Award Data

High brightness X ray sources are large and expensive due to the extreme thermal conditions produced when generating the X rays. Creare proposes to advance the brightness of X ray sources in the 9 11 keV range beyond the current state of the art using an innovative thermal design that builds on Creare’s experience in high heat flux thermal management, vacuum systems, and precision machinery. Dur ...

There is a lack of a non-destructive metrology tool to measure the thickness of thin films on sapphire substrates due to the transparency of the substrate. Leveraging our extensive experience building sensor systems combined with MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s expertise in theoretical modeling, we will design and build an innovative thin film measurement tool using Raman spectroscopy. Our metrology sy ...

This Phase II SBIR proposal aims to develop an x-ray illumination beam system comprising a dual-target x-ray source and a set of magnifying Wolter x-ray optics for use in laboratory-based integrated circuit (IC) inspection x-ray microscopes. Due to the increasing reliance on electronics for military systems and devices, a method to quickly analyze ICs in 3D is critical. X-ray microscopy enabled by ...

Advanced semiconductor devices form the heart of 21st Century technologies. The mission-critical role that these devices play demands exceptional levels of reliability. When a semiconductor device does fail, it is essential that the cause of the failure is identified as quickly as possible, Because of the daunting complexity of an integrated circuit, a significant amount of intricate material rem ...

Awarded Phase I and having completed the Phase I concept and feasibility study of the innovative development of a tool, Thru-Lens Fiducial Marking, that can be integrated into an IR microscope that is able to create fiducial marks on the surface of the backside of silicon, we now propose to embark on Phase II, or implementation of said technology. The current state-of-art in semiconductor device ...

Through-lens laser fiducial marking systems can greatly increase throughput of semiconductor Failure Analysis (FA) labs, that do not have access to CAD drawings of the devices they are trying to analyze.  Creating fiducial marks at points of interest on a semiconductor device allows the device to move and be analyzed by different FA equipment easily and quickly. In Phase I, a suitable laser was ...

Our biosensor is made of silicon nanowire arrays functionalized with antibodies to measure the concentration of specific proteins. In this grant we will take a sensor that has been demonstrated for use in measuring a set of generic host cell proteins and we will apply the sensor to measure a set of proteins for a specific cell line. In doing so, we will demonstrate the utility of our sensor to be ...

This project will develop a new scientific instrument optimized for the advanced characterization of near-infrared fluorescent nanoparticles that can exist as left- or right-handed structures (enantiomers). Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are the leading current example of such nanomaterials. Applied NanoFluorescence, LLC (ANF) proposes a novel multi-mode chiroptical spectrometer that can ...

Alphacore will develop an Intermediate Frequency (IF) Conversion System for High-Bandwidth Multiplexed Sensors Arrays for Phase II of NIST's 2018 soliciation for Exploratory Measurement Science Topic 9.04.02.68.The proposing team has already successfully developed and evaluated a prototype board in Phase I.The goal in Phase II is therefore to achieve three primary objectives:1) Optimize the design ...

Phase I has proven that the current setup achieves better than 8mm spatial resolution for 2.2MeV prompt gammas. However, 1mm spatial resolution presents a significant challenge for the current setup due in part to limited timing resolution and count rate. A new analog ASIC will be developed to replace the current analog ASIC that will have better timing resolution and deliver higher count rates. I ...