Photonics and Semiconductor Firms Receive almost $10M from USPAE

Seven microelectronics firms have received almost $10 million in combined funding to commercialize technologies of interest to the U.S. military as winners of the Defense Business Accelerator (DBX) Microelectronics Challenge. The Department of Defense (DOD)-funded initiative is led by the U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE).

After evaluation of 279 submissions received via an open solicitation, 25 finalists pitched their ideas at the Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit on Nov. 28. A panel of industry experts, investors, and a DOD representative judged the presentations, selecting the following seven challenge winners for a combined $9.6 million in funding: Freedom Photonics LLC ($1,500,000), Momentum Optics ($1,675,000), Mosaic Microsystems ($1,000,000), SiliconCore Technology Inc. ($1,675,000), PseudolithIC Inc. ($1,000,000), Gigantor Technologies ($2,000,000), and Soctera Inc. ($750,000).

In addition to funding, the companies will receive commercialization support through an ongoing accelerator program that includes one-on-one coaching, access to resources, and more. The accelerator’s goal is to mature the technology and to scale the domestic business to fill critical gaps within the microelectronics supply chain.

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Published: December 2023

Glossary

photonics: The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
integrated photonics: Integrated photonics is a field of study and technology that involves the integration of optical components, such as lasers, modulators, detectors, and waveguides, on a single chip or substrate. The goal of integrated photonics is to miniaturize and consolidate optical elements in a manner similar to the integration of electronic components on a microchip in traditional integrated circuits. Key aspects of integrated photonics include: Miniaturization: Integrated photonics aims to...
glass: A noncrystalline, inorganic mixture of various metallic oxides fused by heating with glassifiers such as silica, or boric or phosphoric oxides. Common window or bottle glass is a mixture of soda, lime and sand, melted and cast, rolled or blown to shape. Most glasses are transparent in the visible spectrum and up to about 2.5 µm in the infrared, but some are opaque such as natural obsidian; these are, nevertheless, useful as mirror blanks. Traces of some elements such as cobalt, copper and...
substrate: A substrate refers to a material or surface upon which another material or process is applied or deposited. In various fields, such as electronics, biology, chemistry, and manufacturing, the term "substrate" is used with specific contexts, but the fundamental definition remains consistent: it is the underlying material or surface that provides a foundation for subsequent processes or applications. Here are some examples of how a substrate is used in different fields: Electronics: In...
semiconductor: A semiconductor is a type of material that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. In other words, semiconductors have properties that are intermediate between metals (good conductors of electricity) and insulators (poor conductors of electricity). The conductivity of a semiconductor can be controlled and modified by factors such as temperature, impurities, or an applied electric field. The most common semiconductors are crystalline solids, and they are...
artificial intelligence: The ability of a machine to perform certain complex functions normally associated with human intelligence, such as judgment, pattern recognition, understanding, learning, planning, and problem solving.

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