Description
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative solutions in the technical area of materials analysis, including surface and bulk analysis of molecular structure, elemental composition, trace elements and isotope ratios in samples, to be conducted under ambient conditions, without the need for special sample preparation. The goal of the Multi Modal Materials Analysis (MMoMA) program is to develop a capability that can swiftly extract the maximum possible amount of information from a single sample of any composition. The program aims to explore innovative methods to combine a single excitation source of continuously variable intensity with multiple detection methods and in-situ data fusion for assessing features such as a sample’s composition, origin, production method, processing location, and/or other signatures of interest.
• The program will focus on developing a configurable excitation source capable of analyzing samples and generating excitations of molecular, atomic and nuclear signatures.
• The program will also focus on developing detectors that can cover signatures across a broad range of energies.
• The program will develop data fusion methods that can analyze data of signature streams in real time to provide in-situ adaptive feedback to modules during analysis scans.
• The program will conduct round-robin studies to evaluate the performance of the developed capabilities.
• The program will assess the value of a potential future field-deployable prototype.