MODIFICATION
A -- DEFENSE SCIENCES RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
- Notice Date
- 5/9/2006
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- Other Defense Agencies, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Contracts Management Office, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA, 22203-1714
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1714
- Solicitation Number
- BAA06-19
- Response Due
- 2/9/2007
- Archive Date
- 2/10/2007
- Description
- NANO-COMPOSITE OPTICAL CERAMICS (NCOC) SOL BAA 06-19, Addendum 3, DUE: 08/03/06. TECHNICAL POC: Ms Sharon Beermann-Curtin, DARPA, Ph: (571) 218-4935, Email: baa06-19@darpa.mil; URL: www.darpa.mil/dso. Website Submission: http://www.sainc.com/dso0619. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES, SCOPE AND FUNDING The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) seeks concept white papers and subsequent proposals for innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in material science and processes that result in high performance Nano-Composite Optical Ceramic (NCOC) infrared windows. It is envisioned that the use of new nano-composite materials incorporating improved strength and improved optical properties as well as new innovative processing and shape forming techniques will bring revolutionary operational capabilities at a reduced cost. The NCOC program is interested in developing two technology areas. In technology area one infrared windows with increased performance over sapphire in the 3-5 um regime will be developed. In technology area two infrared windows with improved performance over zinc sulfide in the 3-12 um region will be developed. An offeror may propose in both technology area one or technology area two but must submit a separate proposal for each area. Offerors with novel material concepts but who do not have the facilities needed to produce the required deliverables may submit a white paper for evaluation and before trying to find a teaming partner. Theoretical studies to predict the material grain size required to meet optical scatter requirements may be proposed as part of each technology area effort. The program is structured into two phases ? phase I and phase II ? with specific technical goals for each phase in each technology area as noted herein. Satisfactory attainment of the goals for phase I will be one determining factor in the decision to proceed to phase II. The government reserves the right to fund no proposals under this BAA addendum. BACKGROUND Infrared seekers used for the guidance of high velocity missiles require protective domes or windows made from materials which exhibit a combination of good optical properties, such as high transmittance at useful wavelengths (3-5 and 8-12 um), and excellent mechanical and thermal properties, such as high strength (at operational temperatures) and thermal shock resistance. The most durable current material for midwave (3-5 um) infrared seekers is sapphire. While sapphire is an excellent material, it suffers from a number of deficiencies in both optical and mechanical properties that limit the range of applications where it can be used. For example, while transmittance is good across the entire 3-5 um band, emissivity at elevated temperatures experienced in flight impose a practical limit of 3-4 um. Moreover, sapphire is opaque in the long wave (8-12 um) range. Mechanically, sapphire suffers an extreme loss of c-axis compressive strength with increasing temperature, with only 5 percent of its room temperature value remaining at 600 degrees C. Another problem with sapphire is that the single crystal nature of the material limits the size and shape of the dome that can be achieved at reasonable cost. Large windows or aerodynamic dome shapes are prohibitively expensive. Some of these problems can be largely mitigated by utilizing polycrystalline materials in place of sapphire (single crystal Al2O3). Such ceramic domes will not experience drastic degradation of mechanical properties at elevated temperature (500-1000 degrees C). A ceramic (polycrystalline) dome with large dimensions and/or aerodynamic shape can be fabricated to near net shape eliminating some of the costly grinding. Moreover, the aerodynamic shape reduces the thermal load on the dome and mitigates the effects of particle impact. Achieving required optical properties from a polycrystalline material places severe limitations on grain size. Non-cubic single phase materials must have sub-micron grains (typically 300-400 nm or less), while composite materials will need a grain size that is an order of magnitude smaller. The actual required microstructure will depend on the indexes of refraction of the constituent phases. The fabrication of fully dense, optically transparent ceramic nano-composites will challenge the current state of the art in ceramic processing. The use of aerodynamic nano-composite domes alone will not address the usable transmission range of sapphire. Increasing the range of usable wavelengths for midwave infrared windows from 4 um to 5 um will require the use of a material which does not contain a large fraction of Al2O3. Current long wave infrared materials (e.g. ZnS) have poor mechanical properties. This mechanical deficiency may be mitigated by the development of nano-composites with superior strength and toughness. Fabrication of a 3-12 um dome material with mechanical properties similar to those of sapphire will be extremely challenging. DESCRIPTION I. Technology Area One: Develop a material and processes required to make infrared windows and aerodynamically shaped domes with optical and mechanical capabilities that exceed those of single crystal sapphire for midwave infrared (3-5 um) operation. Phase I goals are to achieve midwave infrared optical transmission comparable to that of spinel with mechanical properties comparable to those of sapphire. Phase II goals are to decrease optical scatter and to increase mechanical and thermal shock capabilities to exceed those of sapphire. Phase I deliverables will be polished disks. Phase II deliverables will be polished disks, polished hemispheric domes, and polished aerodynamically shaped domes. Deliverables: Phase I: Ten 75-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick optically polished disks Phase II: Ten 75-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick optically polished disks Five 75-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick optically polished hemispheric domes. Three optically polished tangent ogive shape domes. Geometry and dimensions will be determined by mutual agreement with the Government. Nose tip will be cut off. Example 1: 127 mm diameter times 190 mm height times 4 mm thick Example 2: 75 mm diameter times 112 mm height times 2 mm thick Technology Area One Metrics: Phase I: (A) Absorption coefficient: Less than or equal to 0.1 cm ^(-1) (B) Infrared optical scatter: Less than or equal to 2 percent (C) Strength at 600 degrees C: 600 MPa (D,E) Hardness: 2200 kg/squared mm (F) Thermal shock resistance: ---- (G) Sand erosion resistance: ---- (H) Water drop fracture threshold velocity: ---- Phase II: (A) Absorption coefficient: Less than or equal to 0.1 cm^(-1) (B) Infrared optical scatter: Less than or equal to 0.5 percent (C) Strength at 600 degrees C: 1200 MPa (D,E) Hardness: 2200 kg/squared mm (F) Thermal shock resistance: Less than or equal to 2x sapphire (G) Sand erosion resistance: Less than or equal to 2x sapphire (H) Water drop fracture threshold velocity: Less than or equal to 2x sapphire A) Average absorption coefficient over the wavelength range 3-5 um B) Total integrated optical scatter in forward hemisphere at 3.39 um C) Ring-on-ring biaxial flexure test with 38-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick disk tested with 16-mm-diameter load ring and 32-mm-diameter support ring. Measure average strength for at least 10 disks D) Microindentation with 0.5-1 kg load E) Hardness is a surrogate for sand and rain erosion resistance. A material that can be demonstrated to have sand erosion resistance and water drop fracture threshold velocity comparable to those of sapphire (not 2x sapphire) meets the goals of phase I, regardless of its hardness. F) R? prime less than or equal to 9 kW per m. R? prime is the Hasselman mild thermal shock figure of merit with strength, Poisson?s ratio, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, and Young?s modulus measured at 20 degrees C. G) Material removal rate (mg material loss/kg sand) by blowing sand measured under conditions set by mutual agreement with the Government. Example: 149-177 um diameter sand at normal incidence at 75 m per s at a loading of 300 mg sand per cm to the second H) Single drop impact of 3 mm diameter water drop on 3 mm thick times 19 mm diameter disk at normal incidence at Marshall Space Flight Center test facility II. Technology Area Two: Develop a material and processes required to make infrared windows and aerodynamically shaped domes with low absorption and low scatter in the 3-12 um wavelength region, but with much greater mechanical and thermal shock capabilities than those of standard grade zinc sulfide. The material must maintain its low optical absorption up to at least 600 degrees C. Thermal shock resistance should be twice as great as that of standard zinc sulfide. Sand erosion resistance should be at least as great as that of polycrystalline spinel. The waterjet damage threshold velocity shall be at least as great as that of hot pressed polycrystalline magnesium fluoride. Deliverables: Phase I: Ten 75-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick optically polished disks Phase II: Ten 75-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick optically polished disks Five 75-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick optically polished hemispheric domes. Three optically polished tangent ogive shape domes. Geometry and dimensions will be determined by mutual agreement with the Government. Nose tip will be cut off. Example 1: 127 mm diameter times 190 mm height times 4 mm thick Example 2: 75 mm diameter times 112 mm height times 2 mm thick Property Goals: Phase I: (A) Absorption coefficient: Less than or equal to 0.1 cm ^(-1) (B) Infrared optical scatter: Less than or equal to 2 percent (C) Strength at 20 degrees C: 300 MPa (D) Hardness: 600 kg per squared mm (E) Thermal shock resistance: ---- (F) Sand erosion resistance: ---- (G) Waterjet damage threshold velocity: ---- Phase II (A) Absorption coefficient: Less than or equal to 0.1 cm^(-1) (B) Infrared optical scatter: Less than or equal to 0.5 percent (C) Strength at 20 degrees C: 500 MPa (D) Hardness: 600 kg per squared mm (E) Thermal shock resistance: Less than or equal to 2x standard ZnS (F) Sand erosion resistance: Less than or equal to spinel (G) Waterjet damage threshold velocity: Less than or equal to magnesium A) Average absorption coefficient over the wavelength ranges 3-5 and 8-10 um. Low absorption must be maintained up to at least 600 degrees C B) Total integrated optical scatter in forward hemisphere at 3.39 and 10.6 um C) Ring-on-ring biaxial flexure test with 38-mm-diameter times 2-mm-thick disk tested with 16-mm-diameter load ring and 32-mm-diameter support ring. Measure average strength for at least 10 disks D) Microindentation with 0.5-1 kg load E) R? prime less than or equal to 5 kW per m. R? prime is the Hasselman mild thermal shock figure of merit with strength, Poisson?s ratio, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, and Young?s modulus measured at 20 degrees C F) Material removal rate (mg material loss/kg sand) by blowing sand measured under conditions set by mutual agreement with the Government. Example: 75-90 um diameter sand at normal incidence at 150 m per s at a loading of 300 mg sand per cm to the second. G) Single-impact threshold velocity is the velocity at which ring fracture is first visible with microscopic inspection at a magnification of 50 times. The waterjet would typically be created with a 0.8-mm-diameter nozzle. Proposal Process White Paper and Full Proposal Deadlines - White papers will be accepted until Monday, June 5, 2006 NO LATER THAN 4:00 PM ET. All white papers will be reviewed no later than Monday, June 19, 2006, and recommendations for full proposals will be provided at that time. Full proposals will be due Thursday, Aug 3, 2006 NO LATER THAN 4:00 PM ET. White papers and proposals submitted by fax will not be accepted. All full proposal submissions will be evaluated regardless of the disposition of the white paper. White Paper Guidelines White papers of 8 pages or less will be reviewed for the purpose of recommending the submission of full proposals. The white paper must include the following sections: 1) Notional concept for development of the material and evidence that the proposed approach will be successful. This should include an explanation of the process for shape forming and the process being proposed to render the material transparent in the desired wavelengths. 2) A clear definition of the compositions being proposed or an explanation of how the selection will be made. This should include a description of the microstructure that needs to be achieved (e.g., grain size) and an explanation of why the proposed microstructure is desired. 3) A first-order prediction of the expected material properties due to the materials and processes being proposed. 4) A brief outline of the research plan including schedules. 5) A brief overview of the proposed team and its relevant expertise. 6) An estimate of the budget for the phase I effort and for the phase II effort. Full Proposal Guidelines Guidelines for full proposal submission can be found in BAA06-19. The technical sections of the full proposal must include: 1) Description of the concept for development of the material including an explanation of the process for shape forming and the process being proposed to render the material transparent in the desired wavelengths. 2) A clear definition of compositions being proposed or an explanation of how the selection will be made. This should include a description of the microstructure that needs to be achieved (e.g., grain size) and an explanation of why the proposed microstructure is desired. 3) A prediction of the expected material properties due to the materials and processes being proposed. 4) A detailed research plan that includes experimental measurement of the properties of the infrared window being proposed. 5) Quantified technical and schedule milestones for phase I and for phase II. Evaluation of Proposals Evaluation of the proposals will be in accordance with BAA06-19. For general administrative questions, please refer to the original FEDBIZOPPS solicitation, BAA06-19, of February 8, 2006. http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm. The government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this BAA. Address for Proposal Submission: DARPA/DSO, ATTN: BAA06-19, Addendum 3 3701 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203-1714 Web address for Proposal Submission: http://www.sainc.com/dso0619/. General Information In all correspondence, reference BAA06-19, Addendum 3. Technical Point of Contact Sharon Beermann-Curtin, DARPA/MTO; Phone: (571) 218-4935; Email: Sharon.beermann-curtin@darpa.mil Point of Contact Brett Giroir, Deputy Director, DSO, Phone (571) 218-4224, Fax (571) 218-4553, Email: Brett.giroir@darpa.mil PROPOSAL SUBMISSION AND DEADLINES Proposals may be submitted and received at any time until the final proposal deadline of 4:00 PM ET Thursday, August 3, 2006. Proposals will be evaluated against the criteria set forth in this solicitation, and the proposer will be notified either that: (1) the proposal has been selected for funding, or (2) the proposal has not been selected for funding. Proposers may elect to have their proposal withdrawn from consideration at any time during the evaluation process. If a formal request is not made, DARPA will assume that continued evaluation is desired. One copy of each proposal that is not selected for funding will be retained for administrative purposes. The government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received in response to this announcement. The government also reserves the right to fund proposals in phases with options for continued work at the end of one or more of the phases. Proposals identified for funding may result in a procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or "Other Transaction," depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. The proposer must submit a separate list of all technical data or computer software that will be furnished to the Government with other than unlimited rights (see DFARS Part 227). OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR PROPOSAL SUBMISSION Teaming and Team Composition Teaming is encouraged, especially when interdisciplinary approaches to a problem are required. Proposals may include, or be led by, foreign firms and/or personnel provided all export control laws and U.S. national security requirements are adhered to in the conduct of the effort and that the work relating to the foreign firm or personnel is unclassified. The onus of understanding and complying with export control rests with the proposer, not the government. Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals. However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for Small Disadvantaged Businesses, HBCU, and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of this research for exclusive competition among these entities. Awards made under this BAA are subject to the provisions of the FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational Conflicts of Interest. Consequently, all proposers and proposed subcontractors must, therefore, affirm whether they are providing scientific, engineering and technical assistance (SETA) or similar support to any DARPA technical office(s) through an active contract or subcontract. All affirmations must state which office(s) the proposer supports, and identify the prime contract numbers. Affirmations should be furnished at the time of proposal submission. All facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflicts of interest, as that term is defined at FAR 9.501, must be disclosed. The disclosure shall include a description of the action the proposer has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize or mitigate such conflict. Technology Transition Proposals that have currently identifiable commercial or military end-product are strongly encouraged to engage commercial and military end-users and commercial manufacturers. The engagement of these communities also helps ensure that the various technologies being developed will be commercially viable (cost effective, manufacturability, etc.) and available to the military. Thus, proposals are strongly encouraged to include/involve the user-community that intends to bring the technology to practice as a result of this research. This relationship encourages the participation of researchers, end-users and manufacturers as collective contributors to the technology definition, implementation, and performance evaluation. Proprietary Information All proprietary information should be marked on both the white paper and the full proposal. It is the policy of DARPA to treat all proposals as competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purpose of evaluation. Standard proprietary disclaimers notwithstanding, proposals may be reviewed by non-Government technical experts who have signed a nondisclosure agreement with DARPA, unless the specific phrase TO BE REVIEWED BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES ONLY appears on the cover sheet. In any case, personnel under exclusive contract with DARPA who have completed the appropriate nondisclosure agreements will handle the proposals for administrative purposes. Guidance for Classified Information and Data The Government anticipates that proposals submitted under a BAA will be unclassified. In the event that a proposer chooses to submit a classified proposal, the following information is applicable. Proposals and white papers may contain classified information or data (up to the level of Top Secret/SCI). HOWEVER, DO NOT SEND CLASSIFIED WHITE PAPERS OR FULL PROPOSALS BY EMAIL OR VIA ONLINE SUBMISSION SYSTEMS. Proposers that intend to include classified information or data in their proposals should contact DARPA security at (571) 218-4842 (or alternatively, the point-of-contact for this BAA) for guidance and direction in advance of proposal preparation. Proposers must have existing approved capabilities (personnel and facilities) to perform research and development at the classification level they propose. Security Classification guidance on DD Form 254 will not be provided at this time since DARPA is soliciting ideas only. After reviewing the incoming proposals, if a determination is made that the award instrument may result in access to classified information, a DD Form 254 will be issued and attached as part of the award. Proposers choosing to submit a classified proposal must first receive permission from the Original Classification Authority to use their information in applying to this BAA. An applicable classification guide should be submitted to ensure that the proposal is protected appropriately. For instructions on submitting Classified White Papers or Full Proposals, contact Security & Intelligence Directorate (SID) Classification Management at (571) 218-4842. Research Involving Human Use Proposals selected for funding are required to comply with provisions of the Common Rule (32 CFR 219) on the protection of human subjects in research (http://www.dtic.mil/biosys/downloads/32cfr219.pdf) and the DoD Directive 3216.2 (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html2/d32162x.htm). All proposals that involve the use of human subjects are required to include documentation of their ability to follow Federal guidelines for the protection of human subjects. This includes, but is not limited to, protocol approval mechanisms, approved Institutional Review Boards (IRB), and Federal Wide Assurances. These requirements are based on expected human use issues sometime during the entire length of the proposed effort. For proposals involving greater than minimal risk to human subjects within the first year of the project, performers must provide evidence of protocol submission to a federally approved IRB at the time of final proposal submission to DARPA. For proposals that are forecasted to involve greater than minimal risk after the first year, a discussion on how and when the proposer will comply with submission to a federally approved IRB needs to be provided in the submission. More information on applicable Federal regulations can be found at the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Human Research Protections website (http://www.dhhs.gov/ohrp/). ADMINISTRATION Mailing address for submission of white papers or full proposals (except classified proposals): DARPA/DSO, ATTN: BAA06-19 3701 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203-1714
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