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Federal Open GRANTS-GOV-326841

Low-Cost Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (LC CSAC)

Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command (DOD) · Competitive · Science & Technology

At a glance

Low-Cost Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (LC CSAC) is a federal competitive grant from Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command for the science & technology sector. Funding is up to $300. Eligible applicants: Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification). This special notice seeks proposals from one or more for-profit firms in accordance with 32 CFR 37.210. A consortium, led by a. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Apply via the official listing at www.grants.gov.

Amount
Up to $300
Deadline
Rolling
Type
Competitive
Status
Open

About this program

**PLEASE REVIEW FULL SPECIAL NOTICE** Funding Opportunity Title: Low-Cost Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (LC CSAC) Funding Instrument Type: Technology investment agreement The aim of this Special Notice under the ARL BAA (W911NF-17-S-0003), under Grants.gov Opportunity W911NF-17-S-0003-SPECIALNOTICE-LC-CSAC, is to fund a team or multiple teams to design, manufacture, and deliver a battery-powered atomic clock that achieves identical (or better) size, weight, and power (SWaP) and performance to the commercially available chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) with a selling price goal of < $300/unit in high volume.   Precise timing is critical for numerous Army applications such as navigation, communications, surveillance, and synchronization of sensors and systems. Assured PNT solutions currently rely on acquiring GPS signals, which may not be readily available in increasingly contested environments. Commercially available silicon MEMS and quartz oscillators (TCXO, OCXO) are unable to provide GPS holdover in the event of a GPS outage, except for high-end OCXOs that may be considered large and power hungry for certain applications. To ease reliance on GPS, long-holdover clocks with SWaP-C appropriate for various DoD platforms are necessary to enable mission-critical functions even in contested environments. Current high-performance atomic clocks (maser, laser-cooled cesium fountain) serve as standards and are large, expensive, and require regular monitoring and exquisite environmental control.   Since the early 2000s, the chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) has been developed and successfully matured into a commercial product with DARPA and industry investment. While an Army/Air Force/OSD Manufacturing Technology effort further reduced the manufacturing cost1, the current selling price is still prohibitive for high-volume, low-SWaP DoD platforms. There is an opportunity to leverage the many advances in MEMS, photonics, and atomic physics over the past two decades to develop state-of-the-art, high-performance, battery-powered atomic clocks with improved manufacturability, significantly reduced cost, and improved performance.   This special notice seeks proposals from one or more for-profit firms in accordance with 32 CFR 37.210. A consortium, led by a for-profit firm, is also encouraged.   Points of Contact: Jonathan Hoffman jonathan.e.hoffman.civ@mail.mil   Jenna Chan Jenna.f.chan.ctr@mail.mil

Who can apply

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification). This special notice seeks proposals from one or more for-profit firms in accordance with 32 CFR 37.210. A consortium, led by a for-profit firm, is also encouraged.

How to apply

Apply through Grants.gov using funding opportunity number W911NF-17-S-0003-SPECIALNOTICE-LC-CSAC. Register your organization (SAM.gov + Grants.gov) before the deadline, then submit the application package listed in the official notice.

Apply at official source