Offices: Cleveland - USA, Tokyo - Japan, Leuven - Belgium www.ninesigma.com RFP format and graphics© Copyright 2011 NineSigma, Inc

REQUEST # 67563 Modified Alumina for Smaller Electrical Isolators

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DESCRIPTION

NineSigma, on Global Supplier of Electrical Subsytems invites proposals for improved, low-cost electrical isolators. The successful technology will provide an alumina based isolator material (ceramics) having :

Relative Permittivity from 8-12

Temperature stability up to 1200⁰C

High Tension Strength (2000N)

High Dielectric Strength (80-160kV/mm)

Good manufacturing reliability BACKGROUND

The global drive for efficiency is reducing the size of many electrical systems while maintaining or increasing the power density of the system. For some components, such as insulators, the reduced dimensions are limited by the physical properties of materials used in the components. Alumina based ceramics are often used as an electrical isolator. As the amount of material is reduced the electrical isolation capability is reduced as well the strength of the component.

At the same time insulators are a commodity item subject to market expectations and the use of exotic materials to meet performance demands is blocked by the need to keep costs low. Thus preferred approaches to size reduction are to explore gains possible from modified aluminas, where chemical and physical modifications can be considered. As a baseline, alumina has a dielectric strength of just under 17 kV/mm. An improvement factor of 5 is needed. POSSIBLE APPROACHES

Possible approaches might include, but are not limited to:

Doping of Alumina

Porosity reduction

Grain Structure Optimization

Laminated structures

Optimization of state-of-the-art ceramics manufacturing processes

RESPONSE DUE DATE: November 18, 2011

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MANAGER: David Feitler, Ph.D.

SOLUTION PROVIDER HELP DESK

EMAIL: PhD@ninesigma.com PHONE: +1-216-283-3901

Opportunity

Licensing, product acquisition, contract research, proof of concept leading to scale up to manufacturing, joint development agreement

Timeline

Phase 1 – Proof of concept by May 2012 Phase 2 – Joint development of product(s) to be started by July 2012 Financials

Funding of up to $100,000 may be made available to qualified proposals

NineSigma Request # 67563 Modified Alumina for Smaller Electrical Isolators Page 2

Offices: Cleveland - USA, Tokyo - Japan, Leuven - Belgium www.ninesigma.com

ANTICIPATED PROJECT PHASES OR PROJECT PLAN

Phase 1 – Bench demonstration of strength and dielectric properties. Determination of intellectual property status and licensing/production options Phase 2 –Third party pilot manufacturing, testing CRITERIA FOR MOVING FROM PHASE 1 TO PHASE 2

Available samples meet above stated requirements:

Relative Permittivity from 8-12

Temperature stability up to 1200 ⁰C

High Tension Strength (2000N)

High Dielectric Strength (80-160kV/mm)

Good manufacturing reliability APPROPRIATE RESPONDERS TO THIS REQUEST

Responses from companies (small to large), academic researchers, other research institutes, consultants, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, or inventors are welcome. For Example: You represent a manufacturer of advanced thermal insulation materials that have high strength and unexpectedly high electrical resistance that is not proven for electrical applications Or You are an academic researcher with specific knowledge of alumina or other ceramic formulations or manufacturing methods applicable to this problem Or You represent a company possessing a ready solution. RESPONDING TO THIS REQUEST

The proposal template provides both an easy means of responding to this request and a framework for best presenting your response to NineSigma’s client. It also contains information about how NineSigma presents responses to our client. Responding to each bullet point in the Request for Proposal Description on page one wherever possible is essential. For more complete guidance on writing a good proposal please follow the link to our Guide to Writing Non-Confidential Proposals.

In addition to essential proposal content described above, some items that will be make your proposal more compelling are:

Intellectual property status and freedom to practice

Business relationship sought

NON-CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE

By submitting a Response you represent that the Response does not and will not be deemed to contain any confidential information of any kind whatsoever. Your Response should be an executive summary (about 3 pages). The Response should briefly describe the technical approach and provide information on technology performance, background, and description of the responding team and their related experience. By submitting a Response, you acknowledge that NineSigma’s client reserves the sole and absolute right and discretion to select for award all, some, or none of the Responses received for this announcement. NineSigma’s client also may choose to select only specific tasks within a proposal for award. NineSigma's client has the sole and absolute discretion to determine all award amounts.

RESPONSE EVALUATION

NineSigma’s client will evaluate the Response using the

following criteria:

Overall scientific and technical merit of the proposed approach

Approach to proof of concept or performance

Potential for proprietary position (i.e., is the technology novel or protectable)

Economic potential of concept

Respondent’s capabilities and related experience

Realism of the proposed plan and cost estimates

The client will contact respondents with highly responsive proposals for next steps.