Part of the DoW SBIR/STTR FY27 Release 2 topic list. Browse all 83 topics by industry or service.
Topic DTR27BZ02-NV005 from the DoW SBIR 2027 BAA, Release 2. Pre-release now; proposals due January 6, 2027, 12:00 PM ET.
Quick answer
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) wants U.S. synthesis, purification, and quality-assurance processes for high-purity precursor materials used to grow scintillator crystals such as LaBr3:Ce, CLYC, CLLB, and GGAG. This is an SBIR topic that starts with a Phase I proof-of-principle batch. Proposals are due January 6, 2027, 12:00 PM ET.
Solicitation at a glance
- Topic number: DTR27BZ02-NV005
- Official title: Domestic Fabrication Of High-Purity Precursor Materials For Advanced Radiation Detection Scintillator Crystals
- Agency: Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- Program: SBIR (DoW SBIR 2027 BAA, Release 2)
- Award type: Phase I (see topic text for Phase II)
- Award amount: Up to $250,000 (7 months, plus up to $6,500 TABA). Source: DTRA Release 2 instructions in DSIP.
- CMMC level: Level 1
- ITAR: No
- Technology areas: Materials, Sensors
- Pre-release (direct TPOC contact allowed): November 4 to December 2, 2026, 8:00 AM ET
- Opens in DSIP: December 2, 2026, 8:00 AM ET
- Proposals due: January 6, 2027, 12:00 PM ET
- Official source: DSIP Topics app (search DTR27BZ02-NV005)
BW&CO's take
What the Defense Threat Reduction Agency wants
Precursors for radiation detection scintillators, such as anhydrous halides and rare earth oxides, depend heavily on foreign sources, and poor precursor quality degrades light yield, energy resolution, and pulse-shape discrimination. DTRA wants a domestic process that makes scintillator-grade material: at least 4N purity, sub-ppm interfering metals, under 50 ppm moisture/oxygen for hygroscopic materials, precise stoichiometry for elpasolites, and low radioactive impurities. Phase I includes a supply-chain assessment and at least one lab-scale batch (e.g., 50-100 g) validated by quick screening such as small-scale crystal growth. Phase II scales toward kilogram batches, grows test crystals of at least 1 cm3, and targets a TRL 5 manufacturing process.
Who is a good fit
- Inorganic synthesis and purification of anhydrous metal halides or rare earth oxides under tight moisture and oxygen control
- Trace-metal and trace-moisture analytical capability to prove purity and stoichiometry
- Crystal growth or scintillator characterization in house, or a ready partner for it (light yield, energy resolution at 662 keV, PSD)
- Documented U.S. or allied feedstock sources and willingness to make the resulting material commercially available to the broader U.S. industrial base
Watch-outs
- Proposed work must include validation; Phase I needs at least rapid feasibility screening and benchmarking against commercially available material or crystals.
- The resulting materials must be made commercially available to the broader U.S. industrial base, not tied up in exclusive licenses or proprietary arrangements.
- Primary use of U.S. or allied feedstock and equipment with documented traceability is a minimum specification.
- The topic lists CMMC Level 1. Direct contact with the topic authors is allowed only during pre-release, which ends when the topic opens December 2, 2026, 8:00 AM ET.
Think your company fits DTR27BZ02-NV005? Talk with BW&CO before the January 6 deadline.
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Official topic text (verbatim from DSIP)
The text in this section is copied word for word from the official DSIP topic as published on November 4, 2026. DSIP is the official source and topics can be amended. Always confirm the current version at dodsbirsttr.mil before you submit. Our commentary above is BW&CO's interpretation, not Government guidance.
Title
Domestic Fabrication Of High-Purity Precursor Materials For Advanced Radiation Detection Scintillator Crystals
Objective
DTRA seeks to establish reliable, scalable, and secure domestic sources and fabrication processes for high-purity precursor materials or pre-reacted mixes required for the growth of advanced inorganic scintillator crystals, such as LaBr₃:Ce, GGAG:Ce (GGAG), Cs₂LiYCl₆:Ce (CLYC), Cs₂LiLaBr₆:Ce (CLLB), and other materials. These materials are essential for high-resolution gamma spectroscopy and dual gamma/neutron pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) detectors used in Radiation Isotope Identification Devices (RIIDs), handheld identifiers, and other Department of War (DoW) radiation detection systems.
Description
High-purity precursor materials are the foundational input for all high-performance inorganic scintillator crystals used in the DoW radiation detection and nuclear forensics missions. Current supply chains for key halides (e.g., LaCl₃, LaBr₃, YCl₃, LiCl, CsCl, CeCl3 etc.) and rare earth oxides (e.g., Gd2O3, CeO2, etc.) are heavily dependent on foreign sources. Several of the materials used for inorganic scintillator crystal growth are included in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2025 List of Critical Minerals. This need is further reinforced by Executive Order 14415, "Securing America's Defense Supply Chains and Ensuring Domestic Acquisition of Critical Materials" (July 20, 2026), which directs the DoW to prioritize domestic sources for critical materials, restrict routine waivers for adversarial foreign suppliers effective January 1, 2027, and require supply chain mapping and mitigation plans from contractors and subcontractors.
Scaling crystal growth of these scintillators and maintaining consistent performance requires precursor materials with stringent control of purity, stoichiometry, moisture, and trace radioactive contaminants. Poor quality precursor materials often introduce variability that degrades crystal quality, light yield, energy resolution, and PSD figure-of-merit.
Desired materials typically have the following attributes, confirmed by analytical means and demonstrated by crystal growth results:
- High Chemical Purity: At least ≥4N (99.99%) anhydrous metal halides or pre-reacted mixes; sub-ppm levels of contaminants that interfere with the selected scintillator’s performance, such as transition metals (e.g., Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu) and alkali contaminants (e.g., K, Rb).
- Low Moisture / Oxygen Content: < 50 ppm (minimum) for hygroscopic materials.
- Precise Stoichiometry Control (for pre-reacted elpasolites): Precise control of multi-cation ratios to enable growth of phase-pure crystals with minimal secondary phases or compositional gradients
- Radioactive Impurity Control: Minimized 40K, 87Rb, 138La, 176Lu, and U/Th series contaminants to levels supporting low-background detector applications
This topic specifically targets the development of domestic synthesis, purification and quality-assurance processes capable of producing scintillator-grade precursor materials at laboratory, pilot, and eventually production scales. The goal is to reduce or eliminate reliance on foreign sources while enabling the next generation of compact, high-performance, ruggedized detectors for WMD detection and nuclear security applications.
The solution must meet the following minimum specifications:
- Analytical Characterization: Comprehensive analytical characterization confirming chemical purity, low moisture/oxygen content (if applicable) and stochiometric control. Appropriate methods should be used for trace-metal purity or trace moisture measurement.
- Domestic Feedstock Utilization: Primary use of U.S. or allied-nation sourced precursor materials (e.g. carbonates, oxides, chlorides) and any specialized equipment with documented traceability.
- Validation Method: Rapid feasibility screening of material performance, which may include small-scale crystal growth and measurements such as powder radioluminescence or optical transmittance.
- Production Scale: Reliable and reproducible laboratory-scale batches (e.g., 50-100 g) in Phase I; pilot-scale (e.g., 1–5 kg) in Phase II with batch-to-batch consistency. Ultimately, the focus is on material quality and potential for process scale up.
- Open market commercialization: Process development must lead to high-purity precursor materials made commercially available to the broader U.S. industrial base, rather than exclusive licenses, proprietary arrangements, or other restrictions.
Objective specifications (desired but not required for basic consideration):
- Advanced Validation Method: Produced batches must be validated through single crystal growth and complete radiation detection performance benchmarking against commercially available crystals, to include absolute light yield (photons/MeV), energy resolution at 662 keV, and PSD where applicable.
- Production Scale: Demonstration of multi-kilogram batch yields achieving or with a roadmap to achieve cost competitiveness with foreign-sourced material.
- Radiopurity: Identification of means to mitigate or minimize naturally occurring radioactive isotopes that impact detector background.
- Extensibility: Tailoring materials to be directly compatible with transparent ceramic scintillator fabrication processes (e.g. desirable particle size distribution and particle morphology).
This effort shall develop reliable domestic manufacturing processes for high-purity scintillator precursor materials while meeting the performance parameters above. Proposed work must include validation. The developed processes and materials will also be tested and validated in Phase II by delivery to DTRA or a designated partner for independent evaluation.
Phase I
Phase I focuses on conceptualizing the approach and proof-of-principle for the fabrication process, with an emphasis on material synthesis and purity.
In Phase I, offerors shall perform a thorough assessment of current domestic and allied precursor supply chains for a select scintillator composition(s) of interest to DTRA (e.g., LaBr₃:Ce, CLYC, CLLB, GGAG, or related materials). This assessment shall consist of market research, identification of viable U.S. and/or allied material sources (including secondary chemicals and any specialized equipment), and technical risk analysis of purification and/or synthesis routes.
Following the assessment, a specific technical approach and one primary scintillator material system shall be selected for proof-of-principle. A laboratory-scale fabrication process shall be designed and demonstrated, producing at least one batch (e.g., 50-100 g total) of high-purity material. The process must demonstrate control of chemical purity, moisture, and stoichiometry. At a minimum, validation shall include rapid feasibility screening of the produced material, such as small-scale crystal growth and basic scintillation or optical properties characterization, and benchmarking against commercially-available material and/or crystals.
The Phase I final report shall include:
- Detailed supply-chain and market assessment with identified domestic precursor material sources, to include secondary chemicals and equipment used during synthesis and/or purification procedures, and any identified gaps
- Technical rationale for chosen precursor approach and compositions, supported by modeling and/or literature where applicable
- Detailed description of the developed laboratory-scale fabrication/purification process
- Analytical characterization results (e.g. chemical purity, moisture content if applicable, stoichiometry verification)
- Validation results, including test sample fabrication and characterization results.
- Yield assessment: Percentage of fabricated batches meeting target specifications and lessons learned for scale-up.
- Assessment of methods for achieving and/or improving radiopurity.
Phase II
Phase II focuses on validating crystal growth and scintillation performance, process refinement, and scaling up the process from the laboratory-scale. The goal is a manufacturing process achieving TRL 5, with consistent batch-to-batch performance that supports reliable crystal growth yields and scintillation properties.
Validation shall include growing and characterizing test crystals (≥1 cm³). Key scintillator metrics to be characterized include but are not limited to energy resolution at 662 keV, absolute light yield (photons/MeV), and PSD if applicable. This validation may be done in-house, if the offer is capable. Offers are also encouraged to engage with a partner if this validation is outside their primary area of expertise, such as sending material to a crystal growth collaborator or sending crystals to a radiation detection characterization collaborator. Performance should be benchmarked against commercially-available crystals or crystals grown using commercially available feedstock. Crystals grown from at least one batch shall undergo independent detector fabrication/evaluation in a representative radiation detection system, which will be facilitated by DTRA.
Year 1: Focus on process optimization, reproducibility, and consistency of small batches (e.g., hundreds of grams), culminating in single crystal growth and scintillator performance validation.
Year 2: Refine the process from validation findings and scale the process to larger batch sizes (e.g., several kilograms). Perform independent evaluation of scintillation crystals produced via this process in a representative detector system, facilitated by DTRA.
The final report shall document the refined process, throughput, analytical quality control procedures, cost model, validation results, and percentage of output meeting all specifications. Grown crystals shall be delivered to DTRA. A clear pathway to Phase III commercial transition and DoW supply integration shall be provided.
Phase III Dual Use Applications
Optional phase to continue scale-up, establish pilot production capability, and transition the domestic precursor materials manufacturing process to commercial or DoW-qualified production. The objective is to achieve cost-competitive, on-shore supply of scintillator-grade precursor materials that can support multiple DoW programs and commercial radiation detection markets. This phase may include qualification of the material in full-scale radiation detector systems, establishment of quality management systems (e.g., ISO or equivalent), and exploration of dual-use applications in medical imaging or homeland security.
References
EO 14415, “Securing America’s Defense Supply Chains and Ensuring Domestic Acquisition of Critical Materials,” July 20, 2026. Sets domestic sourcing and supply-chain mapping for defense rare earths and critical minerals; restricts waivers effective 2027.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). "Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals." Federal Register, Vol. 90, No. 216, November 7, 2025.
DTRA communications and technical exchanges (2025) documenting precursor supply disruptions for radiation detection materials and the resulting impact on crystal growth programs.
Keywords
Scintillators; precursor materials; precursors; halide materials; rare earth elements; LaBr3; CLYC; CLLB; GGAG; elpasolite; crystal growth; radiation detection; domestic supply chain; high-purity chemicals; anhydrous halides; pulse shape discrimination; RIID; WMD detection; advanced materials manufacturing; purification; chemical synthesis; trace metal analysis; inorganic synthesis; material science
Frequently asked questions
What is DTR27BZ02-NV005?
It is a DTRA SBIR topic in the DoW SBIR 2027 BAA to establish domestic fabrication processes for high-purity precursor materials or pre-reacted mixes used to grow inorganic scintillator crystals such as LaBr3:Ce, GGAG:Ce, CLYC, and CLLB.
When is DTR27BZ02-NV005 due?
Proposals are due January 6, 2027, 12:00 PM ET. Pre-release began November 4, 2026, and direct contact with the topic authors is allowed only until the topic opens on December 2, 2026, 8:00 AM ET.
Is this a Phase I or Direct-to-Phase II topic?
The topic describes a Phase I proof-of-principle effort (supply-chain assessment plus at least one lab-scale batch, e.g., 50-100 g) followed by a two-year Phase II scale-up. It does not describe a Direct-to-Phase II option.
What purity and moisture levels does DTRA expect?
At least 4N (99.99%) anhydrous metal halides or pre-reacted mixes, sub-ppm levels of interfering contaminants such as Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, K, and Rb, and under 50 ppm moisture/oxygen for hygroscopic materials.