IARPA Advanced Materials and Fabrication for Coherent Superconducting Qubits Program | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The IARPA Advanced Materials and Fabrication for Coherent Superconducting Qubits Program (Funding Opportunity Number W911NF-09-R-0007) is a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) issued by the U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) in close partnership with the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). It is the second BAA released on this topic and is essentially a re-issuance of the prior announcement (W911NF-08-R-0011 from July 2008). The BAA was posted March 13, 2009 and remained open through July 31, 2009. While the solicitation window was limited to that period, the underlying research program itself was envisioned to run for multiple years, beginning around May 1, 2009 and concluding by June 1, 2014.

At a high level, the opportunity seeks innovative research and development aimed at substantially extending coherence times in superconducting qubits, with particular interest in phase qubit implementations. The central motivation is that real-world superconducting qubits are often limited by materials defects, fabrication-related imperfections, and loss mechanisms that degrade coherence and reduce readout contrast. The government is looking for proposals that do more than incremental process tweaks: they want deeper scientific understanding of what specific defect classes exist, how those defects manifest in device performance, and how to systematically remove or mitigate them through improved materials choices, device constructions, and fabrication methods.

The BAA is structured around two proposal levels that correspond to increasing technical ambition and demonstration requirements. Level I efforts are expected to address three linked program goals. First, teams must develop fundamental understanding and insight into the defects in superconducting qubits that currently limit coherence time and readout contrast. Second, they must provide practical ways to characterize and measure these defects, including the ability to definitively discriminate among different defect types rather than treating loss as a single lumped effect. Third, they must propose and develop advanced materials, device designs, and fabrication approaches specifically intended to eliminate (or materially reduce) the identified defects. Level II proposals are expected to accomplish everything in Level I, and then go further by meeting an additional goal: demonstrating substantially extended coherence times in superconducting qubits fabricated using the new materials and fabrication developments produced during the effort. In other words, Level II is not just about diagnosing and proposing fixes; it is about proving those fixes in actual qubit devices with clear, measurable improvements.

The solicitation allows (but does not require) submission of a white paper as an initial step. If an offeror chooses to submit a white paper, it must follow the instructions in Part IV, Section B.1 of the BAA. White papers are evaluated and the submitter is informed of the results; those receiving favorable feedback are then contacted and encouraged to prepare a full proposal in accordance with Part IV, Section B.2. White papers were to be emailed to tr.govindan@us.army.mil with the subject line "W911NF 09 R 0007 Proposal White Paper." This two-step approach is meant to screen concepts early and focus full proposal effort on ideas with strong program fit.

On the funding and award side, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary research funding under science and technology and other R&D. The BAA indicates that awards may take multiple forms depending on the nature of the work and the level of government involvement required, including procurement contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. That flexibility matters because it signals the government may choose a more collaborative instrument (like a cooperative agreement) when close interaction is needed, or a more traditional contract when deliverables and oversight need to be structured differently. The listing indicates no cost-sharing or matching requirement. It also lists an expected awards figure of 99, though such figures in broad research announcements are often planning or portfolio estimates rather than a guarantee of actual awards.

Eligibility is broad and includes private and public institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, small businesses, and for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses). The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 12.431 (Basic Scientific Research). Award ceiling and floor were both shown as 0 in the summary data, which typically means the solicitation did not specify fixed minimum or maximum dollar amounts in the public synopsis and instead expected budgets to be justified by the proposed scope.

For coordination and questions, the technical point of contact is Dr. T.R. Govindan in the ARO Physics Division (phone 919-549-4236, email tr.govindan@us.army.mil). The administrative contracting contact is Mr. Ernest Dixon III at the Army Contracting Activity (phone 919-549-4270). For access issues with the full announcement, the posting directs inquiries to Ernest Dixon at ernie.dixon@us.army.mil.

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