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":"We propose to build a high-power, room temperature compact continuous wave terahertz local oscillator for driving heterodyne receivers in the 1-5 THz frequency window. The local oscillator is based on the recently discovered terahertz emission of a high-power infra-red vertical external-cavity optically-pumped surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) when operated under dual-wavelength emission. The dual IR wavelength separation can be easily controlled by placing a thin etalon in the VECSEL cavity and the THz signal (corresponding to the beat frequency) is generated via a nonlinear periodically-poled lithium niobate crystal placed in the cavity. The VECSEL semiconductor gain element is designed and optimized to generate on the order of kilowatt internal circulating infra-red fields in the VECSEL cavity thereby generating tunable THz power in the milliwatt ranage. It is anticipated that this source will have wide applications within NASA and the broader commercial community.","benefits":"The VECSEL THz source has the promise to deliver mW to Watt-level power at frequencies within and beyond the THz gap. While electronic THz sources tend to drop off in power as one enters this gap on the low frequency side, the current VECSEL THz power scales up between linearly and quadratically with increasing frequency. A room temperature mW power laboratory demonstration at 0.765 THz far exceeds the widely published nW-level power demonstrated with room temperature quantum cascade lasers. The VECSEL THz source would have a shoebox size footprint and is both cost and performance competitive with all existing commercial THz technologies. A specific technology currently under investigation with this source is the detection of and countermeasures to Improvised Explosive Devices.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":"We propose to build a high-power, room temperature compact continuous wave terahertz local oscillator for driving heterodyne receivers in the 1-5 THz frequency window. The local oscillator is based on the recently discovered terahertz emission of a high-power infra-red vertical external-cavity optically-pumped surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) when operated under dual-wavelength emission. The dual IR wavelength separation can be easily controlled by placing a thin etalon in the VECSEL cavity and the THz signal (corresponding to the beat frequency) is generated via a nonlinear periodically-poled lithium niobate crystal placed in the cavity. The VECSEL semiconductor gain element is designed and optimized to generate on the order of kilowatt internal circulating infra-red fields in the VECSEL cavity thereby generating tunable THz power in the milliwatt ranage. It is anticipated that this source will have wide applications within NASA and the broader commercial community.","benefits":"The VECSEL THz source has the promise to deliver mW to Watt-level power at frequencies within and beyond the THz gap. While electronic THz sources tend to drop off in power as one enters this gap on the low frequency side, the current VECSEL THz power scales up between linearly and quadratically with increasing frequency. A room temperature mW power laboratory demonstration at 0.765 THz far exceeds the widely published nW-level power demonstrated with room temperature quantum cascade lasers. The VECSEL THz source would have a shoebox size footprint and is both cost and performance competitive with all existing commercial THz technologies. A specific technology currently under investigation with this source is the detection of and countermeasures to Improvised Explosive Devices.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":"We propose to build a high-power, room temperature compact continuous wave terahertz local oscillator for driving heterodyne receivers in the 1-5 THz frequency window. The local oscillator is based on the recently discovered terahertz emission of a high-power infra-red vertical external-cavity optically-pumped surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) when operated under dual-wavelength emission. The dual IR wavelength separation can be easily controlled by placing a thin etalon in the VECSEL cavity and the THz signal (corresponding to the beat frequency) is generated via a nonlinear periodically-poled lithium niobate crystal placed in the cavity. The VECSEL semiconductor gain element is designed and optimized to generate on the order of kilowatt internal circulating infra-red fields in the VECSEL cavity thereby generating tunable THz power in the milliwatt ranage. It is anticipated that this source will have wide applications within NASA and the broader commercial community.","benefits":"The VECSEL THz source has the promise to deliver mW to Watt-level power at frequencies within and beyond the THz gap. While electronic THz sources tend to drop off in power as one enters this gap on the low frequency side, the current VECSEL THz power scales up between linearly and quadratically with increasing frequency. A room temperature mW power laboratory demonstration at 0.765 THz far exceeds the widely published nW-level power demonstrated with room temperature quantum cascade lasers. The VECSEL THz source would have a shoebox size footprint and is both cost and performance competitive with all existing commercial THz technologies. A specific technology currently under investigation with this source is the detection of and countermeasures to Improvised Explosive Devices.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":"The motivation of the proposed SBIR is to develop, demonstrate and commercialize a compact, low-mass, high output power (1-10 milliwatt), tunable source of CW THz radiation operating at room temperature. The source will be useful both as a narrow band frequency stable sources for driving heterodyne receivers at key frequencies between 1 and 5 THz (1.4, 1.9, 2.7, 4.7 etc..) or for laboratory sources to characterize THz components, including MMIC's, or possibly for active spectrometers in an in-situ environment The proposed source would enable the development of THz array receivers for use in space and suborbital missions, or for atmospheric sounders and planetary landers. In Phase 1 our VECSEL THz source, based on intra-cavity difference frequency generation, demonstrated 2mW at 1.9THz running on a finite number of cavity modes with a linewidth per mode of around 1MHz. Desert Beam Technologies will team up TeraVision (Tucson) and with researchers at the Steward Observatory Radio Astronomy Laboratory (SORAL), University of Arizona in Phase 2 to further characterize a breadboard VECSEL 1.9THz system, measure Y-factor and I-V curves, redesign the VECSEL cavity to reduce it to single mode operation and test it as a local oscillator for SORAL's 1.9THz receiver.","benefits":"Current commercially available CW sources are low power (typically between 500 nW and a few micro-Watta) at frequencies within the THz gap that offers unique spectroscopic fingerprints of explosives and chem./bio agents. Desert Beam Technologies VECSEL THz source is capable of delivering mW's of power at any targeted frequency with narrow linewidth < 1 MHz. The company has received NSF SBIR funding to develop a stand-off detection, 3D imaging and spectral fingerprinting system at 820Ghz in an atmospheric transmission window. The Department of Defense has a critical need in Iraq and Afghanistan, for a THz stand-off detection system that would identify explosives hidden under the clothing of a suicide bomber and detect biological contaminants on surfaces.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":"We propose to build a high-power, room temperature compact continuous wave terahertz local oscillator for driving heterodyne receivers in the 1-5 THz frequency window. The local oscillator is based on the recently discovered terahertz emission of a high-power infra-red vertical external-cavity optically-pumped surface-emitting laser (VECSEL) when operated under dual-wavelength emission. The dual IR wavelength separation can be easily controlled by placing a thin etalon in the VECSEL cavity and the THz signal (corresponding to the beat frequency) is generated via a nonlinear periodically-poled lithium niobate crystal placed in the cavity. The VECSEL semiconductor gain element is designed and optimized to generate on the order of kilowatt internal circulating infra-red fields in the VECSEL cavity thereby generating tunable THz power in the milliwatt ranage. It is anticipated that this source will have wide applications within NASA and the broader commercial community.","benefits":"The VECSEL THz source has the promise to deliver mW to Watt-level power at frequencies within and beyond the THz gap. While electronic THz sources tend to drop off in power as one enters this gap on the low frequency side, the current VECSEL THz power scales up between linearly and quadratically with increasing frequency. A room temperature mW power laboratory demonstration at 0.765 THz far exceeds the widely published nW-level power demonstrated with room temperature quantum cascade lasers. The VECSEL THz source would have a shoebox size footprint and is both cost and performance competitive with all existing commercial THz technologies. A specific technology currently under investigation with this source is the detection of and countermeasures to Improvised Explosive Devices.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":"The motivation of the proposed SBIR is to develop, demonstrate and commercialize a compact, low-mass, high output power (1-10 milliwatt), tunable source of CW THz radiation operating at room temperature. The source will be useful both as a narrow band frequency stable sources for driving heterodyne receivers at key frequencies between 1 and 5 THz (1.4, 1.9, 2.7, 4.7 etc..) or for laboratory sources to characterize THz components, including MMIC's, or possibly for active spectrometers in an in-situ environment The proposed source would enable the development of THz array receivers for use in space and suborbital missions, or for atmospheric sounders and planetary landers. In Phase 1 our VECSEL THz source, based on intra-cavity difference frequency generation, demonstrated 2mW at 1.9THz running on a finite number of cavity modes with a linewidth per mode of around 1MHz. Desert Beam Technologies will team up TeraVision (Tucson) and with researchers at the Steward Observatory Radio Astronomy Laboratory (SORAL), University of Arizona in Phase 2 to further characterize a breadboard VECSEL 1.9THz system, measure Y-factor and I-V curves, redesign the VECSEL cavity to reduce it to single mode operation and test it as a local oscillator for SORAL's 1.9THz receiver.","benefits":"Current commercially available CW sources are low power (typically between 500 nW and a few micro-Watta) at frequencies within the THz gap that offers unique spectroscopic fingerprints of explosives and chem./bio agents. Desert Beam Technologies VECSEL THz source is capable of delivering mW's of power at any targeted frequency with narrow linewidth < 1 MHz. The company has received NSF SBIR funding to develop a stand-off detection, 3D imaging and spectral fingerprinting system at 820Ghz in an atmospheric transmission window. The Department of Defense has a critical need in Iraq and Afghanistan, for a THz stand-off detection system that would identify explosives hidden under the clothing of a suicide bomber and detect biological contaminants on surfaces.