Applied Nanofemto Technologies LLC

Applied Nanofemto Technologies LLC, a Lowell, Massachusetts–based small business limited liability company, develops advanced photonics, sensors, and integrated electronics for federal defense and space research agencies as a prime contractor under total small business set-asides. The vendor operates exclusively as a prime (100% of recent awards) and has no subcontract footprint; all work is performed in-house at the Lowell facility.

Applied Nanofemto's capability portfolio centers on quantum sensing, infrared imaging systems, and photonics-integrated miniaturized devices for military and space applications. Representative recent work includes a $1.4 million definitive contract from the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (awarded April 2026) for development of a prototype integrated quantum chemical sensor chip with improved sensitivity and reduced size, weight, power consumption, and cost; a $239.7 thousand Phase I Small Business Innovation Research award from Naval Sea Systems Command (awarded June 2025) for Space-Based Infrared System High research; a $204.1 thousand Army RDECOM contract (awarded June 2025) for high-performance room mid-wave infrared photoconductor arrays and imaging systems with monolithic CMOS integration; and a $750 thousand Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II award from NASA (awarded September 2021) for a photonics-integrated miniature on-chip urine test system for spaceflight health monitoring. The vendor also holds a $1.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from Naval Sea Systems Command for research and development, awarded February 2022.

Customer concentration spreads across defense and civilian space agencies. The top five customers account for 72% of award count and 80% of combined potential value: the Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory leads by volume (10 awards, $2.5 million), while the Army Materiel Command Research Development and Engineering Command leads by dollars (4 awards, $2.6 million), followed by Naval Sea Systems Command (3 awards, $2.2 million), NASA Goddard Space Center and NASA Shared Services Center (3 awards each, $924 thousand and $1 million respectively), and DOD Missile Defense Agency (2 awards, $1.1 million). The vendor operates primarily under SBIR and STTR program vehicles rather than GWACs or standing IDIQs.

Activity has been episodic over the past five years—one award in each of 2021, 2022, and 2023, then three in 2025 and one in early 2026—with 32 total awards since 2006 and combined potential value of $11.8 million. Two awards carrying combined potential value of $3.1 million reach ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months. Applied Nanofemto's competitive posture is entirely set-aside: all recent awards carry total small business designations, and the vendor competes within SBIR and STTR channels rather than full-and-open procurements. Primary NAICS classification is research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences (non-biotech), with secondary concentration in nanotechnology and optics manufacturing.

We specialize in High sensitivity and sensor imaging