HR001123S0019.pdf

HR001123S0019

Broad Agency Announcement Miniature Integrated Thermal Management Systems for 3D

Heterogeneous Integration (Minitherms3D) Microsystems Technology Office

January 23, 2023

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 D. Technical Area E. Schedule/Milestones F. Deliverables

1. Program Review Meetings

2. Prototype Delivery

3. Technical Reports

4. Monthly Financial Reports

5. Final Report

G. Government Furnished Equipment/Property/Information H. 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

2. Other Applicants B. Organizational Conflicts of Interest C. Cost Sharing/Matching D. Associate Contractor Agreement Clause

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

1. Abstract Format Section II. Abstract Details

2. Full Proposal Format

3. Proprietary Information

4. Security Information

a. Program Security Information

b. Unclassified Submissions

c. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)

1. CUI Proposal Markings

2. CUI Submission Requirements

d. Classified 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. Grant Abstract

10. Small Business Subcontracting Plan

11. Intellectual Property

a. For Procurement Contracts

b. For All Non-Procurement Contracts

12. Patents

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

C. Submission Information

1. Submission Dates and Times

a. Abstract Due Date

b. Full Proposal Due Date Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

2. Abstract Submission Information (optional)

3. Proposal Submission Information

a. For Proposers Requesting Grants or Cooperative Agreements:

b. For Proposers Requesting Technology Investment Agreements

c. For Proposers Requesting Contracts or Other Transaction Agreements

d. Classified Submission Information

4. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information A. Evaluation Criteria

1. Overall Scientific and Technical Merit

2. Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission

3. Cost and Schedule Realism

B. Review and Selection Process

1. Review Process

2. Handling of Source Selection Information

3. Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information (FAPIIS)

4. Countering Foreign Influence Program (CFIP)

VI. Award Administration Information A. Selection Notices

1. Abstracts

2. Proposals

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

1. Meeting and Travel Requirements

2. Solicitation Provisions and Award Clauses, Terms and Conditions

3. Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Controlled Technical Information

(CTI) on Non-DoD Information Systems

4. Representations and Certifications

5. Terms and Conditions (for grants and cooperative agreements only)

C. Reporting D. Electronic Systems

1. Wide Area Work Flow (WAWF)

2. i-Edison

3. Vault

4. DARPA Embedded Entrepreneurship Initiative (EEI)

VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information

A. Proposers Day B. University Student and Researcher Funding

ATTACHMENT 1: Cost Volume Proposer Checklist ATTACHMENT 2: Proposal Summary Slide Template ATTACHMENT 3: General MTO Controlled Unclassified Information Guide (CUIG) ATTACHMENT 4: Other Transaction (OT) Certifications Template ATTACHMENT 5: DARPA Standard Cost Proposal Spreadsheet

PART I: OVERVIEW INFORMATION

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

Funding Opportunity Title: Miniature Integrated Thermal Management Systems for 3D Heterogeneous Integration (Minitherms3D)

Announcement Type: Initial Announcement Funding Opportunity Number: HR001123S0019 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers (CFDA): 12.910 Research and

Technology Development Dates: (All times listed herein are Eastern Time) o Posting Date: January 23, 2023 o Proposers Day: January 27, 2023 o Abstract Due Date: February 22, 2023 o FAQ Submission Deadline: March 27, 2023 o Proposal Due Date: April 11, 2023 o Estimated period of performance start: October 2023

Concise description of the funding opportunity: The Minitherms3D program seeks to revolutionize thermal management for three-dimensional heterogeneous integration (3DHI). This program seeks to significantly reduce thermal resistances within the 3D stack and external to the stack of 3DHI systems, while increasing volumetric heat removal.

Total amount anticipated to be awarded: Approximately $69M of total funding is anticipated for awards made against this BAA.

Anticipated individual awards: Multiple awards are anticipated Anticipated funding type: 6.2 Types of instruments that may be awarded: Procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement or other transaction.

Agency contact:

o Dr. Yogendra Joshi, Program Manager BAA Coordinator: HR001123S0019@darpa.mil

DARPA/MTO

ATTN: HR001123S0019

675 North Randolph Street Arlington, VA 22203-2114 mailto:HR001123S0019@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 for FAR-based procurement contracts 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 System for Award Management (SAM) website, under the Contract Opportunities link, at https://sam.gov/, and, as applicable, the grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov/. The following information is for those wishing to respond to the BAA.

The Microsystems Technology Office at DARPA seeks innovative proposals for the research and development of compact thermal management technology scalable to an arbitrarily large number of high-power tiers in a 3D Heterogeneous Integration (3DHI) chip stack. Specific program goals include: 3D stacking of five tiers with total heat dissipation > 6.8 kW (compared to 1 kW for single tier state-of-the art (SOTA)) logic die today) with the heat rejection system limited to <

0.006 m3 (> 2X smaller than SOTA). These enhancements must be fully compatible with the electrical device and interconnect performance goals for the given applications. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

A. Background

Continued rapid growth of compact high-performance microsystems is limited by inadequate integrated thermal management, including acquisition of heat from semiconductor devices, to its transport, and ultimate rejection to the ambient environment. For example, the SOTA 3DHI employed in high performance computing (HPC) systems typically utilizes a single tier of logic and multiple tiers of high-bandwidth memory. Stacking of logic is currently limited to low-power tiers. Three-dimensional (3D) stacking of multiple tiers of high-power logic and other functional blocks, including radio frequency devices, promises to allow significant further advancement in capabilities of future microsystems, but is currently infeasible due to insufficient in-plane and out of plane heat acquisition capabilities from each tier, and poor thermal isolation between functional blocks. Unoptimized heat transmission and rejection also result in large overall size of thermal management hardware. This limits growth in system capabilities, particularly in radio frequency systems, image analysis, and high-performance computing, including artificial intelligence and machine learning applications, in size, weight, and power (SWaP) constrained applications at the edge.

Key definitions include:

3DHI refers to integration of different circuit process types (e.g., processing, memory, analog/RF) and materials (e.g., Si, compound semiconductor) in a 3D tiered stack

2.5D (two-and-a-half dimensional) refers to interconnected chips side-by-side placed on the same substrate or interposer

In-plane and cross-plane are parallel and normal, respectively, to the chip footprint Tier refers to a single electronics layer (or chip) in a 3D tiered stack Heat rejection system refers to the combination of link/connection from the 3D tiered stack to the heat rejection component and the heat rejection component.

B. Program Description

The Minitherms3D program seeks to develop a compact thermal management technology scalable to an arbitrarily large number of high-power tiers in a 3D stack. The program will culminate in a demonstration with:

3D stacking of five tiers with total heat dissipation > 6.8 kW Heat rejection system < 0.006 m3

Achieving the Minitherms3D goals would require overcoming the Technical Challenges (TCs) illustrated in Fig. 1.

Figure 1. Multi-scale thermal management challenges within and outside a 3DHI stack.

Technical Challenge 1 (TC1): Reducing thermal resistances within the 3D stack

TC1a: Increasing in-tier heat transfer without increasing tier thickness. Regions of average heat flux > 150 W/cm2 along with localized hot spots > 1 kW/cm2 in 3DHI tiers must be simultaneously thermally managed to maintain acceptable chip temperatures.1 In a 3D stack, hot spot thermal management will need to rely on in-tier heat spreading, since interior tiers do not have direct access to the top or bottom cooling. In a Si tier of 100 µm thickness, thermal conduction limits heat spreading to hot spot of 1 mm x 1 mm to 200 W/cm2 with a temperature rise below 10 oC over the rest of the tier. Handling more intense hot spots requires increasing tier thickness, which increases electrical signal transmission delay and energy consumption, or increasing thermal conductivity of tiers with processing compatible with Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI).

TC1b: Increasing thermal isolation between adjacent in-plane and out of plane functional blocks. Thermal isolation, defined as the ratio of thermal conductivity of the isolation region to the bulk semiconductor, must be < 0.0002 to reduce memory refresh rates,2 but current stacking approaches are limited to a ratio of 0.01, due to heat transfer from metallic interconnects and packaging materials.

TC1c: Increasing heat removal from each tier while maintaining low thermal resistance.

SOTA heat removal approaches for a single tier are limited to 0.3 cm2 oC/W thermal resistance, with top side cooling. As seen in Fig. 2, 3D stacking of multiple high-power tiers increases their temperatures, making it infeasible to keep the maximum stack temperature within acceptable limits. In order to maintain a five-tier Si stack, with each tier 30 mm x 30 mm x 700 µm and a 50 µm interconnect layer, at a heat flux of 150 W/cm2, the required thermal resistance needs to be <0.09 cm2 oC/W in order to maintain maximum tier temperature below 100 oC.

1 Logic tier heat fluxes > 150 W/cm2 and hot-spots of >1 kW/cm2 for computing applications have been projected, for example, in the IEEE Heterogeneous Integration Roadmap (https://eps.ieee.org/images/files/HIR_2021/ch20_thermal1.pdf).

2 A 10 oC rise in memory temperature beyond 85 oC due to poor isolation results in doubling of memory refresh rates (P. Franzon, J. Wilson and M. Li, "Thermal isolation in 3D chip stacks using vacuum gaps and capacitive or inductive communications," 2010 IEEE International 3D Systems Integration Conference (3DIC), 2010, pp. 1-4, doi: 10.1109/3DIC.2010.5751431).

https://eps.ieee.org/images/files/HIR_2021/ch20_thermal1.pdf

Figure 2. Maximum temperature within a 3D Si stack of equally powered tiers, with heat removal at the top and bottom.

Technical Challenge 2 (TC2): Reducing thermal resistance external to the 3D stack

TC2a: Reducing link thermal resistance. Current approaches utilizing thermal interface materials and cold plates have demonstrated 30 oC/kW thermal resistance from the stack surface to the heat rejection component, posing a bottleneck in heat removal, and negating thermal resistance reduction inside the stack. The overall thermal resistance from the stack to the ambient is given by: Rth,S-A = Rth,Sint + Rth,S-R + Rth,R-A. The first resistance, internal to the stack, impacts TC1. The second, thermal resistance of the link, and third, thermal resistance of the heat rejection component, impact TC2a, and TC2b, respectively. Typically, relatively lower heat transfer coefficients on the air side, to which all heat is ultimately rejected in terrestrial and airborne systems, result in the last thermal resistance component to be as much as 70% of the total thermal resistance. The first two components, therefore, need to be below 10%-15% each.

TC2b: Increasing volumetric heat rejection capability while reducing heat rejection resistance to air. For given convection conditions and ambient temperatures, the volume of the ultimate heat rejection component to the ambient air, commonly referred to as a heat sink, increases linearly with heat rejection requirement. As the stack power increases to 6.8 kW, as an example, the size of the heat rejection component with current approaches is ~0.014 m3, which cannot be accommodated for many size, weight, and power constrained applications. The heat sink is usually made of bulk metallic materials, such as copper or aluminum. The heat conduction thermal resistance within the heat sink and convection resistance from the heat sink surfaces to the air collectively limit the heat rejection rate, for a given overall volume.

C. Program Structure

Minitherms3D is a 48-month, three-phase program with an 18-month Phase 1 (base), 18-month Phase 2 (option), and 12-month Phase 3 (option). At the end of Phase 1 and Phase 2, options may be exercised, at the Government’s sole discretion, based on technical progress measured against the metrics and milestones defined in the BAA and funding availability. It is anticipated that not all performers will continue into Phases 2 and 3 of the program.

D. Technical Area

The Minitherms3D program has one technical area (TA) with three phases (18 months, 18 months, 12 months for Phases 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Performers must address all technical challenges in their proposals and show how all metrics specified in Table 1 will be met.

The Minitherms3D TA will focus on multi-scale thermal management technologies within and outside a high-power 3DHI stack. In order to meet the program goals (Table 1), it is imperative that all thermal resistances be addressed simultaneously to achieve optimal solutions across the range of length scales of interest. Proposers should specifically address how they will de-risk the pitfalls of addressing a specific thermal resistance within the overall chain and neglecting some others.

During Phase 1, performers will focus on hot spot mitigation approaches for a stack of three equally-powered tiers with total thermal dissipation of 4 kW, while establishing approaches for thermal isolation and large tierwise heat removal. This capability demonstration will be performed for a stand-alone stack, with the target for hot spot mitigation met. In Phase 2, successful approaches are expected to demonstrate the thermal management of a stack of five equally-powered tiers, with total dissipation of 6.8 kW, along with targets for thermal isolation, inside the stack thermal resistance reduction, as well as reduction in the thermal link resistance to the ambient heat rejection component. In Phase 3, the overall system level thermal resistance and volumetric heat rejection targets will be demonstrated in a simulated application environment.

The focus of Phase 1 (18 months) is on achieving the hot spot heat flux mitigation target. But improvements in other metrics will also be made to achieve the targeted 4 kW, three-tier stack heat dissipation and volumetric heat rejection goals.

The goal of Phase 2 (18 months) is to demonstrate all the inside stack target metrics for a five-tier stack, with total heat dissipation of 6.8 kW. Significant improvement in outside the stack thermal performance will also be demonstrated for a constant ambient environment temperature of 20 oC at atmospheric pressure.

The goal of Phase 3 (12 months) is to demonstrate the multi-scale thermal management approach within and outside the stack in a compact enclosure under realistic tactical environmental conditions for both steady-state and transient operations. Proposers will define this scenario of environmental conditions unique to their concept.

Table 1. Minitherms3D Metrics

TC Metric SOTA Phase

Phase

Phase

1a Hot spot heat flux(a) (W/cm2) 200 2,000 2,000 2,000 1b Thermal isolation(b) 0.01 0.0007 0.0002 0.0002 1c Specific internal thermal resistance(c)

(cm2 oC/W)

0.3 0.18 0.09 0.09

2a Stack-to-sink thermal resistance(d) (oC/kW) 30 10 1 1 2b Heat sink volumetric capability(e) (kW/m3) 500 700 1000 1130 2b Heat sink thermal resistance(f) (oC/kW) 20 15 6.6 5.7

(a) Maximum hot spot size 2 mm x 2 mm; Si tier size 1 cm x 1 cm to 3 cm x 3 cm with background heat flux of 150 W/cm2; solution must allow electrical interconnect density 4 x 107/mm3 for processing tier; tier thickness and spatial power dissipation distributions must be consistent with the intended functionality and interconnect density requirements, and allow the demonstration of all TC1 challenges

(b) Applies to both in-plane isolation and out-of-plane isolation

(c) Maximum value within the 3D stack, based on reference temperature of 20 oC; proposed approaches for TC1 must fit substantially within the footprint of the 3D stack, not exceeding it by 20% at most

(d) Based on difference between maximum stack surface temperature and maximum heat sink base temperature

(e) Defined as ratio of the heat rejection capability to the volume of the heatsink

(f) Based on difference between maximum heat sink base temperature and ambient temperature

A central component of the program will be “stack demos”, which will validate performance at the end of each Phase. The Phase 1 stack demo should have three tiers, while the demos at the end of Phases 2 and 3 will have five tiers. Phase 1 and 2 demonstrations will be for stacks directly exposed to ambient air at 20 oC and 1 atmospheric pressure, and will demonstrate thermal dissipation targets under steady state operation. The final “system demo” shown in Phase 3 will be for a five-tier stack within a microsystem enclosure, with size and external ambient environmental conditions representative of the targeted application.

It is noted that metrics in Table 1 do not include size, type, and weight limits on hardware needed to move the heat from the 3D stack to the heat sink, which should be located no further than a distance of 1m. However, innovations in these elements that would significantly increase the overall system volumetric thermal management capability are strongly encouraged. Performers may select the materials needed for meeting the thermal management requirements as long as they are consistent with the intended application and do not present environmental concerns that cannot be addressed.

Bidders should propose a set of circuit designs for each demo, with a breakout by tier. While it is desirable that the overall circuit be functional and even be of potential use in an application, these are not requirements for any Phase. However, for all Phases, the designs of the demonstrations circuits should incorporate functional circuit blocks for each tier that are representative in type and performance of state-of-the-art circuits found in a circuit design for a defense application (e.g., radio frequency, electro-optic, directed energy, and imaging); this application should be specified in the proposal. Moreover, bidders should also propose test circuits on each tier that will be sufficient to provide representative spatial heat dissipation distributions, and thermometry with adequate resolution to demonstrate the successful achievement of the program milestones.

As the government is interested in heterogeneous integration, the electronics for at least one of the tiers in the design for each Phase should be predominately or completely in a silicon process (90 nm or below) and at least one should be a compound semiconductor (e.g., GaN, SiGe, GaAs, InP) process. Proposers are encouraged to exceed these minimum requirements where possible.

As the objective of Minitherms3D is to advance thermal management of 3DHI architectures, proposals that focus on advanced circuit design and/or on other aspects of 3DHI integration development (e.g., interconnect process, yield, test) will be deemed outside of scope.

A key element to the success of Minitherms3D will be a concurrent focus on multi-functional co-design. Proposed thermal management approaches must be consistent with the SWaP requirements for the target application(s), and their incorporation in the 3D stack must meet the device and system performance, electrical interconnect density, and signal transmission delay targets. These thermal management solutions must also be consistent with manufacturing and assembly equipment and processes for VLSI devices. Co-design approaches are expected to address these considerations and identify optimum design choices that meet the performance and reliability expectations for the chosen intended applications.

In addition to the experimental demonstrations, Minitherms3D performers will be expected to develop thermal modeling capability from the device to system level for 3D stacks under steady state and transient conditions to simulate realistic operating conditions, incorporating the new physics brought in by the proposed multi-scale thermal management techniques. This will include interfacing of multiple modeling scales from nm to tens of cm, and s to several minutes.

Reduced order modeling capability will be developed to perform co-design and multi-objective optimization at the system scales. The modeling capabilities will be developed within each phase. The transition path from the program to target applications will be facilitated through the demonstrations near the phase boundaries.

Minitherms3D will include a government Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) team to assess achievement of performance metrics in each phase. The IV&V team will observe the achievement of Phase 1 metrics at the performers’ site. The achievement of subsequent phase metrics will be assessed at the IV&V site sing test hardware provided by the performers.

E. Schedule/Milestones

Minitherms3D will be a 48-month, three-phase program, with an estimated period of performance start in October 2023. A mandatory post-award program kickoff meeting will be held to present the technical approaches, to discuss technical and programmatic items of concern, and to interact with the Government team and other program performers. The end of each phase represents a major technical milestone in the program; end-of-phase review meetings will be scheduled approximately two months before the end of Phase 1; and approximately one month before the end of Phase 2 and Phase 3. These meetings will be used to communicate technical progress toward the metrics during the entire phase. Technical progress towards the metrics of the program is the major deciding factor for continuation into subsequent phases and will be monitored through quarterly teleconference calls and occasional site visits by the DARPA program manager and other members of the Government team.

Figure 3. Minitherms3D Program Schedule

Table 2. Minitherms3D Milestones

Phase Milestone Date Inside the stack thermal management approach design review Q1FY24 Hot spot target completion for three-tier stack Q4FY24 1 Three-tier stack thermal management modeling and experimental demonstration review Q2FY25

Thermal isolation metric completion Q4FY25 Thermal link metric completion Q2FY262 Five-tier stack thermal management modeling and experimental demonstration review Q4FY26

Initial demonstration of integrated thermal management approach Q2FY27 Integrated thermal modeling demonstration Q3FY273 Final demonstration of integrated thermal management approach Q1FY28

F. Deliverables

1. Program Review Meetings

Technical review meetings with the Minitherms3D Program Manager and the government team will be held quarterly, usually as a teleconference, and annually in person. The review meeting deliverable will be a technical slide presentation. Additional program reviews with all performers will be held in person at the beginning of each program phase, and may replace some of the technical review meetings. There will also be end-of-phase meetings with individual performers approximately two months before the end of each phase. Prior to each end-of-phase meeting, performers will provide to the Government a written report covering, a) technical results, and b) charts with explanations of how well the component(s)/system(s) meets, exceeds, or falls short of specified program metrics (as described in this BAA). Templates will be provided for the technical review teleconferences and will include technical updates with simulated and measured results to demonstrate progress toward the program metrics, as well as an up-to-date financial spend plan.

2. Prototype Delivery

The Government expects to conduct performance and reliability testing of Minitherms3D deliverables to independently validate performer progress towards achieving program goals.

Performers will deliver the hardware to the Government per the following schedule:

Prototype device delivery expected Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

15 mos. after phase start 15 mos. after phase start 9 mos. after phase start

Performers shall be expected to deliver three functioning prototypes, one in each phase of the program. For Phases 1 and 2, the prototypes shall be in the form of the performer's proposed integrated thermal management approach for the 3D stack, with heat rejection to ambient air at 300K and atmospheric pressure. For Phase 3, the prototype will be in an enclosure, with heat rejection to ambient environment, both simulating the targeted application by the performer. For Phase 1, testing will be performed at the performer’s site, with the government IV&V team witnessing the testing. Testing for the subsequent phases will be performed at the government IV&V site, with performer-provided test hardware. The IV&V team will have access to standard data acquisition hardware for thermal measurements. Access to any specialized measurement equipment for the IV&V team will be enabled by the performer team. The IV&V team will deliver raw data measurements to the performers for both post-processing and final reporting.

3. Technical Reports

Technical reports shall be submitted on a quarterly basis, two working days prior to each technical review meeting.

Other proposed deliverables specific to the objectives of the individual efforts may include registered reports, experimental protocols, publications, data management plan, intermediate and final versions of software libraries, code, and APIs, documentation and user manuals, and/or a comprehensive assemblage of design documents, models, modeling data and results, and model validation data.

4. Monthly Financial Reports

The financial report shall describe resources expended, resources available, any deviation from planned expenditures, and any potential issues requiring the attention of the Government team.

This report shall be provided within 10 days from the end of each month.

5. Final Report

The end of phase report shall summarize the effort in a comprehensive text document. This report will replace the quarterly report for this quarter.

G. Government Furnished Equipment/Property/Information

No Government Furnished Equipment, Property, or Information will be provided in this program.

H. Intellectual Property

Any proposed use of intellectual property (patents, proprietary information, etc.) should be clearly identified in the proposal. Identify all intellectual property claims to future results, prototypes, and deliverables. Explain how these claims may limit the Government use of the technology developed under the Minitherms3D program or development of derivative technologies. For forms to be completed regarding intellectual property, see Section IV.B.11 and

12. If there are no intellectual proprietary claims, this should be stated.

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, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction (OT), 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. § 4022(f), the Government may award a follow-on production contract or Other Transaction (OT) for any OT awarded under this solicitation 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.

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.

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

As of the date of publication of this solicitation, 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.

University or non-profit research institution performance under this solicitation may include effort categorized as fundamental research. In addition to Government support for free and open scientific exchanges and dissemination of research results in a broad and unrestricted manner, the academic or non-profit research performer or recipient, regardless of tier, acknowledges that such research may have implications that are important to U.S. national interests and must be protected against foreign influence and exploitation. As such, the academic or non-profit research performer or recipient agrees to comply with the following requirements:

(a) The University or non-profit research institution performer or recipient must establish and maintain an internal process or procedure to address foreign talent programs, conflicts of commitment, conflicts of interest, and research integrity. The academic or non-profit research performer or recipient must also utilize due diligence to identify Foreign Components or participation by Senior/Key Personnel in Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs and agree to share such information with the Government upon request.

i. The above described information will be provided to the Government as part of the proposal response to the solicitation and will be reviewed and assessed prior to award. Generally, this information will be included in the Research and Related Senior/Key Personnel Profile (Expanded) form (SF-424) required as part the proposer’s submission through Grants.gov.

1. Instructions regarding how to fill out the SF-424 and its biographical sketch can be found through Grants.gov.

ii. In accordance with USD(R&E) direction to mitigate undue foreign influence in DoD-funded science and technology, DARPA will assess all Senior/Key Personnel proposed to support DARPA grants and cooperative agreements for potential undue foreign influence risk factors relating to professional and financial activities. This will be done by evaluating information provided via the SF-424, and any accompanying or referenced documents, in order to identify and assess any associations or affiliations the Senior/Key Personnel may have with foreign strategic competitors or countries that have a history of intellectual property theft, research misconduct, or history of targeting U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer. DARPA’s evaluation takes into consideration the entirety of the Senior/Key Personnel’s SF-424, current and pending support, and biographical sketch, placing the most weight on the Senior/Key Person’s professional and financial activities over the last 4 years. The majority of foreign entities lists used to make these determinations are publicly available. The DARPA Countering Foreign Influence Program (CFIP) “Senior/Key Personnel Foreign Influence Risk Rubric” details the various risk ratings and factors. The rubric can be seen at the following link:

https://www.darpa.mil/attachments/092021DARPACFIPRubric.pdf

iii. Examples of lists that DARPA leverages to assess potential undue foreign influence factors include, but are not limited to:

1. Executive Order 13959 “Addressing the Threat From Securities Investments That Finance Communist Chinese Military Companies”:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-11-17/pdf/2020-25459.pdf

2. The U.S. Department of Education’s College Foreign Gift and Contract Report: College Foreign Gift Reporting (ed.gov)

3. The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, List of Parties of Concern: https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/lists-of-parties-of-concern

4. Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) Chinese Talent Program Tracker:

https://chinatalenttracker.cset.tech

5. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) “World Wide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community”: 2021 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community (dni.gov)

6. Various Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) products regarding targeting of US technologies, adversary targeting of academia, and the exploitation of academic experts: https://www.dcsa.mil/

(b) DARPA’s analysis and assessment of affiliations and associations of Senior/Key Personnel is compliant with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Information regarding race, color, or national origin is not collected and does not have bearing in DARPA’s assessment.

(c) University or non-profit research institutions with proposals selected for negotiation that have been assessed as having high or very high undue foreign influence risk, will be given an opportunity during the negotiation process to mitigate the risk. DARPA reserves the right to request any follow-up information needed to assess risk or mitigation strategies.

i. Upon conclusion of the negotiations, if DARPA determines, despite any proposed mitigation terms (e.g. mitigation plan, alternative research personnel), the participation of any Senior/Key Research Personnel still represents high risk to the program, or proposed mitigation affects the Government’s confidence in proposer’s capability to successfully complete the research (e.g., less qualified Senior/Key Research Personnel) the Government may determine not to award the proposed effort. Any decision not to award will be predicated upon reasonable disclosure of the pertinent facts and reasonable discussion of any possible alternatives while balancing program award timeline requirements.

https://www.darpa.mil/attachments/092021DARPACFIPRubric.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-11-17/pdf/2020-25459.pdf https://sites.ed.gov/foreigngifts/ https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/lists-of-parties-of-concern https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/lists-of-parties-of-concern https://chinatalenttracker.cset.tech/ https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2021/item/2204-2021-annual-threat-assessment-of-the-u-s-intelligence-community https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2021/item/2204-2021-annual-threat-assessment-of-the-u-s-intelligence-community https://www.dcsa.mil/

(d) Failure of the academic or non-profit research performer or recipient to reasonably exercise due diligence to discover or ensure that neither it nor any of its Senior/Key Research Personnel involved in the subject award are participating in a Foreign Government Talent Program or have a Foreign Component with an a strategic competitor or country with a history of targeting U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer may result in the Government exercising remedies in accordance with federal law and regulation.

i. If, at any time, during performance of this research award, the academic or non-profit research performer or recipient should learn that it, its Senior/Key Research Personnel, or applicable team members or subtier performers on this award are or are believed to be participants in a Foreign Government Talent Program or have Foreign Components with a strategic competitor or country with a history of targeting U.S. technology for unauthorized transfer , the performer or recipient will notify the Government Contracting Officer or Agreements Officer within 5 business days.

1. This disclosure must include specific information as to the personnel involved and the nature of the situation and relationship. The Government will have 30 business days to review this information and conduct any necessary fact-finding or discussion with the performer or recipient.

2. The Government’s timely determination and response to this disclosure may range anywhere from acceptance, to mitigation, to termination of this award at the Government’s discretion.

3. If the University receives no response from the Government to its disclosure within 30 business days, it may presume that the Government has determined the disclosure does not represent a threat.

ii. The performer or recipient must flow down this provision to any subtier contracts or agreements involving direct participation in the performance of the research.

(e) Definitions

i. Senior/Key Research Personnel

1. This definition would include the Principal Investigator or Program/Project Director and other individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they receive salaries or compensation under the award. These include individuals whose absence from the project would be expected to impact the approved scope of the project.

2. Most often, these individuals will have a doctorate or other professional degrees, although other individuals may be included within this definition on occasion.

ii. Foreign Associations/Affiliations

1. Association is defined as collaboration, coordination or interrelation, professionally or personally, with a foreign government-connected entity where no direct monetary or non-monetary reward is involved.

2. Affiliation is defined as collaboration, coordination, or interrelation, professionally or personally, with a foreign government-connected entity where direct monetary or non-monetary reward is involved.

iii. Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs

1. In general, these programs will include any foreign-state-sponsored attempt to acquire U.S. scientific-funded research or technology through foreign government-run or funded recruitment programs that target scientists, engineers, academics, researchers, and entrepreneurs of all nationalities working and educated in the U.S.

2. Distinguishing features of a Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Program may include:

a. Compensation, either monetary or in-kind, provided by the foreign state to the targeted individual in exchange for the individual transferring their knowledge and expertise to the foreign country.

b. In-kind compensation may include honorific titles, career advancement opportunities, promised future compensation or other types of remuneration or compensation.

c. Recruitment, in this context, refers to the foreign-state-sponsor’s active engagement in attracting the targeted individual to join the foreign-sponsored program and transfer their knowledge and expertise to the foreign state. The targeted individual may be employed and located in the U.S. or in the foreign state.

d. Contracts for participation in some programs that create conflicts of commitment and/or conflicts of interest for researchers. These contracts include, but are not limited to, requirements to attribute awards, patents, and projects to the foreign institution, even if conducted under U.S. funding, to recruit or train other talent recruitment plan members, circumventing merit-based processes, and to replicate or transfer U.S.-funded work in another country.

e. Many, but not all, of these programs aim to incentivize the targeted individual to physically relocate to the foreign state. Of particular concern are those programs that allow for continued employment at U.S. research facilities or receipt of U.S. Government research funding while concurrently receiving compensation from the foreign state.

3. Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs DO NOT include:

a. Research agreements between the University and a foreign entity, unless that agreement includes provisions that create situations of concern addressed elsewhere in this section,

b. Agreements for the provision of goods or services by commercial vendors, or

c. Invitations to attend or present at conferences.

iv. Conflict of Interest

1. A situation in which an individual, or the individual’s spouse or dependent children, has a financial interest or financial relationship that could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct, reporting, or funding of research.

v. Conflict of Commitment

1. A situation in which an individual accepts or incurs conflicting obligations between or among multiple employers or other entities.

2. Common conflicts of commitment involve conflicting commitments of time and effort, including obligations to dedicate time in excess of institutional or funding agency policies or commitments. Other types of conflicting obligations, including obligations to improperly share information with, or withhold information from, an employer or funding agency, can also threaten research security and integrity and are an element of a broader concept of conflicts of commitment.

vi. Foreign Component

1. Performance of any significant scientific element or segment of a program or project outside of the U.S., either by the University or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not U.S. government funds are expended.

2. Activities that would meet this definition include, but are not limited to:

a. Involvement of human subjects or animals;

b. Extensive foreign travel by University research program or project staff for the purpose of data collection, surveying, sampling, and similar activities;

c. Collaborations with investigators at a foreign site anticipated to result in co-authorship;

d. Use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site;

e. Receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign entity; or

f. Any activity of the University that may have an impact on U.S.

foreign policy through involvement in the affairs or environment of a foreign country.

3. Foreign travel is not considered a Foreign Component.

vii. Strategic Competitor

1. A nation, or nation-state, that engages in diplomatic, economic or technological rivalry with the United States where the fundamental strategic interests of the U.S are under threat.

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.

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. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses and Minority Institutions are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals; however, no portion of this announcement will be set aside for these organizations’ participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of this research for exclusive competition among these entities.

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 solicitation 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.