Integrity and Reliability of Integrated CircuitS (IRIS) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Integrity and Reliability of Integrated Circuits (IRIS) opportunity (DARPA BAA 10-33) is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funding call issued by the Microsystems Technology Office focused on advanced methods for analyzing complex integrated circuits used in military systems. The core aim is to push research that can (1) derive or reconstruct an IC's actual functionality with enough confidence to determine whether the chip has been maliciously modified, and (2) estimate the chip's useful lifespan based on physical evidence and failure mechanisms, rather than relying only on design intent or vendor assurances. In practical terms, DARPA is looking for technologies that help answer two high-stakes questions for defense electronics: "Does this chip truly do what it is supposed to do, and nothing else?" and "How long can we trust it to keep working in real-world conditions?"

The program sits in the broader problem space of hardware assurance and trust. Modern ICs can be extremely complex, sourced through global supply chains, and built using processes where small changes can be hard to detect. IRIS targets the gap between what is documented about a part and what is physically implemented on silicon. That includes the challenge of identifying hidden or altered behavior introduced through malicious changes (often discussed as hardware Trojans, unauthorized modifications, or subtle alterations that change performance, leakage, or reliability) as well as the challenge of understanding wear-out, degradation, and remaining life for deployed or stockpiled components. The emphasis on "unambiguously" detecting malicious modifications signals an interest in strong, defensible evidence rather than probabilistic red flags that cannot be operationalized for acceptance decisions.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the announcement is categorized as discretionary research and development funding under CFDA 12.910 (Research and Technology Development). The solicitation allows multiple award instrument types, including cooperative agreements, grants, other transactions, and procurement contracts, which is typical for DARPA BAAs and gives the agency flexibility to match the agreement type to the nature of the proposed work and level of government involvement. The posted eligibility is unrestricted, meaning any type of entity can apply (for example, universities, small businesses, large businesses, nonprofits, or research institutes), subject to any conditions described in the full BAA text.

A notable portion of the public synopsis is devoted to amendments, which mainly adjust schedule and review details rather than changing the technical mission. Amendment 01 revised the abstract and full proposal due dates. Amendment 02 revised the application review information in Section 6 of the BAA, which typically covers how proposals will be evaluated, what criteria matter most, and how selections will be made. Amendment 03 revised the full proposal due date again. These changes are flagged in the attached BAA document as highlighted edits, and they are important because DARPA BAAs often require strict compliance with formatting, submission instructions, and deadlines.

The timeline information reflects the original and updated dates. The solicitation was posted on September 15, 2010, with an Industry Day held on September 28, 2010, which would have been a forum for DARPA to explain objectives, answer questions, and encourage teaming. The original abstract due date was October 8, 2010 and the original proposal due date was November 23, 2010, but the amendments shifted the abstract due date to October 14, 2010 and the full proposal due date to December 17, 2010. The current closing date listed is December 17, 2010, and the opportunity archive date is June 17, 2011. The award ceiling and floor are listed as 0, which generally means the funding range was not specified in the synopsis and would be defined in the full announcement or determined case-by-case based on proposal merit and available funds.

In summary, IRIS is a DARPA Microsystems Technology Office research solicitation aimed at developing cutting-edge IC analysis techniques that can verify real chip functionality, detect malicious alterations with high confidence, and assess remaining useful life based on physical characteristics and degradation behavior. The main administrative updates across the amendments are adjustments to the abstract and proposal deadlines and a revision to the proposal review information, with the final proposal deadline set to December 17, 2010 in the amended version.

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