HR001119S0078.pdf

HR001119S0078

Broad Agency Announcement FOcal arrays for Curved Infrared Imagers (FOCII)

Microsystems Technology Office

August 9, 2019

Table of Contents

PART I: OVERVIEW INFORMATION

PART II: FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Funding Opportunity Description A. Background B. Program Description C. Program Structure and Technical Areas D. Schedule/Milestones E. Deliverables F. Government Furnished Equipment/Property/Information G. Intellectual Property

II. Award Information A. General Award Information B. Fundamental Research

III. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants

1. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government Entities

B. Organizational Conflicts of Interest C. Cost Sharing/Matching

IV. Application and Submission Information A. Address to Request Application Package B. Content and Form of Application Submission

1. Abstract Format

2. Full Proposal Format

3. Proprietary Information

4. Security Information

a. Program Security Information

b. Unclassified Submissions

5. Disclosure of Information and Compliance with Safeguarding Covered Defense

Information Controls

6. Human Subjects Research (HSR)/Animal Use

7. Approved Cost Accounting System Documentation

8. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 749d)/FAR 39.2

9. Small Business Subcontracting Plan

10. Intellectual Property

a. For Procurement Contracts

b. For All Non-Procurement Contracts

11. Patents

12. System for Award Management (SAM) and Universal Identifier Requirements

13. Funding Restrictions

C. Submission Information

1. Submission Dates and Times

a. Abstract Due Date

b. Full Proposal Date

c. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

2. Abstract Submission Information

3. Proposal Submission Information

a. For Proposers Requesting Contracts or Other Transaction Agreements

b. Classified Submission Information

4. Other Submission Requirements Not applicable

V. Application Review Information A. Evaluation Criteria

1. Overall Scientific and Technical Merit

2. Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission

3. Cost Realism

B. Review and Selection Process

1. Review Process

2. Handling of Source Selection Information

3. Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information (FAPIIS)

VI. Award Administration Information A. Selection Notices

1. Abstracts

2. Proposals

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

1. Meeting and Travel Requirements

2. FAR and DFARS Clauses

3. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) on Non-DoD Information Systems

4. Representations and Certifications

C. Reporting D. Electronic Systems

1. Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF)

2. i-Edison

3. TFIMS

VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information

A. Proposers Day B. Protesting

ATTACHMENT 1: Cost Volume Proposer Checklist ATTACHMENT 2: Proposal Summary Slide Template ATTACHMENT 3: Controlled Unclassified Information Guide

PART I: OVERVIEW INFORMATION

Federal Agency Name: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Microsystems Technology Office (MTO)

Funding Opportunity Title: FOcal arrays for Curved Infrared Imagers (FOCII) Announcement Type: Initial Announcement Funding Opportunity Number: HR001119S0078 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers (CFDA): Not applicable.

Dates: (All times listed herein are Eastern Time) o Posting Date: August 9, 2019 o Proposers Day: August 13, 2019 o Abstract Due Date: September 3, 2019 o FAQ Submission Deadline: October 4, 2019 o Proposal Due Date: October 18, 2019 o Estimated period of performance start: April 2020

Concise description of the funding opportunity: DARPA MTO is soliciting research and development proposals for the FOcal arrays for Curved Infrared Imagers (FOCII) program to 1) curve existing state of the art large area (≥ 55 mm diagonal), high resolution, state of the art cryogenically cooled mid- and/or longwave infrared focal plane arrays to a spherical radius of curvature of 70 mm without any change to the underlying FPA design process, and 2) curve smaller arrays (35 mm diagonal) to an extreme 12.5 mm spherical radius of curvature using structured designs.

Anticipated individual awards: Multiple awards are anticipated.

Anticipated funding type: 6.2 Types of instruments that may be awarded: Procurement contract or other transaction Agency contact:

o Dr. Whitney Mason, Program Manager BAA Coordinator: HR001119S0078@darpa.mil

DARPA/MTO

ATTN: HR001119S0078

675 North Randolph Street Arlington, VA 22203-2114 mailto:name@darpa.mil

PART II: FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) often selects its research efforts through the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) process. This BAA is being issued, and any resultant selection will be made, using the procedures under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 C.F.R. § 200.203. Any negotiations and/or awards will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing. Proposals received as a result of this BAA shall be evaluated in accordance with evaluation criteria specified herein through a scientific review process.

DARPA BAAs are posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website, http://www.fbo.gov/. The following information is for those wishing to respond to the BAA.

The Microsystems Technology Office at DARPA seeks innovative proposals in the following areas of interest: processes and technologies to curve: 1) existing state-of-the-art (SOA) large format (>2k x 2k , ≥55 mm diagonal) cryogenically cooled midwave (MWIR) and/or longwave (LWIR) infrared detectors with a radius of curvature (ROC) of 70 mm without any change to the underlying FPA design process, and 2) prototype large format (≥2k x 2k with ≥35 mm diagonal) cryogenically cooled MWIR and LWIR detectors with an extreme 12.5 mm ROC using structured designs. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. It is anticipated that the technical approaches to meet both goals will be different, and therefore, separate proposals are required for each Technical Area. Specifically excluded are proposals for: (1) research that primarily would result in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice; (2) proposals to curve focal plane arrays (FPAs) that are not cryogenically cooled or have cutoff wavelengths less than 3 m;

(3) proposals using low TRL detector materials not fielded in military systems (e.g. graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, colloidal quantum dots, etc.); and (4) amalgamations of existing imagers or implementations that do not curve the integrated detector and readout circuit stack (e.g. compound imagers, fiber bundle imagers, etc.).

A. Background

Nearly all fielded imaging systems in military use contain detector arrays fabricated using planar processes developed for electronic integrated circuits, resulting in the need to use large and complex optics to correct for spherical aberrations. Recent work by commercial vendors have developed small area, curved FPAs (CFPAs) for visible cameras. FOCII plans to expand upon the current commercial trend for visible sensor arrays by extending this capability to both large format (≥2k x 2k, ≥55 mm diagonal) cryogenically cooled MWIR and/or LWIR imagers and smaller format (≥2k x 2k, >35 mm diagonal) MWIR and/or LWIR imagers with extreme (~12.5

mm) ROCs where additional challenges exist.

While CFPAs and curved imagers have been attempted by the community in the past, the approaches used were not able to produce commercially scalable, large format devices with small ROC. Several organizations developed techniques to curve small (<20 mm diagonal) http://www.fbo.gov/ commercial arrays to a small radius of curvature (~50-70 mm). However, these CFPAs operated at room temperature and primarily imaged only visible light. Though very small ROCs are possible with FPAs that use nontraditional flexible absorbing materials combined with flexible electronics, imaging performance was significantly worse in terms of sensitivity, noise, and resolution due to the inherently poorer electrical properties, immature processing, and low fill factor of flexible materials. Lastly, compound imagers arraying multiple micro-imaging systems into a curved imaging plane with a common objective lens have been demonstrated with high resolution and high sensitivity. However, these resulting systems are large, costly, and complex.

FOCII will seek to develop and demonstrate technologies for curving existing large format, high performance IR FPAs to a small ROC to maximize performance as well as curve smaller format FPAs to an extreme ROC to enable the smallest form factors possible while maintaining exquisite performance.

B. Program Description

Tremendous progress has been made over the past 20 years to increase the number of detectors and reduce the detector pitch such that multi-megapixel IR FPAs are cost effective and available to the Department of Defense (DoD). When combined with wide field of view optics, the resulting system can suffer from poor illumination and resolution uniformity such that the performance at the periphery of the array can vary significantly from the center of the FPA. This leads to a degradation of range performance across the field of view or a smaller effective field of view than desired. Improving performance at the edges of the image requires increasing the number of optical elements. This creates a trade for better edge performance versus reduced optical transmission (lower sensor sensitivity) and greater size and weight of the lens.

Investments in advanced materials for lenses, such as graded refractive index (GRIN) materials, have increased the performance of optical designs but have not overcome the fundamental limitations imposed by a flat FPA.

The development of arrays with small ROC can enable uniform performance across the field of view, even with compact optics.

The FOCII program will seek to demonstrate two methods of fabricating a curved FPA: (1) via curving existing FPAs without the integration of stress-relieving features that would disrupt photon detection and readout; (2) via mechanically structuring the array such that stresses are mitigated or avoided. These stress relief features may result in blind spots, seams, or other physical features that need to be accounted for during image reconstruction in the underlying read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) algorithms. Stresses imparted on a ROIC during the curving process may cause it to crack or degrade the electronic performance relative to its flat counterpart. Due to the cryogenic cooling requirement of state of the art MWIR/LWIR detectors, packaging and Dewar assembly must be addressed as well as thermal survivability.

As described in detail in the next sections, FOCII will consist of two Technical Areas, both of which will be executed in three phases over a 48-month period of performance.

It is anticipated that much of Phase 1 for both Technical Areas will be open, fundamental research. However, as the resultant FPAs will have specifications appropriate for military use, specific techniques or performance metrics will be considered Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

Phases 2 and 3 will certainly include CUI or more specifically Controlled Technical Information (CTI) and/or may be deemed as export-controlled. Access would be restricted to technologies that could have military or space application (per DFARS 252.204-7102). Proper measures to handle, store, process and transit CUI/CTI will therefore be required.

For further information about aspects of the FOCII program that will be considered CUI, please see Attachment 3 to this BAA titled “Controlled Unclassified Information Guide.” This document will also be included in all awards against HR001119S0078.

C. Program Structure and Technical Areas

The FOCII program is a 48-month effort that will be executed in three phases: a base 12-month Phase 1 focused on mechanical structures, an optional 18-month Phase 2 focused on integrated FPAs, and an optional 18-month Phase 3 focused on imaging demonstrations. Continued funding beyond the base effort (Phase 2 and Phase 3) will be determined by DARPA based on performance and funding availability.

FOCII will demonstrate curved FPAs in two Technical Areas (TA). A single organization may propose to both TA1 and TA2 but must submit separate proposals for each TA. A single organization may receive awards for both TA1 and TA2. Tasks that would be duplicated in the effort if both TAs were awarded must be called out explicitly. Each Technical Area has a set of target metrics that are detailed below.

Technical Area 1 (TA1): Curving SOA FPAs

This Technical Area addresses the curving of SOA existing FPAs and, therefore, allows no modifications to the underlying FPA design. Here, design modifications refer to any changes in the mask sets used to process the FPAs that result in discontinuities in the array geometry or in the pixel processing flow. Examples of non-compliant modifications include creating discontinuities in the ROIC or individual hybridization of pixels. Examples of acceptable modifications include thinning materials or adding additional passivation layers. This Technical Area takes advantage of all of the advances in standard FPA design and manufacturing and enables a process for rapid manufacturing of curved FPAs. Proposals should include a description and data package for the proposed FPA to be curved. The fundamental challenge of TA1 is to mitigate the mechanical strain induced by curving the FPA, particularly in the silicon ROIC, which will dominate the mechanical behavior. Three stress mechanisms must be balanced in order to spherically deform an FPA: bending stress, tensile stress and compressive stress. The boundary conditions will govern the extent to which each stress influences the deformation process. Ultimately, the maximum stress will be approximately proportional to the area of the die to be curved and inversely proportional to the square of the ROC. Under a fixed strain limit, this leads to a significantly larger ROC limit as die size increases. To decrease the ROC beyond this limit, higher levels of strain must be managed. Performers will be required to determine new ways of balancing strain within the existing silicon limits. Further, brittle failure is dominated by defects and there is an opportunity to extend the traditional strain limit of thinned silicon die to higher levels by developing novel processing techniques. The infrared absorbing layer will also experience strain. Non-uniform loading has not been studied extensively. Performers will be required to characterize the impact and develop mitigation strategies for the impact of non-uniform strain on imaging performance. These may include new device designs and growth methods to reduce the impact of residual stress on the IR absorber’s bandgap and the associated optoelectronic properties. The objective of TA1 is to curve high-performance, large format (≥55 mm diagonal) FPAs to a ROC of 70 mm. The objective of TA1 is to develop and demonstrate approaches to achieving the required ROC while maintaining the FPA detector performance of the flat FPA, in terms of fill factor, operability, and noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD). Throughout the program, performers should use existing state of the art FPAs.

TA1’s Phase 1 demonstrations may use surrogate materials rather than fully processed and hybridized FPAs. For example, silicon wafers may be used rather than processed ROICs, but if the back end of line layers are relevant to the results, surrogate layers should be used here as well. Detector layers need not be fully processed, but should be sufficiently representative of the final FPA to allow characterization of stress uniformity. Performers should model and demonstrate the ability to curve large areas to small ROC using these relevant FPA materials. At a minimum, measurements and modeling should demonstrate an understanding of the impact of different types of stresses on both mechanical and electrical performance to include thermal effects, the relationship between size of the die and ROC, and an understanding of the impact of defects and techniques for mitigating and/or eliminating them. An understanding of the strain limits in the materials will guide the subsequent phases of the program. Curvature metrics, mechanical survivability, and spectral uniformity must all be demonstrated in TA1 Phase 1. For TA1 Phase 2, operational, hybridized FPAs of at least 55 mm diagonal should be curved and characterized. Performance and operability measurements should be made before and after curving to quantify impact of curving. Appropriate packaging should be developed, including developing assemblies to uniformly cool a curved array, and the arrays must have some initial thermal reliability testing. The Dewar-cooler assembly should be appropriate for FPA performance testing in the laboratory. In TA1 Phase 3, FPAs of at least 55 mm diagonal must be curved, characterized, and integrated into appropriate packaging to produce a test camera. The camera must then be subjected to more extensive thermal reliability testing. It is anticipated that maximum reuse of the Phase 2 Dewar will be leveraged but in phase 3, the Dewar-cooler assembly should be appropriate for field testing in a controlled environment. Government independent verification and validation (IV&V) teams will build optics and validate performance in both Phase 2 and 3.

The FOCII program metrics for TA1 by phase are shown in Table 1, along with a comparison to a representative state of the art FPA.

Table 1. FOCII Technical Area 1 program metrics

(1) 4096 x 4096, 10 µm pitch, MWIR

(2) Surrogate FPA materials

(3) Pixel fill factor defined as the ratio of light-sensitive area of a pixel to total pixel area in an image sensor

(4) Relative to flat FPA

(5) Operability defined as 0.5*Rmean<R<1.5*Rmean; NEDT < 4X NEDTmean; no row/column outages; no clusters larger than 5x5;

(6) One thermal cycle defined as 300K to 77K to 300K; FPA must be operable post cycling

Technical Area 2 (TA2): Structured FPAs

The objective of TA2 is to determine whether structured FPAs can be realized and whether this can enable even higher ROC. Therefore, the goal of TA2 is curving smaller-sized (35 mm diagonal) FPAs to an extreme ROC of 12.5 mm to enable extreme size, weight, and power (SWaP) reduction compared to current imagers. Unlike TA1, it is anticipated that this Technical Area will require changes to the underlying FPA design process to develop FPAs that achieve inherent stress relief or stress avoidance mechanisms. This may be achieved by designing in discontinuities in the ROIC and IR absorber that are subsequently curved or by building flat segments that are integrated together. The approach must enable full readout of the arrays. These strain relief features will likely lead to geometric patterns that leave non-uniform spacing between certain pixels. The objective of TA2 is to develop and demonstrate approaches to achieve the required ROC, while keeping pixel gaps on the image surface to subpixel dimensions, and minimizing geometric deviation from a spherical surface, which would reintroduce optical distortion. The curved FPA performance will match that of a similar flat FPA in terms of fill factor, operability, and NETD.

In TA2’s Phase 1, performers will model and demonstrate the ability to bend moderately sized arrays to a ROC of 12.5 mm using relevant FPA materials. Seams caused by stress-relieving features and deviation from spherical curvature should be measured and techniques developed to mitigate. Curvature metrics and mechanical survivability should be demonstrated. During this phase, a preliminary FPA design will be developed to meet the goals of Phase 2. The design must include a description of how data will be displayed on a standard display if non-traditional layouts or pixel shapes are included. In TA2’s Phase 2, new designs for FPAs must be manufactured in order to meet the Phase 2 metrics. Appropriate packaging should be developed, including developing assemblies to uniformly cool a curved array, and the arrays must have some initial thermal reliability testing. The Dewar-cooler assembly should be appropriate for FPA performance testing in the laboratory. Appropriate packaging to produce a test camera should be developed and focal array performance must be demonstrated along with more extensive thermal reliability testing. It is anticipated that maximum reuse of the Phase 2 Dewar will be leveraged but in phase 3, the Dewar-cooler assembly should be appropriate for field testing in a controlled environment. In TA2’s Phase 3, Government IV&V teams will build optics and validate performance in both Phase 2 and 3. The FOCII program metrics for TA2 are shown in Table 2, along with a comparison to the representative state of the art FPA.

Table 2. FOCII Technical Area 2 program metrics

(1) 1280 x 1024, 12 µm pitch, LWIR (scaled)

(2) Surrogate FPA materials

(3) Pixel fill factor defined as the ratio of light-sensitive area of a pixel to total pixel area in an image sensor

(4) Relative to flat FPA

(5) Operability defined as 0.5*Rmean<R<1.5*Rmean; NEDT < 4X NEDTmean; no row/column outages; no clusters larger than 5x5

(6) Seam width defined as the width of the discontinuity between the physical edges of adjacent absorbing regions after curving or integration

(7) Spherical deviation defined as max│Ras_built- Rspec│/ Rspec

(8) 1 thermal cycle is defined as 300K to 77K to 300K; FPA must still be operable post cycling

D. Schedule/Milestones

General guidance for TA1 and TA2 proposals:

All teams should plan for phase transition information to be required 1.5 months prior to the end of a given phase (Phase 1 and Phase 2). Program reviews will be scheduled accordingly to facilitate transfer of information to inform the transition decision process in order to execute phase transitions in a timely manner.

A target start date of April 2020 may be assumed for planning and budgeting purposes.

All proposals should include the following meetings and travel in the proposed schedule and costs:

o Proposals should budget for 6 two-day meetings over the course of the 48 month period of performance – three meetings in the Washington, D.C. area and three meetings in the San Francisco, CA area.

o Regular monthly teleconference meetings will be scheduled with the Government team for progress reporting and the identification and mitigation of performance and schedule issues. Proposers should also anticipate at least one site visit per phase by the DARPA Program Manager during which they will have the opportunity to demonstrate progress towards agreed-upon milestones.

o Budget for attending and presenting results at appropriate technical conferences is acceptable (one per phase, at conferences consistent with the information being disseminated); beyond this level of conference, attendance will need substantial justification.

Table 3. Milestone Schedule

E. Deliverables

Quarterly technical reports are due within ten days of the end of the given quarter, describing progress made on the specific milestones as laid out in the SOW. (Outlined in Section VI.C.)

Monthly financial reports are due within ten days of the end of each month. (Outlined in Section VI.C.)

Phase 1 (12 months) Phase 2 (18 months) Phase 3 (18 months)

TA1

Mechanical and electrical model(s)

Curvature metrics met, ref. Table 1

Spectral uniformity meeting specifications of Table 1

TA2

Mechanical and electrical model(s)

Curvature metrics met, ref. Table 2

Seam width and deviation from spherical characterized

FPA preliminary design review

• Demonstrate curved hybridized arrays

• Demonstrate operability/ thermal cycle reliability

• Demonstrate curved FPA performance

• Demonstrate operability/ thermal cycle reliability

• Test integrated camera

A Phase Completion report submitted within 30 days of the end of each phase, summarizing the research done.

Phase 1:

o TA1 and TA2: Laboratory test data and validated mechanical model showing feasibility for exceeding Phase I metrics Phase 2:

o TA1 and TA2: Two (2) curved FPAs capable of meeting Phase II metrics (with accompanying models, validation and test data) along with FPA performance and thermal cycling data.

o Preliminary manufacturing assessment— A scaling and manufacturability assessment detailing a path for the developed technology to high-volume manufacturing of components and compatibility with the domestic photonics-electronics manufacturing and packaging ecosystem created under the program.

Phase 3:

o TA1 and TA2: Curved FPA integrated into test camera capable of Phase 3 metrics (with accompanying models, validation and test data).

o End-of-program manufacturing assessment – A refined scaling and manufacturability assessment detailing a path for the developed technology to high-volume manufacturing of components and compatibility with the domestic photonics-electronics manufacturing and packaging ecosystem created under the program.

Other negotiated deliverables specific to the objectives of the individual efforts.

These may include registered reports, experimental protocols, publications, data management plan, intermediate and final versions of software libraries, code, and APIs, including documentation and user manuals, and/or a comprehensive assemblage of design documents, models, modeling data and results, and model validation data.

F. Government Furnished Equipment/Property/Information

No Government Furnished Equipment, Property, or Information will be provided for the effort solicited in this BAA.

G. Intellectual Property

The evaluation criteria will include the ability to transition the technology to a government application. To assist with this assessment proposers shall identify in their proposal any pre-existing technical data or commercial/non-commercial software that they will deliver to the Government with less than unlimited rights. See Section IV.B.10. for more information related to intellectual property.

It is desired that all noncommercial software (including source code), software documentation, hardware designs and documentation, and technical data generated by the program be provided as deliverables to the Government, with a minimum of Government Purpose Rights (GPR), as lesser rights may adversely impact the lifecycle costs of affected items, components, or processes.

II. Award Information

A. General Award Information

Multiple awards are anticipated. The amount of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.

The Government reserves the right to select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the proposals received in response to this solicitation, and to make awards without discussions with proposers. The Government also reserves the right to conduct discussions if it is later determined to be necessary. If warranted, portions of resulting awards may be segregated into pre-priced options. Additionally, DARPA reserves the right to accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award. In the event that DARPA desires to award only portions of a proposal, negotiations may be opened with that proposer. The Government reserves the right to fund proposals in phases with options for continued work at the end of one or more of the phases, as applicable.

Awards under this BAA will be made to proposers on the basis of the evaluation criteria listed below (see section labeled “Application Review Information,” Sec. V.), and program balance to provide overall value to the Government. The Government reserves the right to request any additional, necessary documentation once it makes the award instrument determination. Such additional information may include but is not limited to Representations and Certifications (see Section VI.B.4., “Representations and Certifications”). The Government reserves the right to remove proposers from award consideration should the parties fail to reach agreement on award terms, conditions and cost/price within a reasonable time or the proposer fails to timely provide requested additional information. Proposals identified for negotiation may result in a procurement contract or other transaction, depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, whether or not the research is classified as Fundamental Research, and other factors.

Proposers looking for innovative, commercial-like contractual arrangements are encouraged to consider requesting Other Transactions. To understand the flexibility and options associated with Other Transactions, consult http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management#OtherTransactions.

In accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 2371b(f), the Government may award a follow-on production contract or Other Transaction (OT) for any OT awarded under this BAA if: (1) that participant in the OT, or a recognized successor in interest to the OT, successfully completed the entire prototype project provided for in the OT, as modified; and (2) the OT provides for the award of a follow-on production contract or OT to the participant, or a recognized successor in interest to the OT.

http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management#OtherTransactions

In all cases, the Government contracting officer shall have sole discretion to select award instrument type, regardless of instrument type proposed, and to negotiate all instrument terms and conditions with selectees. DARPA will apply publication or other restrictions, as necessary, if it determines that the research resulting from the proposed effort will present a high likelihood of disclosing performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that are unique and critical to defense. Any award resulting from such a determination will include a requirement for DARPA permission before publishing any information or results on the program. For more information on publication restrictions, see the section below on Fundamental Research.

B. Fundamental Research

It is DoD policy that the publication of products of fundamental research will remain unrestricted to the maximum extent possible. National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 189 defines fundamental research as follows:

‘Fundamental research’ means basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished from proprietary research and from industrial development, design, production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.

As of the date of publication of this BAA, the Government expects that program goals as described herein may be met by proposed efforts for fundamental research and non-fundamental research. Some proposed research may present a high likelihood of disclosing performance characteristics of military systems or manufacturing technologies that are unique and critical to defense. Based on the anticipated type of proposer (e.g., university or industry) and the nature of the solicited work, the Government expects that some awards will include restrictions on the resultant research that will require the awardee to seek DARPA permission before publishing any information or results relative to the program.

Proposers should indicate in their proposal whether they believe the scope of the research included in their proposal is fundamental or not. While proposers should clearly explain the intended results of their research, the Government shall have sole discretion to determine whether the proposed research shall be considered fundamental and to select the award instrument type. Appropriate language will be included in resultant awards for non-fundamental research to prescribe publication requirements and other restrictions, as appropriate. This language can be found at http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa.

For certain research projects, it may be possible that although the research to be performed by a potential awardee is non-fundamental research, its proposed subawardee’s effort may be fundamental research. It is also possible that the research performed by a potential awardee is fundamental research while its proposed subawardee’s effort may be non-fundamental research.

In all cases, it is the potential awardee’s responsibility to explain in its proposal which proposed efforts are fundamental research and why the proposed efforts should be considered fundamental research.

http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/additional-baa

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by DARPA.

1. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Government Entities

a) FFRDCs

FFRDCs are subject to applicable direct competition limitations and cannot propose to this BAA in any capacity unless they meet the following conditions. (1) FFRDCs must clearly demonstrate that the proposed work is not otherwise available from the private sector. (2) FFRDCs must provide a letter, on official letterhead from their sponsoring organization, that (a) cites the specific authority establishing their eligibility to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry, and (b) certifies the FFRDC’s compliance with the associated FFRDC sponsor agreement’s terms and conditions. These conditions are a requirement for FFRDCs proposing to be awardees or subawardees.

b) Government Entities

Government Entities (e.g., Government/National laboratories, military educational institutions, etc.) are subject to applicable direct competition limitations. Government Entities must clearly demonstrate that the work is not otherwise available from the private sector and provide written documentation citing the specific statutory authority and contractual authority, if relevant, establishing their ability to propose to Government solicitations and compete with industry. This information is required for Government Entities proposing to be awardees or subawardees.

c) Authority and Eligibility

At the present time, DARPA does not consider 15 U.S.C. § 3710a to be sufficient legal authority to show eligibility. While 10 U.S.C.§ 2539b may be the appropriate statutory starting point for some entities, specific supporting regulatory guidance, together with evidence of agency approval, will still be required to fully establish eligibility. DARPA will consider FFRDC and Government Entity eligibility submissions on a case-by-case basis; however, the burden to prove eligibility for all team members rests solely with the proposer.

(1) Non-U.S. organizations and/or individuals may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, and other governing statutes applicable under the circumstances.

(2) For classified proposals, applicants will ensure all industrial, personnel, and information systems processing security requirements are in place and at the appropriate level (e.g., Facility Clearance Level (FCL), Automated Information Security (AIS), Certification and Accreditation (C&A), and any Foreign Ownership Control and Influence (FOCI) issues are mitigated prior to submission. Additional information on these subjects can be found at http://www.dss.mil.

B. Organizational Conflicts of Interest

FAR 9.5 Requirements In accordance with FAR 9.5, proposers are required to identify and disclose all facts relevant to potential OCIs involving the proposer’s organization and any proposed team member (subawardee, consultant). Under this Section, the proposer is responsible for providing this disclosure with each proposal submitted to the BAA. The disclosure must include the proposer’s, and as applicable, proposed team member’s OCI mitigation plan. The OCI mitigation plan must include a description of the actions the proposer has taken, or intends to take, to prevent the existence of conflicting roles that might bias the proposer’s judgment and to prevent the proposer from having unfair competitive advantage. The OCI mitigation plan will specifically discuss the disclosed OCI in the context of each of the OCI limitations outlined in FAR 9.505-1 through

FAR 9.505-4.

Agency Supplemental OCI Policy In addition, DARPA has a supplemental OCI policy that prohibits contractors/performers from concurrently providing Scientific Engineering Technical Assistance (SETA), Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) or similar support services and being a technical performer.

Therefore, as part of the FAR 9.5 disclosure requirement above, a proposer must affirm whether the proposer or any proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) is providing SETA, A&AS, or similar support to any DARPA office(s) under: (a) a current award or subaward; or (b) a past award or subaward that ended within one calendar year prior to the proposal’s submission date.

If SETA, A&AS, or similar support is being or was provided to any DARPA office(s), the proposal must include:

The name of the DARPA office receiving the support;

The prime contract number;

Identification of proposed team member (subawardee, consultant) providing the support; and An OCI mitigation plan in accordance with FAR 9.5.

Government Procedures In accordance with FAR 9.503, 9.504 and 9.506, the Government will evaluate OCI mitigation plans to avoid, neutralize or mitigate potential OCI issues before award and to determine whether it is in the Government’s interest to grant a waiver. The Government will only evaluate OCI mitigation plans for proposals that are determined selectable under the BAA evaluation criteria and funding availability.

The Government may require proposers to provide additional information to assist the Government in evaluating the proposer’s OCI mitigation plan.

http://www.dss.mil/

If the Government determines that a proposer failed to fully disclose an OCI; or failed to provide the affirmation of DARPA support as described above; or failed to reasonably provide additional information requested by the Government to assist in evaluating the proposer’s OCI mitigation plan, the Government may reject the proposal and withdraw it from consideration for award.

C. Cost Sharing/Matching

Cost sharing is not required; however, it will be carefully considered where there is an applicable statutory condition relating to the selected funding instrument. Cost sharing is encouraged where there is a reasonable probability of a potential commercial application related to the proposed research and development effort.

For more information on potential cost sharing requirements for Other Transactions for Prototype, see http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/contract-management#OtherTransactions.

IV. Application and Submission Information

PROPOSERS ARE CAUTIONED THAT EVALUATION RATINGS MAY BE LOWERED

AND/OR PROPOSALS REJECTED IF PROPOSAL PREPARATION (PROPOSAL FORMAT,

CONTENT, ETC.) AND/OR SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT FOLLOWED.

A. Address to Request Application Package

This announcement, any attachments, and any references to external websites herein constitute the total solicitation. If proposers cannot access the referenced material posted in the announcement found at www.darpa.mil, contact the administrative contact listed herein.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

All submissions, including abstracts and proposals must be written in English with type not smaller than 12 point font. Smaller font may be used for figures, tables, and charts. Copies of all documents submitted must be clearly labeled with the DARPA BAA number, proposer organization, and proposal title/proposal short title.

1. Abstract Format Proposers are strongly encouraged to submit an abstract in advance of a full proposal. Proposers should submit a separate abstract for each TA. Abstracts should follow the format described below in this section. The cover sheet should be clearly marked “ABSTRACT” and the total length of Section II should not exceed 8 pages.

Section I. Administrative

A. Cover sheet to include:

(1) BAA number (HR001119S0078);

(2) Technical Area;

(3) Lead Organization submitting abstract;

http://www.darpa.mil/

(4) Type of organization, selected among the following categories:

Large Organization, Small Disadvantaged Organization, Other Small Organization, HBCU, MI, Other Educational, Other Nonprofit;

(5) Proposer’s internal reference number (if any);

(6) Other team members (if applicable) and type of organization for each;

(7) Proposal title;

(8) Technical point of contact to include:

Salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code (+4), telephone, fax (if available), electronic mail;

(9) Administrative point of contact to include:

Salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code (+4), telephone, fax (if available), electronic mail;

(10) Total funds requested from DARPA, and the amount of cost share (if any); AND

(11) Date proposal abstract was submitted.

(Note: An official transmittal letter is not required when submitting a Proposal Abstract.)

Section II. Abstract Details

A. Innovative Claims Summary of innovative claims for the proposed research. This section is the centerpiece of the abstract and should succinctly describe the uniqueness and benefits of the proposed approach relative to the current state-of-art alternate approaches.

B. Technical Approach Technical rationale, technical approach, and constructive plan for accomplishment of technical goals in support of innovative claims and deliverable production.

C. Deliverables Deliverables associated with the proposed research and the plans and capability to accomplish technology transition and commercialization.

D. Cost and Schedule Provide a cost estimate for resources (e.g. labor, materials) and any subcontractors over the proposed timeline of the project, broken down by Government fiscal year.

2. Full Proposal Format

All full proposals must be in the format given below. Proposals shall consist of two volumes:

Volume I – Technical and Management Proposal (3 sections), and Volume II – Cost Proposal (4 sections). The submission of other supporting materials along with the proposals is strongly discouraged and will not be considered for review. Section II of Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal, shall not exceed 30 pages. The page limitation for full proposals includes all figures, tables, and charts. There is no page limit for Volume II, Cost Proposal.

Proposers should not propose to more than one Technical Area in a single proposal. Proposers who wish to submit to more than one TA must submit a separate full proposal for each. Tasks that would be duplicated in the effort if both TAs were awarded must be called out explicitly.

A summary slide of the proposed effort, in PowerPoint format, should be submitted with the proposal. A template slide is provided as Attachment 2 to the BAA. Submit this PowerPoint file in addition to Volumes I and II of your full proposal. This summary slide does not count towards the total page count.

a. Volume I, Technical and Management Proposal

Section I. Administrative

A. Cover sheet to include:

(1) BAA number (HR001119S0078);

(2) Technical Area;

(3) Lead Organization submitting proposal;

(4) Type of organization, selected among the following categories:

Large Organization, Small Disadvantaged Organization, Other Small Organization, HBCU, MI, Other Educational, Other Nonprofit;

(5) Proposer’s internal reference number (if any);

(6) Other team members (if applicable) and type of organization for each;

(7) Proposal title;

(8) Technical point of contact to include:

Salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code (+4), telephone, fax (if available), electronic mail;

(9) Administrative point of contact to include:

Salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code (+4), telephone, fax (if available), electronic mail;

(10) Total funds requested from DARPA, and the amount of cost share (if any); AND

(11) Date proposal was submitted.

B. Official transmittal letter.

The transmittal letter should identify the BAA number, the proposal by name, and the proposal reference number (if any), and should be signed by an individual who is authorized to submit proposals to the Government.

Section II. Detailed Proposal Information

A. Executive Summary Summarize the technical approach, anticipated performance, and expected outcomes of the proposed effort. The executive summary should be concise and to the point. Tables, graphs, and diagrams can be used as supplemental material along with narrative to convey the information.

B. Technical Approach This section is the centerpiece of the proposal and should succinctly summarize the innovative claims for the proposed research and clearly describe the proposed approach. All proposers should use the information within Part I, section C as reference for their proposal.

This section should demonstrate that the proposer has a clear understanding of the state-of-the-art and should provide sufficient justification for the feasibility of the proposed approach(es). This section should include a detailed technical rationale, technical approach, and constructive plan for accomplishment of technical goals in support of innovative claims and deliverable creation. Proposers should provide a technical and programmatic strategy that conforms to the entire program schedule and presents an aggressive plan to fully address all program goals, metrics, milestones, and deliverables, including specific TA1 and TA2 metrics as detailed in Tables 1 and 2. The task structure must be consistent across the proposed schedule, Statement of Work, and Cost Volume.

TA1 proposers should provide arguments, preferably quantitative, explaining why the proposed approach is expected to meet performance goals. Proposals must describe in detail the technical approach to proceed from curving materials to curving hybridized FPAs.

Proposal should provide detailed approaches to mitigate the impact of thermal baking and cycling. All TA1 proposals should include a description of the proposed FPA to be curved as well as a test data package (not included in page count).

TA2 proposers should provide arguments, preferably quantitative, explaining why the proposed approach is expected to meet performance goals. Proposals must describe in detail the technical approach to proceed from curved materials to curved hybridized FPAs. Detailed approaches to mitigate any seams between rows or other non-uniformity in pixel spacing plus any deviation from spherical. Proposals should describe how data will be displayed on a standard display if non-traditional layouts or pixel shapes are included.

C. Statement of Work (SOW) In plain English, clearly define the technical tasks/subtasks to be performed, their durations, and dependencies among them. The page length for the SOW will be dependent on the amount of the effort. The SOW must not include proprietary information. For each task/subtask, provide:

1. A general description of the objective (for each defined task/activity);

2. A detailed description of the approach to be taken to accomplish each defined task/activity;

3. Identification of the primary organization responsible for task execution (prime, sub, team member, by name, etc.);

4. The completion criteria for each task/activity - a product, event or milestone that defines its completion.

5. Define all deliverables (reporting, data, reports, software, etc.) to be provided to the Government in support of the proposed research tasks/activities; AND

6. Clearly identify any tasks/subtasks (prime or subcontracted) that will be accomplished on-campus at a university, if applicable...

Note: Each Phase of the program must be separately defined in the SOW. Include a SOW for each subcontractor and/or consultant in the Cost Proposal Volume. Do not include any proprietary information in the SOW(s).

D. Schedules and measurable milestones Schedules and measurable milestones for the proposed research. (Note: Measurable milestones should capture key development points in tasks and should be clearly articulated and defined in time relative to start of effort.) Where the effort consists of multiple portions which could reasonably be partitioned for purposes of funding, these should be identified as options. Additionally, proposals should clearly explain the technical approach(es) that will be employed to meet or exceed each program metric and provide ample justification as to why the approach(es) is/are feasible. The milestones must not include proprietary information.

E. Results and Technology Transfer Description of the results, products, transferable technology, and expected technology transfer. This should also address mitigation of life cycle and sustainment risks associated with transitioning intellectual property for U.S. military applications, if applicable. See also Section IV.B.10, “Intellectual Property.” If there are no proprietary claims, this should be stated.

F. Risk Analysis and Mitigation Plan Identify the major technical and programmatic risks in the program. Include a risk matrix.

For each risk, assign a probability of occurrence on a scale of 1-10, where 10 indicates a high likelihood that the risk will impact program success, as well as an assessment of impact, also on a scale of 1-10, where 10 indicates that this risk would maximally limit the program from delivering prototypes on schedule or meeting performance objectives. For each item with total risk (likelihood × impact) exceeding 40, include a plan for mitigating the risk and assessing risk reduction.

G. Ongoing Research Comparison with other ongoing research indicating advantages and disadvantages of the proposed effort.

H. Proposer Accomplishments Discussion of proposer’s previous accomplishments and work in closely related research areas.

I. National Security Impact…