Chip Firm Wins DoD Contract Extension

SAN JOSE, Calif. — JMAR Technologies Inc. said that its Microelectronics Division has been awarded additional funding to support a foundry fab that is backed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

JMAR was granted the award by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (GDAIS) in the amount of $400,000.

Under the terms of this subcontract, JMAR (San Diego) will continue to maintain the semiconductor fabrication processes installed at the Defense Microelectronics Activity's Advanced Reconfigurable Manufacturing for Semiconductors (ARMS) foundry in Sacramento, Calif.

GDAIS, a prime contractor for the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA), issued JMAR this subcontract as a DOD-based Advanced Technology Support Program (ATSP) element. The subcontract, originally issued in 2005, extends through February of 2006 when negotiations for a new contract are scheduled. This extension brings the total subcontract amount to $2.3 million.

JMAR maintains a semiconductor process engineering, operations and maintenance group adjacent to DMEA's facility in Sacramento. JMAR will perform the work under this contract on-site.

The DOD established the DMEA to solve the problem of microelectronics obsolescence over the extended lifetime of weapon systems. The DMEA's advanced technology services and facilities are also available on a dual-use basis to the private sector through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA).

The ARMS foundry is a custom integrated circuit prototyping facility responsible for producing critical microcircuits to replace obsolete military system electronics, thereby extending the operational lifetimes of those systems for substantial periods.