Small Business Innovation Research Program Provides Seed Funding for R&D
COLLEGE STATION, TX – 21 February 2018 — Vidatronic has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to conduct research and development (R&D) work on the design of highly-efficient linear radio frequency (RF) transmitters suitable for broadband transceivers implemented in deep submicron complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technologies. Dr. Jose Silva-Martinez has joined the Vidatronic team to serve as the Principal Investigator on the project and lead the design effort.
Recent developments in mobile computing and wireless internet have led to an increasing demand for portable computers and smart phones capable of engaging with wireless local area networks (WLAN) operating with multi-standard capabilities. The market for wireless communications systems exceeds 6 billion units per year, and full CMOS transmitters promise a common technology platform to enable multi-standard, flexible, robust, integrated, and cheaper solutions. Significantly improving the power efficiency and yield of high-performance power amplifiers (PAs) will have high impact on the efficiency, reliability, and production cost of RF transmitters, ensuring sustainable growth of the consumer electronics industry.
“The National Science Foundation supports small businesses with the most innovative, cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to become great commercial successes and make huge societal impacts,” said Barry Johnson, Director of the NSF’s Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships. “We hope that this seed funding will spark solutions to some of the most important challenges of our time across all areas of science and technology.”
“We are thrilled to have received this support from the National Science Foundation and are grateful for the opportunity to continue to lead this R&D effort within our company,” said Stephen Nolan, Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Vidatronic. “As the technology in 5G mobile and Internet of Things devices becomes increasingly more complex, the industry will continue to require more efficient, high-performing RF components that integrate smoothly with the rest of the hardware inside their products. This line of CMOS RF power amplifiers will have far-reaching applications and complements our existing line of power management intellectual property quite well.”
Once a small business is awarded a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant (up to $225,000), it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II grant (up to $750,000). Small businesses with Phase II grants are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.
NSF accepts Phase I proposals from small businesses twice annually in June and December. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program undergo a rigorous merit-based review process.
To learn more about the NSF SBIR/STTR program, visit: www.nsf.gov/SBIR.
About Vidatronic, Inc.
The complexity of semiconductor circuit design in the connected world continues to present more challenges to circuit designers across a number of industries. Vidatronic, founded in 2010, helps customers answer these challenges by licensing its latest power management circuit intellectual property (IP) designs for integration into their application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and systems on a chip (SoCs). Vidatronic has patented, industry-leading technologies and features that allow its customers to reduce required board area and cost, while maintaining the desired low-noise and low quiescent-current performance in a variety of applications, from consumer electronics (e.g. mobile devices, wearables and Internet of Things) to enterprise solutions (e.g. networking, telecommunications and servers). The company’s IP portfolio includes low dropout (LDO) voltage regulators, DC-DC converters, ultra-low-power voltage references and associated circuitry in a variety of advanced-process nodes, from 180 nanometers (nm) to 7 nm.
About the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Programs
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awards roughly $200 million annually to startups and small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. The non-dilutive grants support research and development (R&D) across almost all areas of science and technology helping companies de-risk technology for commercial success. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $7 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
For more information visit
www.nsf.gov/SBIR.
Contact:
Brittany Eckmann
Strategic Marketing Manager at Vidatronic
979-217-2582
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