Radiation Hardening of Non-Hardened Commercial Microelectronics
SBIR Opportunity Analysis
The Missile Defense Agency is seeking proposals under a Small Business Innovation Research opportunity to develop a process for radiation hardening commercial, non-hardened microelectronics for space environments. Contractors must use advanced, heterogeneous packaging techniques and chiplets to pair high-performance Commercial Off-The-Shelf components, such as sub-16nm FinFETs or Gate All Around technologies, with slower, radiation-hardened components. This initiative requires meeting a minimum Single Event Latch-up immunity of 75 Linear Energy Transfer and a Total Ionizing Dose survival of 300 kRad without relying on physical shielding or foundry-level mask changes. The project is restricted under ITAR and EAR export control regulations and requires a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 1. Proposals must be submitted between the opening date of July 22, 2026, and the closing deadline of August 19, 2026.