Company
Portfolio Data
Back to Company SearchQORTEK INC
UEI: TLD8L3APDZM3
Number of Employees: 66
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
SBIR/STTR Involvement
Year of first award: 1996
88
Phase I Awards
50
Phase II Awards
56.82%
Conversion Rate
$10,336,598
Phase I Dollars
$52,441,182
Phase II Dollars
$62,777,779
Total Awarded
Awards
Modernized Sonar Transmit Electronics
Amount: $1,382,745 Topic: N242-D11
While the AN/SQS-53C continues to provide the Navy with highly capable and adaptable sonar capabilities and performance, these aging systems provide growing procurement and maintenance challenges. Since these systems were designed and manufactured in the 80’s and early 90’s, power electronics device technologies and manufacturing techniques have vastly improved. QorTek aims to resolve these issues by providing designs based on modern techniques that are both rapidly manufacturable and more cost effective while providing paths for significant performance improvements. QorTek will develop retrofit AN/SQS-53C transmitter cabinets as highly manufacturable high-performance replacements with future capability upgrades. Along with enhanced performance, QorTek’s solution integrates advanced Performance Monitoring / Fault Localization (PMFL) capabilities, which have been extended beyond basic power and fault detection to allow health management on local and connected sub-systems to detect degrading equipment and enable the implementation of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) for more informed maintenance cycles. An additional program goal is to ensure these modernized components are ready for next generation technology enhancements to surrounding interfaces, while retaining compatibility with the existing architecture.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2025
DOD
NAVY
Flow Exposed Conformal Array Acoustic Elements
Amount: $139,292 Topic: N252-098
QorTek, Inc. is developing a modular hull-mounted passive hydrophone system to address the Navy's need for an easily serviceable sonar array facilitating peak system readiness. Utilizing our textured piezoceramic materials (TX101) and leveraging our design expertise, we aim to create a robust system that withstands explosive shocks while also not only enabling but simplifying maintenance allowing for pier side upkeep by divers. Our vertically integrated approach includes in-house design, fabrication, and testing of piezo elements, pre-amplifiers, and complete hydrophone assemblies. Initial prototype testing and simulations will guide the development of a robust, modular hydrophone array that meets the Navy's stringent requirements.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2025
DOD
NAVY
Second Order Acoustic Vector Sensors
Amount: $239,557 Topic: N252-090
As anti-submarine warfare (ASW) technologies expanded rapidly during the Cold War, key capabilities have been deployed including the use of active/passive sonobuoys to search for and locate adversarial ships. Throughout the years AN/SSQ-53, AN/SSQ62, and AN/SSW101 buoys have been a staple for the US Navy. The Navy is looking for next generation designs to maintain acoustic superiority. QorTek is proposing three dyadic second order vector sensor designs to cover two frequency bands. These designs promise increased directivity and lower system noise. Performance is additional augmented using QorTekís Textured TX101 material that can achieve up to 10dB improved sensitivity while lowering piezoelectric noise.Ý
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2025
DOD
NAVY
Scalable High Frequency Transmit/Receive Array for Multiple Unmanned Underwater Vehicle and Torpedo Applications
Amount: $985,821 Topic: N24A-T012
This effort aims to develop textured ceramics enabled high frequency sonar transmit/receive array technology that is scalable and configurable for next generation high frequency (HF) search and acoustic communications (ACOMS) requirements. The effort will consider designs that are directly applicable to Navy UUV, and torpedo needs along with many other expendable systems, autonomous vehicles, and mine hunting devices. The design effort will focus on improving upon existing concepts with government rights to a sensor and array design, and further optimizing it according to TX101 textured piezoceramic materials. The major thrust in this program will be to build and demonstrate a full-up sonar array at transition application relevant conditions. Additional engineering efforts will focus on a streamlining the manufacturing of transducer elements and improved producibility and affordability of sonar array.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase II
2025
DOD
NAVY
Revised Low Cost Actuators
Amount: $149,853 Topic: MDA23-006
The program aims to develop a new compact, high temperature (150░C withstand) operational solid-state actuator technology aimed at hypersonic missile and munition applications that will decrease cost and improve existing actuator performance. These new actuators will meet stall loads of 5000 N, provide an actuation speed of 100 mm/s, and enabling stroke of up to 5 cm. The design will incorporate QorTek advanced TX101 textured ceramic actuation elements delivering strain (displacement) approximately 2 times greater than conventional piezo ceramics. Importantly, TX101 shows no reduction in performance up to 150░C. Further available is our HT301 piezoceramic with even higher operational temperature of 300░C (3 times that of conventional piezoceramics). QorTek will develop an innovative large force/stroke piezoelectric linear motor/actuator incorporating this high temperature material as their active elements. Phase I will focus on simulation and testing of critical subsystems, with a phase I exit of a down selected design, which will be prototyped in Phase II. Approved for Public Release | 23-MDA-11635 (9 Nov 23)
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2024
DOD
MDA
Open Architecture Telemetry First Level Multiplexer with Array Power Distribution
Amount: $1,248,492 Topic: N231-034
As anti-submarine warfare (ASW) technologies expanded rapidly during the Cold War, towed array systems such as Surveillance Towed Array Sonar System (SURTASS) were deployed with outstanding success at detecting submarines. Later TB-29(A) and TB-34 along with the Multi-Function Towed Array (MFTA) have further increased detection capabilities. This proposal aims to develop an OAT first level multiplexer that incorporates array power distribution functions. QorTek will take innovative packaging approaches to integrate the power regulator components into the already compact packaging requirements. QorTek plans to use Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to perform thermal simulations to ensure there is adequate heatsinking and design margin for reliable operation. QorTek will leverage design experience to make the telemetry electronics as dense as possible while designing for manufacturability.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2024
DOD
NAVY
Advanced Manufacturing of Piezoelectric Textured Ceramic Materials
Amount: $1,999,846 Topic: N222-111
Textured piezoceramics’ recent expanded commercial availability in wide range of size, quantity, and form factor as well as the successful demonstrations poised to ignite strong further interest in their integration into undersea acoustic systems as to significantly improve operational capabilities. As is now known, textured ceramic materials have electromechanical properties between those of conventional PZT and relaxor PMN-PT single crystals with large advantages over both. Textured piezoceramics show ability to increase source level and improve sensitivity; their larger bandwidth relative to PZT for a specific design and form factor opens new design space for acoustic systems as it can enhance both the probability of target detection (i.e., ability to detect quieter enemy submarines), enable longer operational life of power source limited systems (i.e., expendable sensors), and extend target detection ranges in physical volume limited applications by enabling lower frequency transducer designs in a smaller form factor. Because of the combined gains in key metrics, Textured ceramics emerge as an alternative transduction material filling the gap between legacy PZT and Single Crystal. Despite the growing interest and successful demonstrations, there remain key obstacles towards a widescale market acceptance in terms of production capacity, yield, and comparable purchase costs to legacy PZT materials. These limitations represent a critical risk to transition into major high volume Navy applications, specifically in expendable systems where transduction materials are required to be high volume manufacturable without shape and size limitation with high yield and at comparable costs and consistency to PZT equivalents. The identified manufacturing issues are rooted in non-standard textured piezoceramic specific processing steps (i.e., template, slurry, wet forming, and BBO) that are not part of a PZT production causing yield issues. This program will focus on addressing these yield, throughput and cost issues as to enable textured piezoceramic parts approach the baseline cost and availability of standard piezoceramic parts in use by US Navy.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2024
DOD
NAVY
Dynamic Power Conversion
Amount: $150,000 Topic: S13
This project aims to produce a small, very high performance, radhard, modular AC-DC Fission Surface Power (FSP) controller that incorporates a novel fine dust and EM mitigation solutions. The program focus is to develop a small radhard power manager for a lunar rover mounted FSP generator enabling long duration operation in dark conditions. The solution is based on advances in radhard ASIC controller/modulator technology and radhard bidirectional wide bandgap (WBG) bidirectional converter power topology. Future work will expand to extending the controller system to a novel GaN-based bidirectional isolated converter for system-level demonstration meeting lunar and M2M Surface mission needs, especially in regard to supporting lander and rover missions. Our initial focus being development of small nuclear fission power delivery based on power electronics that can safely operate in lunar radiation/dust environments while providing power generation in the dark conditions as to enable long duration exploration in permanently shadowed areas or during lunar nights.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2024
NASA
N221 - 065 - Low Cost, Small Form Factor Scalable Receivable Array
Amount: $1,358,282 Topic: N221-065
The proposed Modular Expansive Spectrum Passive Receiver (MESPR) system is based on Modern COTS-based data acquisition and high-speed serializer/deserializer (SerDes) communication technologies to realize a receiver architecture that is adaptable to a wide range of frequencies and sensor configurations (conformal, planar, line, and volumetric arrays etc.) while maintaining effective size, power, and cost metrics. The program aims to establish a baseline design for MESPR by leveraging COTS-based electronics and commercially available interface systems. The objective for the proposed work is to establish a modular approach that allows the main elements to remain largely unaltered across a range of applications with various frequencies of interest, hydrophone geometries, ceramic materials, and applications. The system will leverage advanced system on chip processing technologies and benefit from application and compatibility with emerging sensor technologies such as QorTek’s TX101 textured ceramic.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2024
DOD
NAVY
Advanced Piezoelectric Materials in Maritime Surveillance Systems
Amount: $1,347,990 Topic: N221-042
As the ocean ambient background noise levels have increased and foreign adversary submarines have become quieter the U.S. Navy’s need to outpace developing threats is as urgent as it was during the Cold War. In order to maintain a competitive advantage new materials, devices and systems must be quickly developed and fielded in a cost-effective way. During this project QorTek will utilize its advanced textures piezoelectric ceramics, TX101. Which has shown sensitivity improvements of 6-12 dB over convention piezo ceramics. Texture ceramics are considerably more durable than single crystal piezo and can be manufactured in large volumes at a lower cost. TX101 will be coupled with a novel accelerometer and hydrophones designs, to produce a next generation vector sensor. Building on the success of the Phase I SBIR and moving into the Phase II, QorTek's overall objectives are to increase the sensitivity of the accelerometers and hydrophone, while packaged in a housing capable of withstanding water pressures as high as 10 KPsi and mission lengths in excess of 20 years.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase II
2024
DOD
NAVY