Development of Novel Miniature Reserve Batteries on the Chip

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) Announcement April 1, 2021: ASO issued for pre-release April 14, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals May 20, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt : Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification. Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. Effective with this announcement, firms are required to register for a login.gov account and link it to their DSIP account. See section 4.14 for more information regarding registration. The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by emailing [email protected]. Help Desk: If you have questions about the Defense Department's SBIR or STTR Programs, please call the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at 1-703-214-1333, or email to [email protected]. Topic Q&A : The Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on April 1, 2021 and closes to new questions on May 4, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET. Proposers may submit written questions through Topic Q&A at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login or through the SBIR Mailbox at usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.army-applied-sbir-program@mail.mil. In Topic Q&A, the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic’s requirements. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through Topic Q&A. Proposing firms are advised to monitor Topic Q&A during the BAA period for questions and answers. Proposing firms should also frequently monitor DSIP for updates and amendments to the topics. This Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/b79ded14dcf54451bcfb11bddf5cd259/view?keywords=%22army%20sbir%22&sort=-relevance&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1. a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this BAA, Department of the Army will accept Phase I proposals for the cost of up to $259,613 for a 6-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this ASO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase I proposals shall not exceed 5 pages. Phase I commercialization strategy shall not exceed 2 pages. This should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against the 5-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal preparation. c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this ASO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume, and Company Commercialization Report inclusive of supporting documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Army SBIR 21.4 Topic Index A214-008 Development of Novel Miniature Reserve Batteries on the Chip OBJECTIVE: Develop a micro-scale reserve battery on-the-chip that can be directly integrated into electronic devices, sensors and other power consuming components of munitions. Integration can be a stand-alone battery on the chip, or the stored electrical energy can be integrated and reside with the electronics. Solutions must be gun-hardened and the performance of the battery on the chip must not be sensitive to spin caused by the firing of munitions. DESCRIPTION: The proposed reserve batteries on-the-chip should be capable of being fabricated in an array of configurations and be individually activated to achieve the required power of the various munition components on demand. The proposed micro-scale reserve battery on-the-chip technologies must provide multiple voltage outputs and multiple current outputs. These outputs must be configurable by means of programming steps as required by the host system in order to achieve minimum power loss in voltage conversion and meet multiple power requirements in military systems at optimum efficiency. The proposed reserve batteries must also be suitable for currently available low-cost mass fabrication techniques. Recent advancements in high energy density electrochemistries has provided the opportunity to develop miniaturizable power supplies to meet a wide range of power requirements. Applications for consideration are munitions and fuzing systems which undergo high set-back acceleration forces and flight vibrations. Primary sets of applications include large and medium caliber munitions (e.g. 30 mm rounds with set-back application up to 100,000G’s). The power sources needed are reserve power sources which must function under spin rates from 15 Hz to 1,000 Hz. The micro-scale reserve batteries may also be activated following events during a munition’s ballistic flight and minimize unexploded ordnance and other safety and security issues. It is highly desirable that the proposed micro-scale reserve batteries technologies are capable of being manufactured at the end of a Phase 2 for transition to medium and large caliber applications. The proposed technology must also demonstrate the capability to maintain at least a 20-year shelf life, as well as the capability of operating and being stored anywhere in the military temperature range of -65 degrees Fahrenheit to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. PHASE I: Conduct a systematic feasibility study of the proposed micro-scale reserve battery on-the-chip technologies and their suitability for use in munitions in terms of (a) possibility of being hardened to the firing and flight environment; (b) operation in the entire military temperature range of -65 deg. F to 165 deg. F; and (c) shelf-life of over 20 years. The study must also address the manufacturing-related issues and show that the batteries can be produced with currently available low-cost mass fabrication techniques. The Phase I efforts must also include a multi-disciplinary approach to the planning of the efforts needed during the Phase II of the project in preparation for the project Phase III. PHASE II: Develop prototypes of micro-scale reserve batteries on-the-chip and demonstrate their performance in powering the selected electronic and sensory components that are to be identified by the project Army technical POC team during the Phase I of the project. The prototypes must also be tested during the Phase II period for shock loading survivability and extreme temperature performance together with an initial study showing a 20-year shelf-life capability. PHASE III: This technology would apply to almost all gun-fired munitions, mortars, and rockets. The commercial use could apply to the powering of emergency remote sensors and medical devices such as defibrillators. KEYWORDS: Power; Battery; Micro-scale battery on a chip; Munitions; Miniaturized power; REFERENCES: W. Lee, J. W. Han, Y. Chen, Z. 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