The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is seeking proposals for the development of specialized time-dependent computing code aimed at modeling displacement damage in critical semiconductor components of satellites. The primary objective is to create a tool that can predict the performance degradation of these components following exposure to various radiation sources, particularly in nuclear environments, by simulating radiation transport and energy deposition. This initiative is crucial for enhancing the longevity and functionality of satellite systems, which are vulnerable to radiation damage from particles such as neutrons, protons, and heavy ions. Interested parties should note that the solicitation is set to open on April 23, 2025, with a closing date of May 21, 2025, and can find more details on the DOD SBIR website.

## Description

Because satellites have many semiconductor components that are sensitive to displacement damage, they experience performance and functionality degradation following particle radiation exposure in both natural and nuclear environments. While proton, electron, and heavy ion irradiation all contribute to displacement damage, neutron irradiation is of particular interest owing to neutrons&rsquo; exceptional ability to penetrate deeply. In exoatmospheric conditions, neutrons travel much longer distances before experiencing a collision than in terrestrial environments, further increasing the risk of long-term damage to a system. To better understand how a satellite will perform in nuclear environments and better predict how radiation damage will impact longevity, DTRA seeks to develop a specialized time-dependent computing code which can model displacement damage in critical semiconductor components of satellites with a final objective of predicting changes to device and circuit performance following radiation exposure. The ideal code will allow the user to define the radiation source, materials, and the environment of interest. Radiation sources will minimally include fast neutrons with considerations for energy, uniformity (isotropic versus anisotropic sources), and radiation strength measurements (fluence, dose, and/or dose rate), though protons, heavy ions, and &alpha;-particles may be included. Additionally, &beta;-particles may be included, though utility will be limited to scenarios relating to hardening only. Materials of interest are those associated with critical components such as silicon bipolar technologies, bipolar transistors and integrated circuits, diodes, silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technologies, silicon visible imaging arrays, silicon particle detectors, light emitting diodes (LED), laser diodes, solar cells, and infrared detectors. In addition to silicon, these materials might specifically include germanium, silicon germanium, silicon carbide, gallium nitride, and gallium arsenide. Materials considerations should also include dimensionality, doping, and polycrystalline substances. Environments of interest include those that are static and time-varying and account for contributions to changes to conductivity in a material (i.e., temperature). User-defined environments should also account for plural surrounding materials (i.e., voids, electronics housing, etc.) and associated material interfaces to account for their contributions to displacement damage. Computational processes must account for radiation transport, energy deposition, and displacement damage modeling. Associated outputs should include but are not limited to number of primary knock-on atoms (PKA) per unit volume (inclusion of multiple models for determining displacements per PKA with associated corrections is anticipated), atomic displacement rate density, atomic displacement rate, ray tracing visualization, and relevant statistics to describe model performance and/or fidelity. Displacement damage modeling outputs should include numeric descriptions and visualizations for particles involved in collisions and associated damage cascades. Such outputs could describe the number of collisions a particle experiences, energy transfer associated with such collisions, concentration and identity of displaced particles in a particular sector, and time- and temperature-dependent changes associated with annealing. Visualizations should graphically depict where particles could be expected to come to rest following a collision or involvement in a damage cascade or following annealing. 

## Objective

DTRA seeks specialized time-dependent computing code which can model displacement damage effects in critical semiconductor components of satellites. 

## Phase I

Conduct a proof of concept to identify models, processes, and algorithms most suitable for computationally modeling radiation transport, including calculating energy deposition and visualizing ray tracing. The proof of concept should also identify processes and algorithms most suitable modeling displacement damage and associated numeric descriptions and visualizations, including outputs for the number of PKA per unit volume, atomic displacement rate, atomic displacement rate density, other visual representations, and statistics that describe model performance and/or fidelity. The phase I deliverable is a report and a preliminary proof of concept demonstration that details advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of proposed methods to include confidence metrics.

## Phase II

Develop mature models, processes, and algorithms to improve model performance and fidelity. Phase II deliverables include at least one demonstration, the developed code, associated documentation, and a report that details pertinent technical and computational details and the development approach. Some level of certification and/or validation and verification is required.

## Phase III: Dual Use Applications

Finalize and commercialize software for use by customers (e.g., Government, satellite designers, etc.). Although additional funding may be provided through DoD sources, the awardees should look to other public or private sector funding sources for assistance with transition and commercialization. Dual use applications may include broadening the scope beyond exoatmospheric environments and semi-conductor materials. Additionally, any particle radiation not already included may be included for such applications.

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