TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: Secure Optical Quantum Communications (LEW-TOPS-108)
Closed Special Notice Posted
- Solicitation number
- T2P-GRC-00133
- Agency
-
Marshall Space Flight Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 927110 Space Research and Technology
- PSC
- 9999 Miscellaneous Items
- Points of contact
-
- NASA's Technology Transfer Program agency-patent-licensing@mail.nasa.gov
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center published a Special Notice on September 8, 2025, announcing a technology transfer licensing opportunity for Secure Optical Quantum Communications technology (LEW-TOPS-108). The notice solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture, and market NASA Glenn Research Center's patented optical quantum communication method. This innovative technology uses entangled-photon pairs to produce highly secure mobile communications requiring only milliwatts of power, representing a significant advancement over conventional gas Argon-ion laser sources that are too large, expensive, and power-intensive for portable applications. The technology produces entangled-photon pairs approximately a million times more efficiently than conventional sources while maintaining a compact, lightweight, and portable design. Originally developed for micro-robots used in deep space exploration, the technology offers breakthrough applications for terrestrial, scientific, military, and field-deployable communications including fiber-optic and satellite systems.
The purpose of this Special Notice is to identify potential commercial partners for licensing NASA's quantum communications technology, with licenses available on either exclusive or nonexclusive basis and potentially limited to specific fields of use. Interested companies must submit license applications through NASA's Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by the July 17, 2026 deadline, with no federal funding provided in conjunction with these potential licenses. The technology's superior signal-to-noise ratio enables highly secure communications in noisy free space and fiber-optic environments by transmitting digital information through detection of small temporal shifts between entangled photons. Companies seeking additional information should contact NASA's Technology Transfer Program via email with the technology opportunity title and their preferred contact information. The opportunity falls under the Space Research and Technology NAICS category and represents part of NASA's broader technology transfer program aimed at commercializing agency-developed innovations.
Notice text
Synopsis:
NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.
THE TECHNOLOGY:
NASA's Glenn Research Center has developed a method of using entangled-photon pairs to produce highly secure mobile communications that require mere milliwatts of power. Conventional gas Argon-ion laser sources are too large, expensive, and power-intensive to use in portable applications. By contrast, Glenn's patented optical quantum communication method produces entangled-photon pairs approximately a million times more efficiently than conventional sources, in a system that is small and light enough to be portable. Furthermore, because this method transmits digital information by detecting small temporal shifts between entangled photons, its superior signal-to-noise ratio facilitates highly secure communications in very noisy free space and fiber-optic environments. Originally developed for micro-robots used for deep space exploration, this technology represents a breakthrough for a wide variety of terrestrial, scientific, military, and other field-deployable applications including fiber-optic and satellite communications.
To express interest in this licensing opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-108
If you have any questions, please e-mail NASA’s Technology Transfer Program at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this SAM.gov notice and your preferred contact information. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/.
These responses are provided to members of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.
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