MEMS BASED NANOPARTICLE STORAGE AND RELEASE SYSTEM FOR QUANTUM PHYSICS PLATFORM
27, September 2019

ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO9940
Open Date: 25/09/2019
Closing Date: 06/11/2019 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 19.164.04
Prog. Ref.: CTP – IPTF
Budget Ref.: E/0401-01H – CTP – IPTF
Special Prov.: IE
Tender Type: C
Price Range: 200-500 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / Electronics / EEE Components / Other
Technology Domains: EEE Components and Quality / EEE Component Technologies / Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS)
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate of Science
Department: Future Missions Office
Contract Officer: Georgieva, Irina
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 25/09/2019
Update Reason: Tender issue

This activity is phased in two parts. Phase A is to demonstrate feasibility of the concept for the mission needs of QPPF. The contractor shall propose a test device, which may be an existing MEMS device, and concentrate on aspects such as; – vacuum operation – positioning a nanoparticle in the desired location – characterization of the adsorption forces and potentially surface treatment/engineering to reduce it – developing of diagnostics to image the system, and to verify the particle was ejected and where it went. Following on from a successful phase A, phase B will consist of further refining the device and optimizing the processes. This may include – device survival, and functional stability after typical launch shock and vibration levels – survey across different size nanoparticles (and potentially different types of materials) – developing a concept for a scalable loading method that would also be appropriate for loading the order of 100,000 nanoparticles – precise measurement of velocity and directional dispersion of the nanoparticles – measurement of charge and statistics of the distribution after many trials – requirement definition for a device fulfilling themission need (array size, loading approach etc)

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