Air force 7. Small Business Innovation Research (sbir) Phase I proposal Submission Instructions

The proposed agent must be non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-ozone-depleting, and highly effective at lowest possible weight/volume. The agent should be simply formulated without specialized handling requirements (pressurization, cooling, or heating) when in shipment or storage to avoid cost and logistics burdens. When integrated into a fire suppression system, the agent must remain viable for long periods of time (not less than a year) even when exposed to extreme flight-line temperature swings and in-flight conditions, must be compatible with the proposed fire suppression system concept, and must be fully effective against aircraft fuel fire applications. The fire suppression system must be capable of aircraft integration at the lowest possible cost/weight/volume and must be capable of transmitting agent to the fire zone in a timely/efficient manner (ideally without need for total bay flooding). The aircraft-suitable fire suppression system should have the following attributes: low/no clean-up requirements after agent discharge; long life; non-clogging/non-clumping; and low maintenance. For active systems, the goal is to achieve fire suppression within 100ms of fire detection while using the smallest weight/volume of agent. For passive systems, the goal is to achieve fire suppression within 100ms of suppressant discharge while using the smallest weight/volume of agent.

PHASE I: Prepare an efficient and economical fire suppression system design concept that incorporates an effective environmentally-safe agent having few cost/logistics burdens.

PHASE II: Design, produce, and demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed environmentally-safe fire suppression agent.  Couple the agent with a complete fire suppression system to demonstrate overall system effectiveness at costs, weights, and volumes lower than conventional Halon systems.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Military Applications:  Aircraft, ground vehicle, ship, submarine, and building fire suppression.  Commercial Applications:  Transportation industry (aircraft and ground vehicle fire suppression); residential and commercial building fire suppression.

REFERENCES:

1. Gann, R.G., "Screening Tests for Alternative Suppressants for In-Flight Aircraft Fires", The weekly of Business Aviation, Issue 4, Vol. 100, 2 Feb 2015

2. McMillin, M., "Consortium Seeks Halon Alternatives for Aircraft Propulsion Systems", Overhaul & Maintenance, Issue 3, Vol. 12, 1 Mar 2006

3. Gann, R.G., "Guidance for Advanced Fire Suppression in Aircraft", 1st Conference on Fire Suppression and Detection Research and Applications, Vol. 44, Issue 3, Sep 2008.

KEYWORDS: Efficient, effective, environmental, safe, aircraft, fire, suppression, extinguishing, agent, system, low, cost, weight, volume, logistics.

AF171-017

TITLE: Low Cost High Sensitivity Superconducting Magnetometers and Gradiometers

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, Sensors

OBJECTIVE: Develop low cost, high sensitivity magnetometers and gradiometers utilizing direct-write, high-transition-temperature superconducting nano-Josephson junction SQUIDs.

DESCRIPTION: There are a number of potential applications involving detection of small magnetic fields (< 1 pT) that are relevant to the DoD, such as non-destructive evaluation of aging aircraft and biomagnetic measurements of the human body [1]. Using an essentially portable HTS SQUID system whose temperature would operate in the vicinity of liquid nitrogen temperature, it is conceivable that such a system can be utilized to evaluate the state of health of each pilot and other crew members noninvasively, and it could make this evaluation in a period of less than 10 minutes. Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) provide unmatched performance in terms of bandwidth, sensitivity and dynamic range [1]. Unfortunately, SQUIDs comprised of conventional superconducting materials require cooling to about 4 degrees kelvin, employing liquid helium or large costly power-hungry and noisy refrigeration. SQUIDs comprised of ceramic high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials could alleviate the size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements by two orders of magnitude in comparison to the bulky and generally non-portable SQUID magnetic gradiometer systems [2]. Such traditional SQUID systems have been the norm thus far. However, until now it had not been possible to employ these more recent ceramic superconducting materials, as they had been found to be very difficult to work with, namely because of anisotropic electrical properties and intrinsic noise [3]. Despite these problems, there have been some demonstrations [4] of suitable low-noise HTS SQUIDs with acceptable noise properties. Historically, the reproducibility and circuit yield have been very low, thus making the cost per SQUID sensor prohibitive for practical applications.

Recently Cybart et al. [5] have demonstrated a new direct-write approach for fabrication of HTS SQUIDs using helium ion-beam lithography, solving many of the problems associated with HTS SQUIDs such as reproducibility, circuit yield and cost. This demonstration provided a reliable method for fabrication of low-noise SQUIDs, but greater sensitivity is needed which requires a flux concentrator. In this program, a handheld SQUID prototype sensor composed of a helium ion direct write SQUID and suitable flux concentrator will be constructed for detection of magnetic fields smaller than 1 pT over a bandwidth from 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz.

PHASE I: Simulate and design high Tc SQUID magnetometer and gradiometer sensors using helium ion direct-write Josephson junctions that will function at temperatures near 77 K. The circuits should be composed of both a helium ion beam HTS SQUID and a flux concentrator which will substantially increase sensitivity. Designs comprising both planar washer type direct-inject and multilayer SQUID input coils will be considered and evaluated.

PHASE II: Handheld prototype magnetometers and gradiometers using the designs developed in phase I will be constructed. These sensors will be characterized in a flux-locked loop to determine their sensitivity, bandwidth and dynamic range. Devices will be operated in a micro-dewar and/or on compact cryocoolers to determine practical size and weight requirements, noise properties and other capabilities.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Produce and market magnetometers and gradiometers for biomedical and non-destructive evaluation instrumentation. This phase would result in the introduction of this technology to real applications.

REFERENCES:

1. H. Weinstock, “SQUID Sensors: fundamentals, fabrication, and applications”, Springer, 1996.

2. H. J. M. Ter Brake, G. F. M. Wiegerinck, Cryogenics, 42, p 705, 2002.

3. D. Koelle, R. Kleiner, F. Ludwig, E. Dansker and J. Clarke, Rev. Mod,. Phys. 71, p 631 1999.

4. M. Faley, et al. IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 23, p 1600705 2013.

5. S. A. Cybart, et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. 10 p 598, 2015.

KEYWORDS: SQUID, nondestructive evaluation, magnetometer, magnetic gradiometer, HTS superconductor

AF171-018

TITLE: Gallium Oxide Homo/Hetero-Epitaxial Structures for RF and Power Switching Devices

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, [e-mail].

OBJECTIVE: Develop and demonstrate Beta-Gallium Oxide (ß-Ga2O3) epitaxial structures suitable for fabrication of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) and High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) devices.

DESCRIPTION: Next generation Air Force sensing systems depend on continued electronic materials innovation leading to enabling performance capabilities. Interest in ß-Ga2O3 has grown recently due to its unique combination of a large bandgap (4.8eV), estimated breakdown field (8 MV/cm), high electron mobility and availability of native single crystal substrates using inexpensive melt-based growth methods [1-5]. ß-Ga2O3 possesses a larger bandgap, higher breakdown voltage and lower on-resistance than those of Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN). Exploitation of ß-Ga2O3 semiconductors holds promise for revolutionary improvements in the cost, size, weight and performance of a broad range of radio frequency, power switching and opto-electronic components utilized in radar, electronic warfare and communication systems.
The realization of devices with optimal performance will require controlled growth of doped, high quality, homo/hetero-epitaxial structures on ß-Ga2O3 substrates. Common approaches under consideration for homo/hetero-epitaxial film growth include Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD), Metal-Organic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE) and Halide Vapor-Phase Epitaxy (HVPE). Homo-epitaxial, doped ß-Ga2O3 films can be grown enabling fabrication of MOSFET devices. Growth of hetero-epitaxial structures such as (AlxGa1-x)2O3/ Ga2O3 or (InxGa1-x)2O3/ Ga2O3 support fabrication of HEMT devices [6]. There is a need for a viable US-based source to develop and scale ß-Ga2O3 epitaxial processes to underpin and help drive the development of next generation ultra-high performance devices.

PHASE I: Develop growth parameters for; (i) homo-epitaxial growth of MOSFET structure comprised of doped Ga2O3 films on bulk semi-insulating ß-Ga2O3 substrates and (ii) hetero-epitaxial growth of HEMT structure comprised of doped (AlxGa1-x)2O3/ Ga2O3 or (InxGa1-x)2O3/ Ga2O3 films on bulk (010) semi-insulating ß-Ga2O3 substrates. Deliver epitaxial wafers for Government evaluation.

PHASE II: Demonstrate; (i) homo-epitaxial growth of MOSFET structure comprised of doped Ga2O3 films on bulk (010) 50mm semi-insulating ß-Ga2O3 substrates and (ii) hetero-epitaxial growth of HEMT structure comprised of doped (AlxGa1-x)2O3/ Ga2O3 or (InxGa1-x)2O3/ Ga2O3 films on bulk (010) 50mm semi-insulating ß-Ga2O3 substrates with nm-scale thickness uniformity at sub-nm RMS roughness levels. Characterize the epitaxial properties and modify the structure accordingly to enhance device performance.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Phase III shall address the commercialization of the product developed as a prototype in Phase II. Commercialize device-quality homo/hetero-epitaxial layers to device partners.

REFERENCES:

1. M. Higashiwaki, K. Sasaki, A. Kuramata, T. Masui, and S. Yamakoshi, "Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors on single-crystal beta-Ga2O3 (010) substrates," Applied Physics Letters, vol. 100, Jan 2 2012.

2. M. Higashiwaki, K. Sasaki, T. Kamimura, M. H. Wong, D. Krishnamurthy, A. Kuramata, et al., "Depletion-mode Ga2O3 metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors on beta-Ga2O3 (010) substrates and temperature dependence of their device characteristics," Applied Physics Letters, vol. 103, Sep 16 2013.

3. W. S. Hwang, A. Verma, H. Peelaers, V. Protasenko, S. Rouvimov, H. Xing, et al., "High-voltage field effect transistors with wide-bandgap beta-Ga2O3 nanomembranes," Applied Physics Letters, vol. 104, Jun 16 2014.

4. K. Sasaki, A. Kuramata, T. Masui, E. G. Villora, K. Shimamura, and S. Yamakoshi, "Device-Quality beta-Ga2O3 Epitaxial Films Fabricated by Ozone Molecular Beam Epitaxy," Applied Physics Express, vol. 5, Mar 2012.

5. K. Sasaki, M. Higashiwaki, A. Kuramata, T. Masui, and S. Yamakoshi, "Ga2O3 Schottky Barrier Diodes Fabricated by Using Single-Crystal beta-Ga2O3 (010) Substrates," Ieee Electron Device Letters, vol. 34, pp. 493-495, Apr 2013.

6. R. Wakabayashi, K. Sasaki, A. Ohtomo, et al., Growth and electric properties of conductive ß-(AlxGa1-x)2O3 films, 1st International Workshop on Gallium Oxide and Related Materials, November 3-6, 2015.

KEYWORDS: Gallium Oxide, epitaxy, wide bandgap semiconductor

AF171-019

TITLE: High-Speed Wind Tunnel Transient Dynamics During Start-up

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, [e-mail].

OBJECTIVE: Mitigate risk to high speed aerospace ground test facilities and test articles during wind tunnel startup.

DESCRIPTION: During the start and unstart of high-speed wind tunnels, a model may experience a transient airload that is several times greater than the steady load, placing undesired forces and moments on the model, support structure, and balance measurement system. A similar problem exists in the start and unstart of ramjet and scramjet inlet models which are of increasing importance in the development of advanced flight systems.

Conduct Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and structural analysis and small scale supersonic/hypersonic wind tunnel experiments to determine the forces and moments that are transmitted to test articles when injected into supersonic / hypersonic flow paths (i.e., similar to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex [AEDC] VKF tunnel model injection scenario). Compare these results to the loads that a test article would experience if left in place during the wind tunnel start-up process (i.e., no model injection and the test article sees the full start up shock). The test and analytical efforts should use the same test article geometry. The CFD should be time-accurate (LES turbulence modeling is desired) to fully account for the wind tunnel transient dynamics during startup. All work to be monitored by Subject Matter Experts.

Phase 1 will develop a software application that, given specific test geometry, will provide an accurate assessment of airloads on a test article as it is injected into the airstream of a ground test facility and during startup for wind tunnels without model injection capability. This development will continue during Phase 2 and proposers will conduct air flow testing in wind tunnel(s) to validate the software model. Proposers MUST demonstrate that their team has the capability to obtain wind tunnel validation data safely and discuss the team’s qualifications and experience for this in ALL proposals. At the end of Phase 2, software will be installed and demonstrated at an Air Force facility. Deliver software, source code, documentation, and data.

PHASE I: Develop software application that, given specific test geometry, will provide an accurate assessment of airloads on a test article as it is injected into the airstream of a ground test facility and during startup for wind tunnels without model injection capability.

PHASE II: Conduct air flow testing in wind tunnel(s) to validate the software model. Install and demonstrate at Air Force facility. Deliver software, source code, documentation, and data.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Software will be of interest to other DoD and government test sites, including NASA. Manufacturer of DoD and commercial aircraft are potential customers for transition.

REFERENCES:

1. Winter, K.G., and Brown, C.S., Loads on a Model during Starting and Stopping of an Intermittent Supersonic Wind Tunnel, Royal Aircraft Establishment, 1956.

2. Shimura, T., Mitani, T., Sakuranaka, N., and Izumikawa, M., Load Oscillations Caused by Unstart of Hypersonic Wind Tunnels and Engines, Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 14, No.3, 1998.

3. Maydew, R. C., Compilation and Correlation of Model Starting Loads from Several Supersonic Wind Tunnels, Sandia Rept., SC-4691 (RR), June 1962.

KEYWORDS: aerodynamics, static loads, transient loads, high-speed flows, model injection

AF171-020

TITLE: Instrumentation for carbon-carbon structures in extreme environments

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, [e-mail].

OBJECTIVE: Develop and validate, through testing, a methodology to integrate pressure, acoustic, and temperature (from which heat flux may be derived) sensors for carbon-carbon structures to be used as test articles in arc jet facilities.

DESCRIPTION: The Air Force needs a methodology to instrument carbon-carbon structures designed to be tested in arc jet facilities. How to instrument metallic test models is now an ordinary process for standard instruments such as pressure and acoustic transducers and thermocouples. However, there is still a lot to learn on how to instrument carbon-carbon structures without compromising the structural integrity of the test article. The non-isotropic nature of the material also complicates the measurements and data reduction. This topic is mostly concerned with incorporating existing pressure and acoustic transducers, as well as thermocouples (from which heat flux values may be deduced) and/or heat flux gages into carbon-carbon test articles. A key objective is that the incorporation of the transducers does not compromise the performance of the instruments. For example, if the transducer has a high frequency response, it is desired to keep that unaltered. For thermocouples, if measurements need to be made at embedded locations, then the effect of heat conduction through the materials needs to be taken into account when a measurement is being calculated from the readings obtained. Transducers that don’t require active cooling are preferred. It is also desirable that if a transducer fails it can be replaced and installed in the same location. If the instrument needs thermal isolation from the test article, those issues need to be addressed as well. Careful consideration needs to be placed on sealing the transducer housings. The sensors must be installed in structures that sustain surface temperatures up to 3000°F during testing.

Both high frequency and mean measurements of pressure and temperature / heat flux are needed to understand the flow field around any test article to be tested in an arc-jet facility. We rely on these measurements to deduce the heat fluxes on the test article and to understand the characteristics of laminar and fully turbulent flows.

In Phase 1, proposers shall choose, taking into account transducers previously demonstrated at arc-jet facilities, at least one type of pressure and acoustic transducer and one type of thermocouple and/or heat flux gage to be integrated to a carbon-carbon structure. The proposer should design a process of integration for all the transducers chosen. Finally, the proposers shall perform bench top experiments where the transducers are installed, checked for leaks, and tested using simple controlled test conditions. Preliminary checks of the structural integrity of the structure should be completed. Also a methodology to replace transducers in the same location should be created.

In Phase 2, proposers shall refine the installation methodology identified in phase I and complete a set of runs in an arc-jet facility. It is recommended that a canonical geometry is chosen for which there is reliable historical data of similar measurements at similar free-stream conditions so that the measurements can be accurately compared. The instruments should be subjected to as many tests as practically possible so that an initial assessment of the robustness of the installation methodology is completed, and the precision, accuracy and frequency response of the transducers used can be checked against historical data. At least one transducer for each type of measurement should be replaced and tested again to assess the effectiveness of the transducer replacement methodology developed in Phase I.

PHASE I: Choose at least 1 type of pressure and acoustic transducers as well as 1 type of thermocouple or heat flux gage to be integrated to a carbon-carbon structure. Create a process for integrating all the transducers chosen into a test coupon. Perform bench top experiments using simple controlled test conditions. Preliminary checks of the structural integrity of the structure should be completed.

PHASE II: Refine the Phase I integration methodology and test an instrumented model in an arc jet facility. Use a canonical geometry to compare the results with historical data of similar measurements at similar free-stream conditions. Test as many times as practical so that an initial assessment of the robustness of the installation methodology is made, and the precision, accuracy, and frequency response of the transducers can be compared with historical data.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The instrumentation integration methodology could be patented and offered to the USG, industry, and academia.

REFERENCES:

1. David Glass, Ray Dirling, Harold Croop, Tim Fry, Geoffrey Frank, Materials Development for Hypersonic Flight Vehicles, AIAA 2006-8122

2. Timothy Wadhams, Michael Holden, Matthew Maclean, Charles Campbell, Experimental Studies of Space Shuttle Orbiter Boundary Layer Transition at Mach Numbers from 10 to 18, AIAA Paper 2010-1576

3. Tim Roediger, Helmut Knauss, Boris V. Smorodsky, Malte Estorf, Steven P. Schneider, Instability Waves Measured Using Fast-Response Heat-Flux Gauges, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 266-273, 2009