Technologies for optronic detectors

This grant opportunity, titled EDF-2025-DA-SENS-IRD-STEP, is part of the European Defence Fund (EDF) and focuses on enhancing infrared optronic detector technologies for defense applications. The main objective is to improve the technological maturity and security of supply for advanced Read-Out Integrated Circuits (ROICs) used in infrared detectors, crucial for various defense operations, including land, air, naval, and missile guidance systems.

Applicants must form consortia comprised of EU IR detector providers, emphasizing the need for collaboration to share costs and resources effectively. The geographic eligibility extends to EU Member States and associated countries, ensuring the inclusion of entities that meet specific defense technological and industrial criteria. The total funding amount available for this call is EUR 29 million.

The application process is conducted through a single-stage open call, with a submission deadline set for October 16, 2025. Beneficiaries can expect monetary grant support covering actual costs associated with their projects. Co-funding is required, and detailed co-financing plans must be submitted.

Eligible project activities include ROIC design optimization, testing, and system prototyping, as well as enhancing the characteristics and interoperability of infrared detectors. The call encourages exploration of advanced technologies, such as 3D stacking architectures and vacuum packaging, which are critical to advancing cutting-edge detection capabilities.

Furthermore, projects must aim to improve the qualities of infrared detection systems, thereby enhancing situational awareness and decision-making capabilities within the defense sector. All proposals must comply with specific admissibility conditions and demonstrate synergies with prior EU-funded research efforts.

In summary, this grant seeks to foster collaboration among EU innovation stakeholders in the field of infrared detection technology, advance critical defense capabilities, and bolster the European Defense Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). Submissions are encouraged to leverage existing research and develop novel functionalities, reinforcing the EU's commitment to technological sovereignty and security in defense.

This is a call for proposals under the European Defence Fund (EDF) for development actions related to technologies for optronic detectors, specifically focusing on Infrared (IR) detectors. The call, titled EDF-2025-DA-SENS-IRD-STEP, aims to enhance the technological maturity and security of supply of advanced Read-Out Integrated Circuit (ROIC) technology within the EU, with a budget of 29,000,000 EUR. The call is a single-stage submission process, opening on February 18, 2025, and closing on October 16, 2025, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The objective is for EU IR detector developers to integrate detection circuits of varying wavelengths onto ROICs platforms and incorporate these focal plane arrays into integrated demonstrators. This initiative seeks to improve the characteristics of infrared detectors, enhance situational awareness, and bolster the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). Collaboration among EU IR detector providers is mandatory, as access to advanced CMOS nodes requires significant budget allocation best achieved through shared costs and EU collaboration.

Eligible activities include those that increase interoperability and resilience, master critical defence technologies, strengthen security of supply, enable effective exploitation of results for defence products and technologies, feasibility studies, design of defence products, system prototyping, and testing. Qualification and certification activities, along with the development of technologies increasing efficiency across the life cycle of defence products, are optional.

Mandatory activities include ROIC design optimization, increasing the maturity of ROIC bumping at fine pixel pitch on 300mm CMOS wafers, collecting and updating system specifications, designing large format small pitch Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) Integrated Detector Dewar Cryocooler Assemblies, assembling IR Focal Plane Arrays (IRFPA) into specific packaging, and conducting partial tests for risk reduction at various levels (ROIC wafers, detection circuits, IRFPAs). These tests must be compatible with high data rates and 300 mm wafers, and include electro-optical tests, performance validation, and final evaluation of Integrated Dewar Assemblies.

Additional tasks that proposals should cover include increasing the maturity of 3D stacking architectures and process integration, developing cooled vacuum packaging, and designing an extended Short-Wave Infrared (eSWIR) Integrated Dewar TEC Assembly (IDTA). Qualification activities should include submitting Integrated Detector Dewar Cooler Assemblies (IDDCAs) and IDTAs to preliminary reliability tests and analyzing the results.

Proposals may also cover the development of smart functions at ROIC level based on CMOS 3D architectures, design of camera prototypes, fabrication of demo cameras, first imaging demonstration through testing of demo cameras, and preliminary assessment of advanced ROICs to space radiations. Synergies with ongoing activities, particularly those described in call topic EDF-2021-SENS-R-IRD, must be substantiated.

The proposed products and technologies should meet functional requirements such as high resolution (above 3 Mpixels, pitch size below 7 µm) for Focal Plane Arrays, dissipation targets, increased operability, cool down time adapted to the pitch and format for IDDCAs, vacuum holding, and compactness of interconnects.

The call emphasizes the importance of IR detectors in various defence applications, including land, air, naval, space, missile guidance, and drones, and their role in improving detection, recognition, and identification ranges. It addresses the challenge faced by the EDTIB in achieving high performance, maintaining international competitiveness, and securing non-dependency of supply chains in the field of optronic detectors.

To apply, applicants must adhere to admissibility conditions regarding proposal page limits and layout, eligibility criteria for participating countries, and financial and operational capacity requirements. The evaluation process involves submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring and thresholds, and an indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement. Legal and financial aspects of the grants are also detailed.

Applicants are directed to the Funding & Tenders Portal for application forms, budget tables, participant information, lists of infrastructure, cofinancing declarations, and other relevant documents. They can also find information on model grant agreements, the EDF Annual Work Programme, EDF Regulation, and other legal and financial guidelines. Support is available through the DEFIS-EDF-PROPOSALS email address, the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, EDF Info-days, and the IT Helpdesk.

In summary, this EDF call seeks to advance the development and integration of next-generation ROICs for IR detectors, fostering EU collaboration, enhancing technological capabilities, and securing the supply chain for critical defence applications. It encourages EU IR detector developers to integrate detection circuits onto ROICs platforms, explore 3D stacking technologies, and enhance the technological maturity of advanced ROIC designs. The call aims to improve the performance of IR detectors, increase situational awareness, and strengthen the competitiveness of the European defence industry.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are EU IR detector providers. Collaboration between the main EU IR detector providers is strictly required. The call targets the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). Startups and SMEs are likely eligible, but this is not explicitly stated.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically EDF Development Actions implemented via actual cost grants (EDF-2025-DA). The type of Model Grant Agreement is EDF Action Grant Budget-Based [EDF-AG].

Consortium Requirement: A consortium of multiple applicants is required. Collaboration between the main EU IR detector providers is strictly required.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is focused on EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries.

Target Sector: The target sector is defence, specifically focusing on technologies for optronic detectors, infrared (IR) detectors, photon detector arrays (PDA), silicon read-out integrated circuits (ROIC), hybrid focal plane arrays (HFPA), complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) nodes, and 2D/3D architectures. It also contributes to the STEP objectives, as defined in STEP Regulation, in the target investment area of deep and digital technologies.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on EU Member States and EDF Associated Countries. Norway is mentioned in the Q&A section.

Project Stage: The project stage is development, validation, and demonstration. The goal is to enhance the technological maturity of advanced ROIC designs and fully qualify the supply chain for advanced ROICs components. System prototyping and testing are mandatory activities.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic EDF-2025-DA-SENS-IRD-STEP is EUR 29,000,000. Other related topics have varying budgets, ranging from EUR 25,000,000 to EUR 79,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single stage.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is not specified in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-financing declaration is listed as one of the application form templates, suggesting that co-funding may be required.

Summary:

This European Defence Fund (EDF) call, specifically EDF-2025-DA-SENS-IRD-STEP, aims to bolster the EU's technological sovereignty and security of supply in the critical domain of infrared (IR) detectors. The call, with a budget of EUR 29 million, seeks to advance the development and integration of next-generation Read-Out Integrated Circuits (ROICs) for IR detectors, focusing on prototyping, testing, and enhancing the technological maturity of advanced ROIC designs.

The primary objective is to enable EU IR detector developers to integrate detection circuits of varying wavelengths onto ROICs platforms and incorporate these focal plane arrays into integrated demonstrators. This initiative is designed to enhance the performance of IR detectors, which are essential for a wide range of defence applications, including land, air, naval, space, missile guidance, and drone systems.

Eligible applicants must form a consortium of EU IR detector providers, emphasizing collaboration to share the high costs associated with accessing advanced CMOS nodes. The scope of the call includes activities such as ROIC design optimization, increasing the maturity of ROIC bumping on 300mm CMOS wafers, designing large format small pitch MWIR Integrated Detector Dewar Cryocooler Assemblies, assembling IR Focal Plane Arrays (IRFPA) into specific packaging, and conducting partial tests for risk reduction.

The call also encourages exploration of 3D stacking technologies, development of cooled vacuum packaging, design of extended Short-Wave Infrared (eSWIR) Integrated Dewar TEC Assemblies (IDTA), and submission of Integrated Detector Dewar Cooler Assemblies (IDDCAs) and IDTAs to preliminary reliability tests.

The expected outcomes include strengthening the security of supply of advanced ROIC technology, improving the characteristics of IR detectors, enhancing situational awareness and decision-making, and boosting the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB).

The application process involves a single stage, with the submission deadline on October 16, 2025. Applicants must adhere to specific admissibility conditions, including proposal page limits and layout guidelines, and must meet eligibility criteria related to their establishment in EU Member States or EDF Associated Countries. The call emphasizes the importance of synergies and complementarity with ongoing or completed activities in the field of IR detectors, particularly those described in the call topic EDF-2021-SENS-R-IRD.