Most DARPA-funded technology does not reach a manufactured product line, and very few small businesses carry one across all three SBIR phases, into qualified production, and into the supply chains of the major defense primes and leading commercial test-and-measurement vendors.
The work that began as the DARPA 3D-MERFS program (3D Microelectrical RF Systems) is one of those rare exceptions. Out of a single small business, the underlying PolyStrata® micro-coaxial process moved through all three DARPA phases, earned the DARPA Innovation Award, scaled from research demonstration into a qualified manufacturing process, and was adopted into hardware shipped by major U.S. defense primes, space and satellite programs, and commercial test-and-measurement vendors, including Keysight.
The process has since extended into large-panel fabrication and surface-mount components, broadening the manufacturing base for high-frequency RF and microwave hardware used in space-borne phased arrays, satellite communications, 5G and LEO broadband infrastructure, and next-generation defense electronics.
Carrying a DARPA technology from invention to Phase III, through an Innovation Award, into qualified manufacturing, integration into prime-built defense systems, and adoption by major commercial test-and-measurement vendors is an uncommon outcome for any organization — and a rare one to achieve from a single small business.
External coverage of the technology and its commercialization arc: Microwave Journal · NC State ECE seminar · Nuvotronics PolyStrata.