to access that market. Also, suggest what other devices could be manufactured using your substrates that would have properties that were superior to those currently being achieved, and develop a plan for how you would demonstrate this. The goal is to be able to sell these substrates at a reasonable cost to companies manufacturing these devices because they believe they can make a better device or a similar device at a lower cost, and to also indentify other devices that could be improved and sold at a reasonable cost using your GaN substrates. REFERENCES: 1. B.J. Baliga, "Power Semiconductor Devices," Boston: PWS Publishing Co. 1996. 2. J.L. Hudgins, G.S. Simin, E. Santi, M.A. Khan, "An Assessment of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Power Devices," IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, 18, 907 (2003). 3. B.S. Shelton, T.G. Zhu, D.J.H. Lambert, R.D. Dupuis, "Simulation of the Electrical Characteristics of High-Voltage Mesa and Planar GaN Schottky and PIN Rectifiers, IEEE Trans. on Electron Devices, 48, 1498 (2001). 4. G.T. Dang and A.P. Zhang, "High Voltage GaN Schottky Rectifiers, "IEEE Trans. on Electron Devices, 692 (2000). 5. http//www.veloxsemi.com/pdfs/Velox_semi_overview.pdf 6. A. Ballato, "Piezoelectricity, Old Effect, New thrusts," IEEE Trans. Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 42, 916 (1995). KEYWORDS: Power Devices, Multi-functional Devices, Diodes, Increased Complexity, Transistors, Gallium Nitride, Silicon Carbide A09-046 TITLE: Ultra Resolution Camera for C4ISR Applications TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Sensors, Electronics ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors OBJECTIVE: Proposals are sought to develop a novel multiple-FPA visible/infrared electro-optic sensor. The SBIR program is to focus on the design, development and demonstration of a wide area persistent surveillance capability not currently available. While the ability to combine multiple focal plane arrays to form a single image from an individual sensor has been demonstrated over the last few years, a multiple-FPA sensor system able to cover a larger area on the ground with 0.3 meter resolution (instead of the 1 meter resolution that is being used today) has not been designed or developed. In addition, current persistent wide area ISR systems are very expensive, heavy, and require a lot of electrical power. This SBIR program seeks a low cost, light weight, low power, electronically stabilized sensor system that can be flown from small aircraft (manned and/or UAV) and operated at a greatly reduced operational cost. DESCRIPTION: Army and DOD have been developing high resolution cameras for wide area persistent surveillance applications. This topic entails the design, fabrication and demonstration of a combined visible/infrared sensor system with a minimum of 2.3 Giga pixels per frame and capable of operating at 2 frames per second or faster. In addition, the sensor system should have the user-selectable option of operating as a three color (RGB) camera with electronic stabilization capability so the requirement for a stabilized platform can be removed/relaxed. The sensor should use parallel electronic interfaces as a means of transferring data. The assembly, alignment and calibration of this type of sensor will require access to and the use of calibrated precision optical alignment and calibration systems. A FPA sensor system capable of simultaneously measuring visible and infrared will simplify overall sensor system design and development for persistent wide area surveillance applications. The end result will be a highly sensitive, discriminating sensor system that is more reliable, lighter, and less costly than currently available. The proposed sensor system will require innovative research and development. Individual FPA chips and optics can be COTS if available, although this is not a requirement. PHASE I: During Phase I, the program shall design a new and innovative multiple-FPA sensor technology that will improve current wide area surveillance capabilities. Survey of research and development (R&D) efforts currently underway to develop single visible/infrared focal plane array chips and a determination of the feasibility of using existing chips in a multiple-FPA sensor system will occur in Phase I. In addition, a survey of current circuit card development capabilities to determine the best R&D processes currently available for fabrication of multiple-FPA sensor cards will be conducted. Once a specific FPA chip and fabrication process has been identified, a small scalable multiple-FPA sensor system will be designed and the feasibility of the proposed concept and technologies will be demonstrated. Phase I deliverable shall be a final report to include; the individual sensor performance data, the system level design and architecture as well as the anticipated performance of the sensor. The Phase I effort shall not include the design or the development of a new FPA chip technology. PHASE II: During Phase II, the program shall complete the final design of the sensor array technology. The Phase II program shall first demonstration, in a breadboard configuration, a multiple-FPA card sensor system with a minimum 2.3 Giga pixel capability. Card fabrication process verification will be conducted that will require the development of an electro optics alignment station to provide optical input to individual FPA cards during assembly and debugging. Calibration measurements during the assembly and alignment process will allow the removal of any misalignment of individual FPA chips due to the circuit card fabrication process. Following the successful demonstration of the sensor system, the required number of completed FPA cards with individual optics will be integrated into a full-up working sensor system meeting the above stated specifications. The Phase II deliverables shall include a final report detailing the overall system design and performance. In addition, the contractor shall deliver one (1) low cost commercial aerial photography sensor system that meets a large majority of today’s commercial aerial photography requirements. PHASE III: the final product from the SBIR will be tested on a small manned aircraft up to 10,000 feet. Engineering and prototype development, test and evaluation, and hardware qualification demonstration in a system-level test-bed which shows application to an insertion potential into one or more unmanned aerial vehicles will be completed. Possible commercial applications of the ultra resolution camera include, but are not limited to, improved border and maritime management/patrol, critical infrastructure protection, transportation security, search & rescue, crime prevention, land & sea traffic monitoring, pipeline/powerline monitoring, private infrastructure surveillance/security, and aerial photography, and satellite augmentation systems. REFERENCES: 1. Airborne tracking resolution requirements for urban vehicles. Aaron L. Robinson, Brian Miller, Phil Richardson, and Chun Ra Proc. SPIE 6941, 69410R (2008). 2. Flight test capabilities for real-time multiple target detection and tracking for airborne surveillance and maritime domain awareness. Brian A. Gorin and Allen Waxman. Proc. SPIE 6945, 69450Z (2008). KEYWORDS: Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, high-resolution camera, persistent, pervasive A09-047 TITLE: Eye-safe fiber-coupled laser pumps for high power laser applications TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors, Weapons ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PEO Missiles and Space OBJECTIVE: Develop high-power, high-brightness 1530-1535-nm fiber-coupled laser diode modules with substantially improved efficiency, suitable as pump sources for high-power, eye-safe Er-doped fiber lasers, while minimizing the risk to human eyes. Technology must be developed with the potential for manufacturability, low operating cost, efficiency and ease of use. DESCRIPTION: Defense against fast-moving airborne threats such as rockets, artillery and mortars is an important challenge for the Army, as is destruction of explosives at a safe distance. High-power lasers have the potential to meet these challenges, provided that key technologies are developed. These include improving the efficiency and power levels of solid-state lasers, and the development of versions that operate at wavelengths relatively safe to human eyes. Er-doped solid-state lasers (SSL) with direct (resonant) laser excitation around 1530 nm [1-4] have proven to be highly efficient “eye-safe” sources. As a logical continuation of the work [2-4], an Yb-free resonantly cladding-pumped, highly scalable, Er fiber amplifier was recently demonstrated [5]. In contrast to pumping with a 9xx-nm wavelength diode laser, pumping of a fiber laser with a ~1530 nm source provides much higher laser efficiency and better thermal management of the fiber due to a much smaller quantum defect (of the order of 5%). In [5], the booster amplifier was cladding co-pumped by six InGaAsP/InP laser diode modules fiber-coupled into 105/125 micron, 0.15 NA pigtails. The power of each pump module was in the range of 5-6 W. High power scalability potential was demonstrated, but pumping sources with much higher brightness would be required to achieve multi-hundred kilowatt power output. Although laser bar coupling technology is efficient for laser diodes with wavelengths shorter than one micron, the thermal load generated by such a device causes thermal management problems. This limits the use of diode bars or arrays for InP-based lasers, which are needed for operation at relatively eyesafe wavelength, due to their sensitivity to temperature. To address this problem, fiber-coupled modules based on single emitters are being developed for coupling into a laser fiber via fused couplers. Single-emitter architecture guarantees better thermal management due to the “distributed” nature of heat generation, and provides more practical operation at low current and high voltage [6] (as opposed to laser bar-based schemes operated at high current / low voltage). Despite all of the advantages, the fiber coupled, high-power, 1530-1535-nm laser diode modules are currently underdeveloped. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of these diodes is currently considerably lower than that for shorter-wavelength laser diodes, and their beam divergence is higher, with the result that fiber coupling efficiency is also lower. At present, it is necessary to analyze all available choices for improving the efficiency of fiber-coupled high brightness pump modules emitting at 1530 nm wavelength. These solutions will be immediately employed as pump sources for high-power Er-doped fiber lasers. Later, the same design approaches will be extended to pump sources with even longer wavelengths aimed at resonant pumping of Tm- and Ho-doped fiber lasers. The development of fiber-coupled pump sources for the 1.5-1.9 micron wavelength range requires progress in three directions: laser diode design (including further improvement of current approaches and radical changes to improve efficiency with high potential for scalability,) development of more efficient fiber coupling schemes, and advancement in thermal management to better deal with the temperature sensitivity of diode devices emitting in this wavelength range. PHASE I: Eye-safe 1530-1535-nm pump module with 105 micron core / 0.15 NA fiber output. Target power 30 W out-of-fiber with PCE at rated current not less than 25%. Maximum PCE (at lower than maximum power output) not less than 30%. It is expected that significant improvements in diode laser efficiency and in fiber coupling efficiency will be required to meet these goals and to provide the potential for the further improvements specified in Phase II. The technologies developed to achieve these goals must have the potential for: (1) efficient thermal management; (2) manufacturability; (3) reliability. In addition to modeling and simulation to develop a design for the necessary improvements, proof-of-concept device development is expected. A best-effort device with performance goals listed above shall be provided to the Army Research Laboratory for evaluation. PHASE II: Design and assemble a fiber coupled module emitting a wavelength of 1530 nm with 45 W out-of-fiber (105 micron core / 0.15 NA) power with PCE at rated current >40%. In addition to these improvements in efficiency and power scaling, the phase II efforts should also focus on wavelength stabilization, and on manufacturability, producibility, cost reduction and yield. The deliverables are five modules with specifications listed above with total power over 220 W, to be tested for diode-pumping of a fiber laser or amplifier at the Army Research Laboratory. PHASE III: Production line of super-high-brightness 1.5-1.9 micron fiber coupled modules with superior PCE, enabling high efficiency, high power fiber lasers operating in this relatively eyesafe wavelength range. Non-military uses include direct processing of plastics, cutting of organic materials, surgery, and various therapeutic and aesthetic procedures. REFERENCES: 1. Y. Young, S. Setzler, K. Snell, P. Budni, T. Pollak, E. Chiklis, “Efficient 1645 nm Er:YAG Laser,” Optics Letters, 29, p 1075, (2004). 2. D. Garbuzov, I. Kudryashov, M. Dubinskii, “Resonantly Diode Laser Pumped 1.6-um Er:YAG Laser”, Appl. Phys. Lett, 86, 1315 (2005). 3. D. Garbuzov, M. Dubinskii, “InP-based Long Wavelength Sources for Solid State Diode Pumping,” in Technical Digest of Solid State and Diode Lasers Technology Review, SSDLTR 2004, Direct Energy Professional Society, p-19. 4. D. Garbuzov, I. Kudryashov, M. Dubinskii, “110 W (0.9 J) pulsed power from resonantly diode-laser-pumped 1.6-um Er:YAG laser”, Appl. Phys. Lett, 87, 218 (2005). 5. M. Dubinskii, J. Zhang, I. Kudryashov, “Single-frequency, Yb-free, resonantly cladding-pumped large mode area Er fiber amplifier for power scaling”, Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 031111 (2008). 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