Cryogenic Microphotonic Accelerometer

Accelerometers, which are required for vibration cancellation, that can operate in extreme conditions, especially in the high radiation environments around Jupiter's moons are currently not available. The innovative claims for the proposed effort are as follows: Cryogenic operation enabled; Magnetic field tolerant; A shock and vibration immune high sensitivity opto-electronic platform will be demonstrated and packaged for the first time; The sensitivity as well as the bias drift of the accelerometer will be two orders of magnitude higher than existing MEMS devices; the high sensitivity of the device will be compensated by its large dynamic range to ensure vibration and shock survivability; The power consumption of the assembled device will be less than a quarter of a Watt; Has a clear path to radiation hardening. The team will determine the viability of the opto-electro-mechanical technology and its applicability to acceleration sensing at low temperatures. The underpinning of Phase I of this effort is the development of a high-Q optically driven MEMS resonator as well as auxiliary optics and electronics allowing compact packaging of the device. An early demonstration of this capability will be made and a clear improvement path will be developed to further improve the performance.

The proposal is related to section "S1.09 Cryogenic Systems for Sensors and Detectors" of the call and is significant for solving the challenge of creation of a cryogenic accelerometer that can operate at 150 K, withstand a 0.01 Tesla magnetic field and are radiation hard to 2-5 megarads.

OEwaves’ commercialization strategy for the highest accuracy and smallest CMOS-compatible optomechanical accelerometer proposed includes sales to DoD as well as commercial inertial navigation system (INS) applications suitable for land, airborne (particularly UAVs), and naval platforms.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.