MICROXACT INC. — National Aeronautics and Space Administration STTR Phase I: T3.01
MICROXACT INC. — STTR Phase I award from National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Phase I STTR feasibility signal
- Phase I awards fund proof-of-concept work. For capture teams, they mark early interest from National Aeronautics and Space Administration 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 $119,963. Cross-check similar awards in the same agency and technology tags for going-rate context.
- Topic code T3.01 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $119,963
- Agency
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Program / Phase
- STTR · Phase I
- Topic
- T3.01
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- VA
- Period
- 2015-06-17 → 2016-06-17
Description
Thermoelectric devices are critical to multiple NASA missions for power conversion with radioisotope sources. At present, commercially available TE devices typically offer limited heat-to-electricity conversion efficiencies, well below the fundamental thermodynamic limit, calling for the development of higher efficiency materials. The team of MicroXact Inc. and Virginia Tech is proposing to develop a revolutionary high efficiency thermoelectric material fabricated on completely new fabrication principles. The proposed material and device will provide NASA with much needed highly efficient (ZT>1.6), macroscopically thick (from 100s of micrometers to over a millimeter) thermoelectric material that will permit >15% conversion efficiency of thermoelectric generation when using high grade space-qualified sources. The proposed material is comprised of PbTe/PbSe three-dimensional "wells" of PbTe/PbSe quantum dot superlattices (QDS) fabricated by a conformal coating of a structured silicon substrate with electrochemical Atomic Layer Deposition (eALD). In Phase I of the project the feasibility of the approach will be demonstrated by proving ZT>1.6. In Phase II the team will fabricate the thermoelectric generator, and will demonstrate conversion efficiencies exceeding 15%. After Phase II, MicroXact will commercialize the technology.