FOUNDATIONS OF SUPERCONDUCTING DIGITAL LOGIC (FSDL) | W911NF 23 S 0012

Opportunity Information: Apply for W911NF 23 S 0012

The Foundations of Superconducting Digital Logic (FSDL) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number W911NF 23 S 0012) is a Department of Defense research solicitation led by the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Army Research Office (ARL-ARO), working in collaboration with the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS). It focuses on early-stage, foundational science and engineering aimed at unlocking the next leap in superconducting electronics (SCE), especially for digital logic. The government interest here is straightforward: superconducting circuits can, in principle, deliver extremely fast computation with far lower energy dissipation than conventional semiconductor logic, but the field has been slow to scale into dense, reliable, system-level hardware. This program is meant to identify what is fundamentally holding SCE back and to fund research that can break through those bottlenecks.

At the heart of the program is the idea that superconducting digital logic has known advantages, but it is still constrained by a handful of persistent technical challenges that show up when you try to build larger, more complex circuits. FSDL is specifically looking for proposals that study and solve foundational limitations across multiple layers of the technology stack. The solicitation highlights research areas such as superconducting materials and processing, Josephson junction behavior and variability, flux trapping and magnetic effects that can disrupt circuit operation, and higher-level architecture considerations that affect how reliably and densely circuits can be integrated. In other words, the program is not only interested in making a single device slightly better; it is interested in understanding and fixing the underlying causes of poor scaling, low yield, parameter spread, environmental sensitivity, and reliability issues that prevent SCE from becoming a practical, high-density digital platform.

The intended outcome is a stronger technical foundation that enables major improvements in both circuit density and reliability for future superconducting-electronics-based systems. Density matters because the usefulness of any logic family ultimately depends on how many devices can be integrated per unit area and how complex a system can be built without becoming unmanageable. Reliability matters because superconducting logic can be uniquely sensitive to subtle fabrication variations and magnetic or thermal conditions, and those sensitivities can become showstoppers as circuits grow. By encouraging innovative approaches to long-standing problems such as junction uniformity, defect mechanisms, trapped flux mitigation, and architecture choices that tolerate or avoid these issues, FSDL is positioned as a catalyst for breakthroughs rather than incremental optimization.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity in the science and technology / research and development category (CFDA 12.431). The listed funding instruments include cooperative agreements, grants, other transaction-style mechanisms, and even procurement contracts, which signals flexibility in how the government can structure awards depending on the scope and nature of proposed work and the level of collaboration anticipated. The opportunity was created on July 12, 2023, with an original closing date of October 31, 2023. The award ceiling is listed as 0, which typically means a specific maximum dollar cap was not provided in the public summary and that interested applicants would need to consult the full announcement for constraints, budgeting guidance, and any topic-specific limits.

Eligibility is shown as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full text, which usually indicates that eligibility may extend beyond only traditional academic institutions and could include entities such as nonprofits, industry, federally funded research and development centers, or other qualified organizations, depending on the detailed eligibility language. The listing shows an "ExpectedAwards" value of 1000, which is best interpreted cautiously as a system entry rather than a literal expectation; the true number of awards in specialized R&D programs is typically much smaller and is usually clarified in the full solicitation or subsequent award announcements.

Overall, FSDL is best understood as a foundational research push to remove the scientific and engineering roadblocks that have limited the scale-up of superconducting digital logic. It is aimed at advancing the enabling knowledge and techniques, from materials and Josephson junction physics up through circuit and architecture strategies, so that future SCE systems can be built with substantially higher integration density and significantly improved operational robustness.

• The Department of Defense, Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FOUNDATIONS OF SUPERCONDUCTING DIGITAL LOGIC (FSDL)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.431.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 12, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 31, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1,000 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for W911NF 23 S 0012

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: