The Ozark Integrated Circuits team.
Ozark Integrated Circuits Inc. of Fayetteville, a technology firm in the Arkansas Research and Technology Park at the University of Arkansas, has received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Air Force to develop electronics packaging and assembly systems for controls in jet engines.
The grant, along with two other awards from the U.S. Department of Energy, bring federal funding for the company to $1 million. Ozark Integrated Circuits said it will use the money to expand its offices and facilities at the park and conduct more research into the controls system.
The company said it will continue collaborating with researchers at the UA’s High Density Electronics Center, or HiDEC, also at the tech park. UA researchers involved in the project are Simon Ang, HiDEC director and professor of electrical engineering, and Silke Spiesshoefer, clinical assistant professor of electrical engineering.
“We are very excited about this award,” said Matt Francis, CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits. “It builds on our long-term relationship with the U of A and enables us to build the missing link for the high-temperature chips we’re developing.”
With previous support from the Air Force, the researchers built a ceramic-based wiring board that can operate in conditions up to 300 degrees Celsius. In the next phase, the researchers will begin printing the ceramic boards, to reduce cost, and integrate each one into a smart sensing node — a key part for electronic control of jet engines.
When finished, the new module will be more reliable and cost significantly less to build than current sensing nodes, the company said.
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