Optical Radiation Cooling and Heating in Integrated Devices (ORCHID)

The summary for the Optical Radiation Cooling and Heating in Integrated Devices (ORCHID) grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the DARPA Microsystems Technology Office, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Optical Radiation Cooling and Heating in Integrated Devices (ORCHID): Amendment 02: The purpose of this amendment is to add information regarding an available teaming website (see page 15 of conformed BAA). This amendment also corrects a typographical error (located on page 20) regarding the maximum number of pages permitted for Volume 1 of the proposal. Please note that the proposal due date remains unchanged. All changes are highlighted in yellow in the attached conformed full BAA document. Original Synopsis Below. DARPA is soliciting innovative research and development (R&D) proposals in the area of cavity-optomechanics. While mechanical properties of light have long been understood, the idea that light can be used to effectively damp the motion of a macroscopic object is quite new. The ORCHID program is focused on exploiting optomechanical interactions between high-Q optical cavities coupled with high-Q mechanical resonators to damp or amplify the motion of macroscopic mechanical devices. In this context, damping does not lower the bulk temperature of a device; instead it affects only a few of the device's vibrational modes. However, it is these same vibrational modes that can perform transduction in mechanical sensors. As a result, this type of damping can be used to control (in situ) the dynamic range and bandwidths of mechanical sensors and to remove constraints imposed by thermal noise. When optomechanical damping (cooling) is strong enough to remove phonons from the relevant modes, the quantum mechanical properties of the device are expected to become manifest, enabling entirely new sensing and signal processing functionality. By contrast, when phonon energy is transferred from the optical cavity to the mechanical oscillator, its motion can be amplified. Thus, another aspect of the ORCHID program focuses on the development of high frequency regenerative optomechanical oscillators. These oscillators are expected to exhibit reduced linewidth and phase noise. They will be unique in the world of oscillators, as they will feature purely optical input and output for both power and signal. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit a proposal abstract or full proposal to this BAA, should be directed to one of the administrative addresses below; e-mail or fax is preferred. (electronic mail: [email protected] , fax: 703-496-2069, DARPA/MTO.) See the full BAA document attached.