Zeno based Opto Electronics (ZOE) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - DARPA Zeno based Opto Electronics (ZOE) (BAA 09-19)

What is the Zeno based Opto Electronics (ZOE) opportunity?

ZOE is a DARPA Defense Sciences Office grant opportunity released under DARPA BAA 09-19 to fund high-risk, high-payoff research aimed at creating a fundamentally new class of ultra-low-energy optoelectronic technology. The program is explicitly focused on revolutionary advances rather than incremental improvements to existing optical or electronic devices.

What is the main technical goal of ZOE?

The central technical target is to develop new materials and build prototype all-optical devices that can perform useful operations while dissipating on the order of 100 attojoules (aJ) per operation. This level of energy use is intended to represent a major step change compared with conventional switching and signal-processing approaches.

What does "100 attojoules per operation" mean in this program?

Within the context provided, it is the energy dissipation goal per useful device operation (such as switching or related optical functions). The program frames this as an ultra-low-energy target designed to significantly outperform conventional approaches to switching and signal processing.

Is ZOE focused on improving existing optical/electronic devices?

No. The solicitation explicitly emphasizes revolutionary advances and discourages incremental improvements to existing optical or electronic devices.

What is the core physics concept behind ZOE?

ZOE centers on an all-optical mechanism based on "optically induced absorption." In the envisioned materials, light at one wavelength (the control beam) triggers or enables absorption at a second wavelength (the signal beam). Device behavior is controlled entirely by light interacting with engineered material properties, rather than by electrical gating or conventional thermo-optic effects.

How does the control beam and signal beam interaction work (as described in the opportunity)?

The described ideal behavior is conditional: when the control beam is present alone, or the signal beam is present alone, the material should remain transparent and low-loss. Absorption should occur primarily when both beams are present together, enabling a strong conditional interaction that can be used to implement switching and related functions.

What major technical areas must proposers address?

DARPA highlights three main technical areas: (1) materials, (2) devices, and (3) system architecture. The intent is an end-to-end path from new material behavior to prototype device demonstrations to scalable system concepts.

What kinds of materials are of interest?

The program seeks practical candidate media in gas, liquid, or solid form that can exhibit strong optically induced absorption across a broad range of control and signal wavelengths. The materials should also support selective behavior, where for a given control wavelength the absorbed signal wavelengths fall within a narrow range.

Why does ZOE care about narrowband absorption for a given control wavelength?

Narrowband absorption supports wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), where many channels at different wavelengths share the same optical infrastructure without interfering with each other. The opportunity indicates that selectivity (narrowband response) is important for enabling WDM-friendly device behavior.

What kinds of devices is DARPA looking for under ZOE?

DARPA is looking for practical, scalable, low-loss all-optical switching devices operating at very high speeds (roughly 1 to 100 GHz). The solicitation also welcomes other all-optical device types, provided they achieve comparable performance metrics and rely on the same Zeno/induced-absorption style physics.

What device speed range is targeted?

The opportunity describes a target operating speed range of roughly 1 to 100 GHz for the envisioned optical switching devices.

Besides optical switches, what other device examples are mentioned?

Examples mentioned include wavelength converters, pulse regenerators with low added noise, add/drop multiplexers, and optical memory cells. The common requirement is compelling functionality with extremely low energy dissipation per operation, based on the induced-absorption approach.

Does the program require prototypes, or is it purely theoretical?

The opportunity calls for developing new materials and building prototype all-optical devices. It emphasizes end-to-end credibility: materials that behave as needed, prototype devices that are fast/low-loss/scalable, and architectures that can preserve energy benefits when scaled.

What does DARPA mean by "system architecture" in this program?

System architecture refers to how ZOE devices would be used in larger, scalable systems. The solicitation is not only about isolated devices; it asks for architectural concepts that could exploit the program's energy advantages as systems scale up.

What is the idea of recycling or reusing the control energy?

The architecture portion points to a potential advantage: the control wavelength is expected to experience only minute dissipation, suggesting the control light might be recycled and reused rather than being "spent" for each switching event. DARPA asks for scalable architectures that could exploit such reuse to reduce net system energy.

What is the activity category and CFDA number for this opportunity?

The activity category is science and technology research and development. The CFDA is 12.910 (Research and Technology Development).

What funding instruments may be used for awards?

The opportunity lists multiple possible funding instruments: cooperative agreements, grants, other transactions, and procurement contracts. This indicates flexibility in how DARPA might structure awards depending on the project and performer.

Is cost-sharing or matching required?

No. The information provided states there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the call is broadly open to different types of organizations, subject to any specific eligibility clarifications contained in the full announcement package.

When was the opportunity posted and what are the key dates?

It was posted on December 11, 2008. The original closing date and the current closing date are both listed as December 10, 2009. The archive date is January 10, 2010.

What is DARPA trying to move beyond with ZOE?

ZOE is positioned as a push beyond conventional electro-optic or thermo-optic switching toward a materially enabled, all-optical platform where conditional absorption creates device action at extraordinarily low energy.

What does DARPA mean by "end-to-end credibility" in the solicitation?

Based on the description, it means proposals should connect the full chain: new materials demonstrating the targeted induced-absorption behavior, prototype devices demonstrating fast/low-loss/scalable performance with ultra-low energy per operation, and system architectures that preserve the energy advantages at scale.