ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. military researchers are asking industry to find ways of revolutionizing single-crystal inorganic material growth for microsystems by making tiny, defect-minimized, single-grain inorganic solids directly on or for microdevices, rather than using polycrystalline films.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., issued a program announcement (DARPA-PA-26-03) earlier this month for the Crystal Palace project.
Single crystals act as the structural elements in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), sensors, and optoelectronic microsystems where performance strongly depends on crystal perfection.
A single crystal is a solid whose atomic lattice is continuous and unbroken throughout the piece, with no grain boundaries inside it. This differs from polycrystalline materials, which are made of many small grains with different orientations separated by grain boundaries that can scatter charge carriers, phonons, and light.
Critical capabilities
Advanced inorganic materials in microsystem devices enable critical capabilities such as next-generation radar and uncrewed autonomous aircraft. These devices depend on the precise growth of inorganic materials, including silicon, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and other specialized compounds.
Microsystems often need materials with predictable, anisotropic properties, which single crystals provide. Single-crystal structures can improve sensitivity, efficiency, and long-term stability in MEMS resonators, optical modulators, and micro-sensors.
Although silicon is a relatively simple material, efforts are shifting towards more complex materials with a greater variety of elements at higher percentages and more crystal structures.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have created an explosion of complex material designs. Crystal Palace aims to enable the rapid development of single-crystal complex inorganic materials at scale. Crystal Palace focuses on direct-growth methods for single-crystal materials with no metal substrates, no material transfer techniques, and no bulk growth.
Feasibility and demonstration
Crystal Palace is a three-year program with an 18-month phase one and an 18-month phase two. The first phase seeks to prove the feasibility of controlling composition, structure, and single-crystal uniformity of a complex material over a large area. The second phase will demonstrate controlled growth to synthesize several materials with increasing complexity. Performers will demonstrate a variety of material types and classes. This phase requires a rapid development timeline for new high-quality complex materials at scale.
Companies interested should submit proposals no later than 30 Jan. 2026 to the DARPA BAA Tool online at https://baa.darpa.mil. Proposers should assume a program start on 15 June 2026.
Email questions or concerns to DARPA at [email protected]. More information is online at https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/6cef3d3607334ce9b8db4aab9fa296b0/view.
