RF Architectures Applying Photonic Timing and Routing (RAAPTR)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals to develop radiofrequency (RF) system architectures that employ and maintain optical timing precision in form factors and ruggedness traceable to compact mobile land, air, and space-based defense platforms. The proposals should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in vibration-hardened, ultra-low phase noise photonic oscillators and high-performance analog and digital subsystem architectures. The program aims to develop RF architectures that can overcome known capability gaps inherited from legacy electronic devices and achieve performance levels otherwise not possible with conventional electronic means. • The program is focused on developing RF system architectures that employ optical timing precision. • The proposals should investigate innovative approaches to enable revolutionary advances in vibration-hardened, ultra-low phase noise photonic oscillators. • The program aims to develop RF architectures that can overcome known capability gaps inherited from legacy electronic devices. • The proposals will be evaluated based on their ability to utilize optical devices to achieve performance levels otherwise not possible with conventional electronic means. • The program consists of two phases, with the potential for added work towards system-level demonstrations in Phase 2.