Fast and Curious

Background
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is issuing a Disruption Opportunity (DO) under the Program Announcement for Disruptioneering, DARPA-PA-25-07. This initiative invites submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of microsystems for computing, with the goal of advancing technology that can operate effectively in high radiation environments.

All awards will be made in the form of an Other Transaction (OT) for Prototype project.

Work Details
The contract involves two sequential project phases: Phase 1 and Phase 2, each lasting 18 months, with a combined maximum duration of 36 months.

In Phase 1, performers must establish the feasibility of new logic technology as a digital computing primitive. Key milestones include demonstrating an exclusive OR (XOR) gate with voltage gain by month 9 and a complete adder by month 16, ensuring operation with no crosstalk and compatibility with standard CMOS back-end-of-line (BEOL) processing.

Phase 2 focuses on demonstrating the integrability and scalability of this technology at the systems level, requiring a GPS5 correlator with over 2,000 transistors compatible with multi-level BEOL processes. Performers will also develop logic gates with picosecond switching speeds and one attojoule switching energy, achieving significant power efficiency improvements over CMOS technology. The proposal must include theoretical analysis and experimental evidence to validate device- and material-level parameters necessary for system-level operation.

Period of Performance
The contract will be performed over a total period not exceeding 36 months, divided into two phases: Phase 1 lasting 18 months and Phase 2 also lasting 18 months.