The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Communication technologies support all NASA space missions, among which autonomous communication technologies are extremely beneficial to future missions. Communication technologies will expand mankind's understanding of planet earth and the universe. As the needs to gather more data, even more advanced antenna technologies will be essential to deliver orders of magnitude more data. Low cost high data-rate flexible active digital beam forming phased array antenna (PAA) is one of the enabling technologies. Graphene is one-atom-thick planar sheet of carbon atoms that has mobility of charge carriers in excess of 200,000 cm2V−1s−1. It is the lowest resistivity substance known at room temperature. The extremely low resistivity makes graphene the next generation conductor that we are going to use as interconnects and antenna elements. Graphene also has supreme mechanical properties extremely suitable for flexible electronics. It is lighter, stronger, harder and more flexible than steel. Furthermore, it is a recyclable and sustainably manufacturable product that is eco-friendly. Another advantage of graphene antennas is that due to the reduced wave propagation speed of graphene, the size of antenna can be reduced to a factor of 10, which is critical for the routing and power dissipation for large number element arrays. Prototype of a fully graphene-based 4-bit 4-element digital beam forming PAA on flexible substrate such as Kapton, including antennas, field effect transistor (FET) switches and phase shifters will be developed. Performance features of the flexible PAA will be characterized including frequency/bandwidth, gain/efficiency, and power consumption. The flexible high-speed electronics will enable active PAA deployment for NASA's lunar mission, including pressurized rovers, pressurized habitats, surface navigation, EVA, and etc.","benefits":"(1) For autonomous communication systems Low power, low cost, reconfigurable digital beam forming antennas can increase capacity and enable more efficient high-data data handling and delivery. (2) For large inflatable PAA Among all large active PAA issues, the most serious is its cost (an electronic phase shifter costs between $200 and $5,000). Our technology will enable large-area inflatable active PAA deployment, due to the dramatically reduced cost (estimated cost/per element around $20 for large arrays). (3) For Lunar local networks Lunar local networks are expected to provide coverage for short (~10m) to medium range (~5-10km) communications at UHF/S/C-band, with date rates not to exceed 19 Mbps.The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Communication technologies support all NASA space missions, among which autonomous communication technologies are extremely beneficial to future missions. Communication technologies will expand mankind's understanding of planet earth and the universe. As the needs to gather more data, even more advanced antenna technologies will be essential to deliver orders of magnitude more data. Low cost high data-rate flexible active digital beam forming phased array antenna (PAA) is one of the enabling technologies. Graphene is one-atom-thick planar sheet of carbon atoms that has mobility of charge carriers in excess of 200,000 cm2V−1s−1. It is the lowest resistivity substance known at room temperature. The extremely low resistivity makes graphene the next generation conductor that we are going to use as interconnects and antenna elements. Graphene also has supreme mechanical properties extremely suitable for flexible electronics. It is lighter, stronger, harder and more flexible than steel. Furthermore, it is a recyclable and sustainably manufacturable product that is eco-friendly. Another advantage of graphene antennas is that due to the reduced wave propagation speed of graphene, the size of antenna can be reduced to a factor of 10, which is critical for the routing and power dissipation for large number element arrays. Prototype of a fully graphene-based 4-bit 4-element digital beam forming PAA on flexible substrate such as Kapton, including antennas, field effect transistor (FET) switches and phase shifters will be developed. Performance features of the flexible PAA will be characterized including frequency/bandwidth, gain/efficiency, and power consumption. The flexible high-speed electronics will enable active PAA deployment for NASA's lunar mission, including pressurized rovers, pressurized habitats, surface navigation, EVA, and etc.","benefits":"(1) For autonomous communication systems Low power, low cost, reconfigurable digital beam forming antennas can increase capacity and enable more efficient high-data data handling and delivery. (2) For large inflatable PAA Among all large active PAA issues, the most serious is its cost (an electronic phase shifter costs between $200 and $5,000). Our technology will enable large-area inflatable active PAA deployment, due to the dramatically reduced cost (estimated cost/per element around $20 for large arrays). (3) For Lunar local networks Lunar local networks are expected to provide coverage for short (~10m) to medium range (~5-10km) communications at UHF/S/C-band, with date rates not to exceed 19 Mbps.The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Communication technologies support all NASA space missions, among which autonomous communication technologies are extremely beneficial to future missions. Communication technologies will expand mankind's understanding of planet earth and the universe. As the needs to gather more data, even more advanced antenna technologies will be essential to deliver orders of magnitude more data. Low cost high data-rate flexible active digital beam forming phased array antenna (PAA) is one of the enabling technologies. Graphene is one-atom-thick planar sheet of carbon atoms that has mobility of charge carriers in excess of 200,000 cm2V−1s−1. It is the lowest resistivity substance known at room temperature. The extremely low resistivity makes graphene the next generation conductor that we are going to use as interconnects and antenna elements. Graphene also has supreme mechanical properties extremely suitable for flexible electronics. It is lighter, stronger, harder and more flexible than steel. Furthermore, it is a recyclable and sustainably manufacturable product that is eco-friendly. Another advantage of graphene antennas is that due to the reduced wave propagation speed of graphene, the size of antenna can be reduced to a factor of 10, which is critical for the routing and power dissipation for large number element arrays. Prototype of a fully graphene-based 4-bit 4-element digital beam forming PAA on flexible substrate such as Kapton, including antennas, field effect transistor (FET) switches and phase shifters will be developed. Performance features of the flexible PAA will be characterized including frequency/bandwidth, gain/efficiency, and power consumption. The flexible high-speed electronics will enable active PAA deployment for NASA's lunar mission, including pressurized rovers, pressurized habitats, surface navigation, EVA, and etc.","benefits":"(1) For autonomous communication systems Low power, low cost, reconfigurable digital beam forming antennas can increase capacity and enable more efficient high-data data handling and delivery. (2) For large inflatable PAA Among all large active PAA issues, the most serious is its cost (an electronic phase shifter costs between $200 and $5,000). Our technology will enable large-area inflatable active PAA deployment, due to the dramatically reduced cost (estimated cost/per element around $20 for large arrays). (3) For Lunar local networks Lunar local networks are expected to provide coverage for short (~10m) to medium range (~5-10km) communications at UHF/S/C-band, with date rates not to exceed 19 Mbps.The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Communication technologies support all NASA space missions, among which autonomous communication technologies are extremely beneficial to future missions, including the Asteroid Redirect Mission, and human expedition to Mars and beyond. Low-cost, high gain, light-weight, and flexible active antenna systems are highly desired. In this program, we propose to develop a fully flexible ink-jet printed monolithic graphene-based high frequency PAA communication system. The superior electronic, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties offered by graphene (carrier mobility ~ 200,000cm^2/V.s; optical transparency ~ 98%; high current density ~ 10^8A/cm^2; thermal conductivity ~ 5000W/mK) is expected to significantly enhance the system features compared to the state-of-the-art flexible antenna systems., with operating frequency in excess of 100GHz expected. In Phase I, we printed graphene field-effect transistors and demonstrated a high (38:1) On/Off ratio. Graphene patch antennas were demonstrated with higher gain than silver. Results also indicated the feasibility of reducing the antenna size for a given frequency without sacrificing the gain. Finally, a 2-bit 1x2 graphene PAA was fully printed, and beam steering of a 4GHz RF signal from 0 to 42.4 degrees was demonstrated. The antenna system also showed good stability and tolerance after 5500 bending cycles. In Phase II, the graphene material inks will be further optimized for achieving high performance FETs and conductive films. A fully packaged 4-bit 2D 4x4 S-band PAA on a flexible substrate will be developed, and performance features, including gain/efficiency, frequency range, bandwidth, power consumption, and lifetime/reliability, will be characterized. Additionally, a roll-to-roll process to scale-up production will be developed, and the feasibility of large antenna array manufacturing at low-cost will be demonstrated.","benefits":"(1) Active phased-array antenna: The flexible graphene-FET is an enabling technology for the construction of high-performance large-area flexible electronics that can be monolithically integrated with deployable antennas and provide distributed control, processing, and reconfiguration functions to achieve active and smart flexible/wearable and conformal antenna systems with enhanced functionalities. (2) High gain, frequency agile, multi-band reconfigurable antenna: The high-speed flexible electronics circuits offer embedded control and reconfiguration functions to achieve the desired gain and band-selection capabilities. (3) High power electronics: Graphene has carrier mobility exceeding 200,000 cm^2/V.s and has a large current-density carrying capacity of ~10^8 A/cm^2. Such a large current carrying capability allows this fully-printed transistor technology to be used in NASA's high power electronics applications. Overall, our technology will provide advanced navigation and communication in order to support several current and future NASA missions, including the asteroid redirect mission, human expedition to Mars, deep space exploration beyond low earth orbit, etc.The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Communication technologies support all NASA space missions, among which autonomous communication technologies are extremely beneficial to future missions. Communication technologies will expand mankind's understanding of planet earth and the universe. As the needs to gather more data, even more advanced antenna technologies will be essential to deliver orders of magnitude more data. Low cost high data-rate flexible active digital beam forming phased array antenna (PAA) is one of the enabling technologies. Graphene is one-atom-thick planar sheet of carbon atoms that has mobility of charge carriers in excess of 200,000 cm2V−1s−1. It is the lowest resistivity substance known at room temperature. The extremely low resistivity makes graphene the next generation conductor that we are going to use as interconnects and antenna elements. Graphene also has supreme mechanical properties extremely suitable for flexible electronics. It is lighter, stronger, harder and more flexible than steel. Furthermore, it is a recyclable and sustainably manufacturable product that is eco-friendly. Another advantage of graphene antennas is that due to the reduced wave propagation speed of graphene, the size of antenna can be reduced to a factor of 10, which is critical for the routing and power dissipation for large number element arrays. Prototype of a fully graphene-based 4-bit 4-element digital beam forming PAA on flexible substrate such as Kapton, including antennas, field effect transistor (FET) switches and phase shifters will be developed. Performance features of the flexible PAA will be characterized including frequency/bandwidth, gain/efficiency, and power consumption. The flexible high-speed electronics will enable active PAA deployment for NASA's lunar mission, including pressurized rovers, pressurized habitats, surface navigation, EVA, and etc.","benefits":"(1) For autonomous communication systems Low power, low cost, reconfigurable digital beam forming antennas can increase capacity and enable more efficient high-data data handling and delivery. (2) For large inflatable PAA Among all large active PAA issues, the most serious is its cost (an electronic phase shifter costs between $200 and $5,000). Our technology will enable large-area inflatable active PAA deployment, due to the dramatically reduced cost (estimated cost/per element around $20 for large arrays). (3) For Lunar local networks Lunar local networks are expected to provide coverage for short (~10m) to medium range (~5-10km) communications at UHF/S/C-band, with date rates not to exceed 19 Mbps.The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"SBIR/STTR"},"description":"Communication technologies support all NASA space missions, among which autonomous communication technologies are extremely beneficial to future missions, including the Asteroid Redirect Mission, and human expedition to Mars and beyond. Low-cost, high gain, light-weight, and flexible active antenna systems are highly desired. In this program, we propose to develop a fully flexible ink-jet printed monolithic graphene-based high frequency PAA communication system. The superior electronic, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties offered by graphene (carrier mobility ~ 200,000cm^2/V.s; optical transparency ~ 98%; high current density ~ 10^8A/cm^2; thermal conductivity ~ 5000W/mK) is expected to significantly enhance the system features compared to the state-of-the-art flexible antenna systems., with operating frequency in excess of 100GHz expected. In Phase I, we printed graphene field-effect transistors and demonstrated a high (38:1) On/Off ratio. Graphene patch antennas were demonstrated with higher gain than silver. Results also indicated the feasibility of reducing the antenna size for a given frequency without sacrificing the gain. Finally, a 2-bit 1x2 graphene PAA was fully printed, and beam steering of a 4GHz RF signal from 0 to 42.4 degrees was demonstrated. The antenna system also showed good stability and tolerance after 5500 bending cycles. In Phase II, the graphene material inks will be further optimized for achieving high performance FETs and conductive films. A fully packaged 4-bit 2D 4x4 S-band PAA on a flexible substrate will be developed, and performance features, including gain/efficiency, frequency range, bandwidth, power consumption, and lifetime/reliability, will be characterized. Additionally, a roll-to-roll process to scale-up production will be developed, and the feasibility of large antenna array manufacturing at low-cost will be demonstrated.","benefits":"(1) Active phased-array antenna: The flexible graphene-FET is an enabling technology for the construction of high-performance large-area flexible electronics that can be monolithically integrated with deployable antennas and provide distributed control, processing, and reconfiguration functions to achieve active and smart flexible/wearable and conformal antenna systems with enhanced functionalities. (2) High gain, frequency agile, multi-band reconfigurable antenna: The high-speed flexible electronics circuits offer embedded control and reconfiguration functions to achieve the desired gain and band-selection capabilities. (3) High power electronics: Graphene has carrier mobility exceeding 200,000 cm^2/V.s and has a large current-density carrying capacity of ~10^8 A/cm^2. Such a large current carrying capability allows this fully-printed transistor technology to be used in NASA's high power electronics applications. Overall, our technology will provide advanced navigation and communication in order to support several current and future NASA missions, including the asteroid redirect mission, human expedition to Mars, deep space exploration beyond low earth orbit, etc.