(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, invites small businesses to propose solutions to specific challenges in the fields of cybersecurity and manufacturing.

SBIR Phase I awards provide up to $90,000 during a performance period of seven months and are intended to be used to determine if the proposed research is feasible and how well the awardee performs that research. Phase I awardees are eligible to apply for Phase II funding to further develop their technology.

The NIST 2013 SBIR solicitation names 17 specific technologies for development, including four technology transfer subtopics—i.e., inventions and technologies started at NIST that have commercial potential but require more work to be finished products/services for the U.S. marketplace.

In the category of cybersecurity, the technologies are:
• Bragg Grating Enhanced Narrowband Single Photon SPDC Source
• Comparison of Privacy-Enhancing Technologies and Features
• Development of an SCAP Validation Tool with APIs
• Enabling Secure BIOS on Enterprise Systems
• Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes with > 95 percent Efficiency

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