MICROLINK DEVICES INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF193-CSO1
MICROLINK DEVICES INC — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Defense.
Phase I SBIR feasibility signal
- Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from Department of Defense in a technical approach.
- Watch for Phase II follow-ons from the same firm/topic family — that conversion path is where budgets and transition pressure rise.
- Obligated amount $50,000. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
- Topic code AF193-CSO1 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $50,000
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Air Force
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- Topic
- AF193-CSO1
- Solicitation
- DoD SBIR X19.2
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- IL
- Period
- 2019-12-12 → 2020-12-12
Description
MicroLink Devices fabricates inverted metamorphic triple junction solar cells that are removed from their growth substrate by epitaxial lift-off, making them ultrathin, flexible, and extremely efficient (30% production level at AM0 solar spectra). These cells are currently sold to customers fabricating high-altitude long-endurance UAVs. MicroLink plans to expand its portfolio by fabricating space-qualified IMM solar cells. Changes in the solar cell structure, including thinner absorber layers and lower doping, are required for improved radiation tolerance. Layers that can reflect light back into a subcell will allow for thinner absorber layers. In this effort, MicroLink will fabricate a distributed Bragg reflector to reflect long wavelength light (800nm-875nm) back into the middle GaAs subcell, allowing its absorber layer to be thinned from >3 microns to ~1micron. The decreased thickness will improve the cell’s radiation tolerance dramatically.