Survivable & Affordable Lens Technology (SALT) - SBIR Topic OSW26BZ04-NV010

Funding Amount:

Est. $250,000

Deadline to Apply:

August 19th, 2026

ITAR:

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 3.5 of the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

Objective:

The objective of this effort is to obtain low cost infrared optics for attritable unmanned drone vehicles. The scope of this topic is to investigate whether alkali-halide optical materials can be used as cost-effective alternatives to the more traditional materials used in military-grade uncooled infrared sensors. A preferred use-case encompasses an uncooled infrared sensor such as the Odd Systems Kurbas-640, which has a focal plane containing 640 × 512 detector elements with a 12 micron pitch spacing, and which is combined with an imaging lens having an 18 mm focal length operating at F#/1.1 and with a transmission exceeding 70%.

Description:

Modern warfare has increased the demand for low-cost, attritable unmanned drone vehicles. Examples of such platforms used worldwide are the Shahed 136 and the LUCAS. Thermal cameras give these platforms the ability to operate at night and under adverse weather conditions.

Uncooled thermal infrared focal plane detectors, operating in the 7.5 - 12.0 micron spectrum, are often the most cost effective for this purpose. Each camera requires a lens to focus the radiation from the scene onto the detector.

Traditional military optical lens materials which are transmissive in this spectral region include Ge, ZnSe, ZnS, as well as various chalcogenide glasses which typically contain elements such as Ge, Ar, Se, S, or Te in various ratios. All of these infrared optical materials are significantly more expensive than the optical glasses used for visible-spectrum optical devices such as binoculars and telescopes.

In many cases, the optics cost may exceed the cost of the detector assembly, resulting in the night vision sensor subsystem accounting for ⅓ or more of the total cost of the whole drone system.

However, there exists a family of significantly lower cost optical materials known as "alkali-halides" which include compounds such as NaCl, CsBr, and KBr. These "salt" materials provide exceptional spectral transmission over the infrared bands, and are widely used for laboratory spectrometers in the scientific instrument markets.

The military has traditionally not made use of the alkali-halide optical materials in the past, however, because they are all very susceptible to damage when exposed to water and moisture. Moisture resistance is important for both field use as well as long-term storage.

PHASE I:

The Phase I task shall include optical design exercises to evaluate the utility of alkali-halide materials as lens elements for the objective infrared camera system.

Analysis shall be conducted regarding the following major criteria:

• Optical image quality relative to the diffraction limit.

• Durability of the lens coatings per MIL-PRF-13830B to include humidity, adhesion, and moderate abrasion.

• High-volume manufacturability of the optimal design forms.

• Projected shelf-life limits for long term storage.

• A projected cost comparison versus a lens assembly using traditional infrared materials.

PHASE II:

The most promising design form(s) from Phase I shall be selected, refined, and manufactured into hardware demonstration units.

Witness samples with the appropriate moisture-resistant coatings shall be validated per MIL-PRF-13830B Section C.3.8.

Means of passive athermalization, accounting for both lens and housing material properties, shall be investigated and implemented.

Image performance shall be verified via laboratory testing as well as by imagery captured with an uncooled camera focal plane placed behind the lens.

Manufacturing data and cost projections shall be updated and refined.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS:

A Phase III effort may involve working with a commercial uncooled camera supplier to provide new low-cost lens assemblies based upon alkali-halide materials.

Alkali-halide optical materials are already used in the scientific instrument markets which may also benefit from the improvements developed under this topic.

Commercialization, as defined in 15 USC §638 (e)(10), may include either military or consumer market devices.

Who will win?

If you can achieve the objective above better than any other company on the market, you have a very high-likelihood of success and should apply.

Who is eligible to apply?

Any company that meets the following criteria:

• For-profit company

• U.S.-owned and controlled.

• 500 or fewer employees (including affiliates)

How Can BW&CO Help?

1) End-to-end support including, strategy, writing of the full proposal, and administrative & compliance support.

2) Proposal strategy and review.

3) Administrative & compliance support.

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