ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for efforts that will advance and demonstrate science and technology for next generation electronics and devices under the following focus area: Low Noise, Interference-Tolerant W-Band Receiver Component and Chain Development Background: Advances in device technology, combined with growing spectral congestion, are encouraging exploitation of increasingly higher frequency bands for active sensors/imagers and high data rate terrestrial and satellite communications links. Current solid state device technologies such as Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based HEMTs have achieved significant advances in transmit output power at W-Band (75-110 GHz), which serves as an enabling capability for high data rate communication, active sensors, and for anticipated Navy Electronic Warfare (EW) requirements. Recent advances in solid state device frequency performance will similarly enable significant performance gains in low-noise amplifiers (LNA's) and W-band receivers. Focus Area: The goal of this BAA is to stimulate innovative proposals that offer compelling advances in receiver technology for W-band. Offerors may propose to address specific receiver chain components but in each case must demonstrate how the effort will advance the current state of the art, and discuss how the improvement will impact overall receiver performance. Complete receiver subsystems are not sought; however proposals that choose to address an overall system concept should demonstrate innovation in each individual block of the receiver chain. Emerging requirements for W-band receiver technology represent a diversity of required performance capabilities. Rather than tailoring this solicitation towards a specific requirement, the goal is to advance performance significantly over the current state of the art and encourage component innovation. The frequency band of interest is 75-110 GHz with a minimum instantaneous bandwidth of 4 GHz. Preferred solutions will be operable over the entire frequency band of interest. Highly survivable RF electronics approaches that minimize overall noise figure and maximize dynamic range will be shown special consideration. The offeror should discuss in depth and quantify specific outcomes of its proposed effort that will advance a capability such as interference immune receive or high data rate reception for particular modulation and signaling schemes. Where applicable, performance improvements can be demonstrated by simulations based on government referenced architectures.