SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- Request For Information: Advanced Track Illuminator Laser; Cryo Yb:YAG
- Notice Date
- 11/8/2006
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, ASC/TMK, 1350 Wyoming Blvd SE, Bldg 20200, Kirtland, NM, 87117, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-BAA_AL_2007_01
- Response Due
- 12/8/2006
- Archive Date
- 5/1/2007
- Description
- Advanced Track Illuminator Laser (ATILL) RFI Contracting Office Address Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, ASC/TMK, 1350 Wyoming Blvd SE, Bldg 20200, Kirtland, NM, 87117 Description THIS DOCUMENT IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. THE GOVERNMENT DESIRES TO ASCERTAIN INDUSTRY INTEREST/CAPABILITY AND TO ACQUIRE INDUSTRY INPUT ON THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR POTENTIAL REFINEMENT PRIOR TO ISSUING A FORMAL SOLICITATION. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS RFI OR TO OTHERWISE PAY FOR THE INFORMATION RECEIVED EXCEPT AS AN ALLOWABLE COST UNDER OTHER CONTRACTS AS PROVIDED IN FAR 31.205-18, BID AND PROPOSAL COSTS. BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS RFI, THE GOVERNMENT DOES INTEND TO SUBMIT A BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT, BAA AL-2007-01, REQUESTING PROPOSALS UNDER THE SAID TOPIC. DO NOT PREPARE OR SUBMIT PROPOSALS IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI. THE PURPOSE OF THE RFI IS TO RECEIVE INPUT FROM INDUSTRY ON THE FOLLOWING TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE TECHNICAL POC LISTED BELOW. SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ARE LISTED AT THE END OF THE DOCUMENT. RESPONSES TO THIS RFI ARE DUE BY ***08 December 2006***. SEND RESPONSES TO MR. STEPHEN POST AND MS. SUSAN MCDANIEL, MDA/AL, 1350 WYOMING BLVD SE, BLD 20200, KIRTLAND AFB, NM 87117-5536; OR (PREFERABLY) STEPHEN.POST@KIRTLAND.AF.MIL AND SUSAN.MCDANIEL@KIRTLAND.AF.MIL . **NOTE: Any question marks or other unexpected characters embedded within text (such as in locations for apostrophes) or in unexpected places in sentences are caused by errors in font formatting when downloaded to FedBizOpps. Organizations should be encouraged to request clarification for anything not fully understood in the RFI.** CONTACTS Technical questions, comments, or suggestions should be directed to Mr. Stephen Post, MDA/AL, at (505) 853-3811 or Stephen.Post@kirtland.af.mil. Contracting questions should be directed to Ms. Susan McDaniel, MDA/ALK, at 505-853-1005 or susan.mcdaniel@kirtland.af.mil. RFI TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Advanced Track Illuminator Laser (ATILL) A. INTRODUCTION: The Department of Defense (DoD) is interested in receiving proposals for a high average power diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) development program. Based on research the Government has funded and/or reviewed, it is believed that the requirements of this BAA procurement can best be met with a cryogenically cooled, Ytterbium-doped YAG (Yb:YAG) laser that operates at ~1.03 microns. However, the Government is also willing to consider other DPSSL approaches that have a lasing wavelength of ~1.03 microns. The program will be conducted as a joint effort involving MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL) and industry. MIT/LL will have primary responsibility for risk reduction and laboratory breadboard research and development. Industry will be responsible for working with MIT/LL on defining the risk reduction research efforts, transferring technology from MIT/LL, and developing a brassboard laser design. The MIT/LL and industry efforts will be funded separately by the Government. The industry program will consist of four phases: Phase 1 will cover technology transfer from MIT/LL to industry, a system performance trade assessment of the BAA technical requirements, preliminary laser system modeling and simulation (based on information/data provided by MIT/LL to industry), and a brassboard concept design review (CoDR). The Phase 1 system performance trade assessment will allow the contractor to perform a detailed evaluation of their proposed design, covering system performance and packaging parameters such as laser wavelength, average power, beam quality, pulse repetition frequency, pulse length, run-time and recycle time, start-up time, wallplug efficiency, output power to mass/volume ratios, operating/storage temperature ranges, operating/storage humidity ranges, and other operating/storage environmental specifications. The primary purpose of the system performance trade assessment is to arrive at a design for airborne applications that optimally balances laser technical performance with system packaging, maintainability and reliability constraints. As part of the trade assessment, the contractor will also generate an error budget tree for identifying and monitoring key technical performance and packaging issues during all phases of the technical effort. Phase 2 (Option A) will provide technology transfer from MIT/LL to industry, laser system modeling and simulation, a brassboard preliminary design review (PDR), and a preliminary cost estimate proposal for building a TRL 6 brassboard during Phase 4 (Option C). Phase 3 (Option B) will provide technology transfer from MIT/LL to industry, laser system modeling and simulation, a critical design review (CDR), and a final cost proposal for building a TRL 6 brassboard during Phase 4 (Option C). If this last contract option is exercised, the Government will only select one industry partner to fabricate the TRL 6 brassboard laser system. The brassboard design effort in Phases 1 through 3 is for a ruggedized, flight-qualifiable laser brassboard (TRL 6) that meets all technical performance and packaging requirements listed herein. Deliverables will be those called out in BAA AL-2007-01. As noted above, delivery of a ruggedized brassboard laser is an optional part of this program solicitation for which funding has not been identified. The total program budget for the industry technical effort is approximately ~$1M for Phase 1, ~$2M for Phase 2, and ~$10M to ~$12M for Phase 3 (up to ~$15M total funding over ~2.5 years). Depending on funds availability and quality of the BAA technical proposals, one or two contractors may be funded for the first phase, which should be for approximately 6 months at ~$500K per effort. If appropriate, one or two contractors may be funded for the second phase (~12 months). If appropriate, one or two contractors may be funded for the third phase (~24 months). The projected start date is at the beginning of the third quarter GFY07. Open communication with the technical point of contact (POC), Stephen G. Post, MDA/AL, 505-853-3811, is encouraged until proposals are received. Contracting questions should be directed to Ms. Susan McDaniel, MDA/ALK, at 505-853-1005. In addition, the DoD proposal evaluation team may contact an offeror to clarify a point of information before completing the proposal evaluation process. B. TECHNICAL TOPIC AREA: During the first three phases of this Advanced Track Illuminator Laser development program, all industry modeling and simulation shall be validated by risk reduction experiments and testing of the laboratory breadboard at MIT/LL. Any contractor funded for the fourth phase of this Advanced Track Illuminator Laser development program will use modeling and simulation to support design, development and delivery of a 6 kW-class, near diffraction limited, diode-pumped solid-state laser to the DoD. Emphasis will be placed on solid-state laser architectures that are favorable in terms of size, weight, efficiency, affordability, reliability, maintainability, supportability, environmental acceptability (for airborne platforms), and ruggedness. The contractor(s) is(are) expected to address these issues both in the proposal and throughout program execution. ATILL technical performance goals: 1) Wavelength: The laser wavelength shall be at ~1.03 microns. 2) Radiance (W/cm^2-sr): The Radiance (Brightness) of the laser output beam shall be greater than or equal to a laser of 6 kW average power with a Beam Quality (BQ) better than or equal to 1.5 times the diffraction limit (xDL) as directly measured by a far-field power-in-the-bucket (PITB) technique, where the bucket extent is nominally defined by the energy/power contained in the laser?s far-field central lobe. The laser shall have a minimum average output power of 5.0 kW over the entire run-time duration specified in paragraph (a) below. 3) Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF): The laser's PRF shall nominally be 5.0 kHz, variable plus or minus 15 percent with a controlled PRF slew rate of up to 1500 Hertz per second. 4) Pulse Length: The laser's full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) temporal pulse length shall be less than or equal to 15 ns, with a goal of less than or equal to 5 ns. As part of the laser system trade study during the first contract phase, the effect of pulse length on laser system performance and reliability will be investigated. 5) Coherence Length: The laser output temporal coherence length shall be less than or equal to 5 centimeters (goal of 2 centimeters). 6) Polarization: The laser output polarization shall be linear with a contrast ratio of greater than 100 to 1. 7) Beam Jitter: The total beam jitter shall be no greater than 10% of the far-field instantaneous beam diameter as measured at the FWHM power points. The contractor should assume that the laser will be mounted on an isolated table (i.e., the table will not induce jitter in the laser head). 8) Pulse-to-Pulse Energy Stability: The pulse-to-pulse energy variation shall not exceed plus/minus 2 percent. ATILL packaging goals: a) Run Time: The laser brassboard shall be designed to operate continuously for at least 300 seconds (goal of 600 s). All performance measurements on the Phase 1 sub-scale and Phase 2 full-scale laboratory devices (power, beam quality, efficiency, beam jitter, etc.) shall be recorded over a time period of at least 300 s. Additionally, the device shall be capable of reasonable on/off cycling (e.g., ten or more twenty-second bursts with five-second periods of non-lasing between bursts, then return to stand-by). In this mode of operation, the requisite run time only includes the sum of the 'laser on' periods. The laser power supply and cooling system recycle times are mission and platform dependent; recycle time impact on system weight, volume, efficiency, etc., will be evaluated as part of the Phase 1 system performance trade assessments. b) Hold Time: The laser brassboard shall be designed to store sufficient cryogen such that the laser will be able to run at full output power for at least 300 seconds even if the cryostat was filled with cryogen more than 40 hours prior to any laser operation. This hold time requirement should be met for any environmental conditions discussed herein. c) Start-Up Time: The laser start-up time, defined as the time required to transition from a stand-by condition (defined during the Phase 1 system performance trade study) to a condition where all output requirements are met, shall be no more than 1 second. d) Wallplug Efficiency: The laser wallplug efficiency shall be greater than or equal to 10% (goal of 12%), where wallplug efficiency is defined as the average optical output power of the laser divided by the sum of all electrical average power delivered to all power supplies, drivers, cooling systems, pumps, and control devices used to operate the laser. The contractor is required to design a 6 kW-class laser brassboard meeting this specification for airborne applications. e) Output Power-To-Mass Ratio: During the system trade study, risk reduction and laboratory demonstration efforts, the contractor must clearly show through appropriate systems engineering methodology and calculations that their laser brassboard design will meet an output power-to-mass ratio requirement of 10 W/kg (goal of 12 W/kg) for a nominal 6 kW average power laser system, which equates to a total system mass of less than 600 kg (goal of 500 kg). The laser is nominally defined as the laser head plus the system heat exchangers (no externally available thermal reservoir should be assumed), power supplies, controller, wiring, tubing, etc. The laser head typically includes gain media and associated fixed attachments (diodes, heat exchanger manifolds, mechanical structures, etc), optics, mounts, along with an optical mounting assembly, cover, and other necessary fixtures. The contractor is required to design a 6 kW-class laser brassboard meeting this specification for airborne applications. f) Output Power-To-Volume Ratio: During the system trade study, risk reduction and laboratory demonstration phases, the contractor must clearly show through appropriate systems engineering methodology and calculations that their deliverable brassboard laser will meet an output power-to-volume ratio of 10 W/liter (goal of 20 W/liter) for a nominal 6 kW average power laser system, which equates to a total volume of less than or equal to 0.6 cubic meters (goal of less than or equal to 0.3 cubic meters). See item (d) for a definition of what constitutes the laser system. The contractor is required to design a 6 kW-class laser brassboard meeting this specification for airborne applications. g) Temperature Range: The ambient operating temperature range of the laser brassboard design for ground-based and airborne applications shall be 15 to 35 degrees C, and its storage temperature range shall be ?54 to 50 degrees C. Herein, 'storage' is defined as the periods between tests or missions (e.g., an aircraft in an unheated aircraft hanger). h) Humidity: For ground-based operations, up to 95% humidity from 2 to 35 degrees C; for airborne applications, up to 85% humidity from 15 to 35 degrees C. i) Operating/Storage Pressure: Minus 1,000 ft to plus 10,000 ft. j) Platform operating angles, acceleration, vibration, shock, and other operating/storage parameters will be provided early in Phase 1 during the system performance trade assessment effort. As a minimum, offerors should provide a laser system design that is compatible with an airborne environment similar to a 747-type aircraft. For item (2), the contractor shall discuss in their proposal how they intend to measure the laser's Radiance (Brightness), output power and beam quality and what the possible technical issues are in making such measurements. Additionally, the contractor shall provide in their proposal a discussion of beam quality based on PITB (not M-squared). The contractor must also define and discuss how measurements will be made for items (3) through (8) and (a) through (j). Again, it is noted here that, though a laser system brassboard design shall be developed through PDR level during Phase 2 and CDR level during Phase 3, there is no laser system brassboard deliverable for the future BAA. As noted previously, the program shall be carried out in three phases, with a forth phase carried as an unpriced option on the initial contract. Each phase shall be priced separately, with Phase 1 offered as the basic contract and Phases 2 and 3 offered as contract options. It is also noted here that hardware procured and used in Phase 1 may be also used in the Phases 2 and 3 contract options (if exercised). As part of the brassboard laser system design effort, the contractor will ensure through appropriate evaluation/assessment techniques that the laser beam's output characteristics do not somehow preclude ready insertion into an agreed upon beam delivery system at a Government facility or on a specified platform. This effort will be included in the Phase 1 system performance trade assessment, which as mentioned previously will also cover laser wavelength, average power, beam quality, pulse repetition frequency, pulse length, run-time and recycle time, start-up time, wallplug efficiency, output power to mass/volume ratios, operating/storage temperature ranges, operating/storage humidity ranges, and other operating/storage environmental specifications. For the intended BAA solicitation, flight qualifiable means that the laser brassboard is designed to undergo flight qualification testing with minimal system hardware/software changes required. This approximately corresponds to a Technology Readiness Level 6. The proposal expectations (NOT for the RFI) are as follows: Offerors shall limit the length of their Technical Proposals to 75 pages or less (12 point font), including all pages (no exceptions). Additional information on required fonts, page formatting, etc., may be found in the BAA Proposal Preparation Instructions (to be added when the BAA is published). Cost proposals will be limited in length to 50 pages or less, including all cost sheets, basis of estimates and other supporting information. Cost proposal preparation instructions will be included in the RFP package when the BAA is issued. As part of the Technical Proposal, offerors must clearly demonstrate through past performance and corporate/institutional capabilities that they possess the resources and technical capabilities necessary to perform successfully on the BAA. This should include identified experience designing, developing, fabricating, and testing ruggedized (TRL ~6), fieldable, high Radiance, high average power diode-pumped solid-state laser systems. The Government encourages any interested, qualified not-for-profit laboratories/institutions (e.g., FFRDCs) or Universities that are based in the United States to team, or form suitable partnering relationships in conformance with their by laws and applicable statutes and regulations, with qualified industrial partners on this solicitation. The intent of the intended BAA is to develop, in the first three contract phases, the technology and industrial base necessary to build a ruggedized, ~1.03 micron wavelength, high average power, diode-pumped solid-state laser system (TRL 6) that may be procured as part of contract Phase 4 (Option C). As part of the response to the BAA, the offeror should provide a Phase 4 brassboard ROM cost and schedule. Following are questions supporting the ATILL RFI and comments on any recommended clarifications involving the aforementioned RFI: 1) Are the proposed ATILL technical requirements achievable with currently available technology? Are there any technical requirements that are considered to be especially difficult to achieve with currently available technology? 2) Are the proposed schedule and funding appropriate for the proposed ATILL technology development program? 3) What text changes and/or clarifications, if any, are recommended for the proposed ATILL BAA? 4) A brief explanation of company/organization/institution resources and technical capabilities available/necessary to perform successfully on the proposed BAA. 5) Are you a company that has the capability to provide the requested hardware and are also eligible for a certain type of set-aside? If so, please note briefly your capabilities and the type of set-aside. Discussing the matter with the techical POC would also be beneficial to ensure you are fully capable prior to the Government establishing a set-aside. Responses to this Request For Information (RFI) are due no later than Close of Business on *** 08 December 2006 ***. Points of Contact: Ms. Susan McDaniel, Contract Manager (Location Admin), Phone 505-853-1005, Fax 505-846-2931, Email susan.mcdaniel@kirtland.af.mil. Janice Olson, Contracting Officer, Phone 505-853-4063, Fax 505-846-2931, Email janice.olson@kirtland.af.mil. Place of Performance: Address:1350 Wyoming Blvd SE, Bldg 20200 Kirtland AFB, NM Postal Code: 87117-5536 Country: USA
- Place of Performance
- Address: 1350 Wyoming Blvd SE, Bld 20200, Kirtland AFB, NM
- Zip Code: 87117-5536
- Country: UNITED STATES
- Zip Code: 87117-5536
- Record
- SN01178212-W 20061110/061108220552 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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