SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- Digital High-Energy Neutron Radiography (NR) Detector Panel
- Notice Date
- 5/17/2021 1:09:59 PM
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 5417
— Scientific Research and Development ServicesT
- Contracting Office
- US ARMY RAPID CAPABILITIES AND CRIT FORT BELVOIR VA 22060-5806 USA
- ZIP Code
- 22060-5806
- Solicitation Number
- W50RAJ-20-S-0001_SBIR_BAA_A214-007
- Response Due
- 5/20/2021 9:00:00 AM
- Archive Date
- 06/04/2021
- Description
- DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM SBIR 21.4 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) Announcement ����������������������� April 1, 2021: ASO issued for pre-release April 14, 2021: Army begins accepting proposals May 20, 2021: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �� IMPORTANT Deadline for Receipt: Proposals must be completely submitted no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Proposals submitted after 12:00 p.m. will not be evaluated. The final proposal submission includes successful completion of all firm level forms, all required volumes, and electronic corporate official certification.� Classified proposals will not be accepted under the DoD SBIR Program. This BAA and the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP) sites are designed to reduce the time and cost required to prepare a formal proposal. The DSIP is the official portal for DoD SBIR/STTR proposal submission. Proposers are required to submit proposals via DSIP; proposals submitted by any other means will be disregarded. Proposers submitting through this site for the first time will be asked to register. Effective with this announcement, firms are required to register for a login.gov account and link it to their DSIP account. See section 4.14 for more information regarding registration. �� The Small Business Administration, through its SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, purposely departs from normal Government solicitation formats and requirements and authorizes agencies to simplify the SBIR/STTR award process and minimize the regulatory burden on small business. Therefore, consistent with the SBA SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, the Department of Defense is soliciting proposals as a Broad Agency Announcement. SBIR/STTR Updates and Notices: To be notified of SBIR/STTR opportunities and to receive e-mail updates on the DoD SBIR and STTR Programs, you are invited to subscribe to our Listserv by emailing DoDSBIRSupport@reisystems.com. Help Desk: If you have questions about the Defense Department's SBIR or STTR Programs, please call the DoD SBIR/STTR Help Desk at 1-703-214-1333, or email to DoDSBIRSupport@reisystems.com. Topic Q&A: The Topic Q&A for this BAA opens on�April 1, 2021�and closes to new questions on�May 4, 2021�at 12:00 PM ET. Proposers may submit written questions through Topic Q&A at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login or through the SBIR Mailbox at usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-alt.mbx.army-applied-sbir-program@mail.mil. In Topic Q&A, the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing. Once the BAA closes to proposal submission, no communication of any kind with the topic author or through Topic Q&A regarding your submitted proposal is allowed. Questions should be limited to specific information related to improving the understanding of a particular topic�s requirements. Proposing firms may not ask for advice or guidance on solution approach and you may not submit additional material to the topic author. If information provided during an exchange with the topic author is deemed necessary for proposal preparation, that information will be made available to all parties through Topic Q&A. Proposing firms are advised to monitor Topic Q&A during the BAA period for questions and answers. Proposing firms should also frequently monitor DSIP for updates and amendments to the topics. This Army Applied SBIR Opportunity (ASO) is issued under the Army Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for SBIR/STTR 21.4. All proposals in response to the technical area(s) described herein will be submitted in accordance with the instructions provided under 21.4, found here: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/b79ded14dcf54451bcfb11bddf5cd259/view?keywords=%22army%20sbir%22&sort=-relevance&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1. a. Eligibility The eligibility requirements for the SBIR/STTR programs are unique and do not correspond to those of other small business programs. Please refer to Section 3.1, Eligible Applicants, of BAA 21.4 for full eligibility requirements. b. Anticipated Structure/Award Information Please refer to Section 1, Funding Opportunity Description, provided in BAA 21.4 for detailed information regarding SBIR/STTR phase structure and flexibility. For this BAA, Department of the Army will accept Phase I proposals for the cost of up to $259,613 for a 6-month period of performance. Proposers should refer to Section 4, Application and Submission information, of BAA 21.4 for detailed proposal preparation instructions. Proposals that do not comply with the requirements detailed in BAA 21.4 and the research objectives of this ASO are considered non-conforming and therefore are not evaluated nor considered for award. Phase I proposals shall not exceed 5 pages. Phase I commercialization strategy shall not exceed 2 pages. This should be the last section of the Technical Volume and will not count against the 5-page limit. Please refer to Appendix A of BAA 21.4 for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal preparation. c. Evaluation of Proposals Section 5, Evaluation of Proposals, in BAA 21.4 provides detailed information on proposal evaluation and the selection process for this ASO. d. Due Date/Time Full proposal packages (Proposal Cover Sheet, Technical Volume, Price/Cost Volume, and Company Commercialization Report inclusive of supporting documentation) must be submitted via the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission website per the instructions outlined in BAA 21.4 Section 4.3 Electronic Submission no later than 12:00 p.m. ET, May 20, 2021. Army SBIR 21.4 Topic Index A214-007����������� Digital High-Energy Neutron Radiography (NR) Detector Panel OBJECTIVE: Develop an advanced digital detector panel for performing high-energy neutron radiography imaging with high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, high signal to noise ratio (SNR), high conversion efficiency and long lifetime of use in order to accurately detect defects in ammunition and armaments. DESCRIPTION: The U.S. Army has a need for a state-of-the-art (SOTA) digital detector panel for performing high-energy neutron radiography (NR) with energy levels up to 6-8 megaelectronvolt (MeV) average neutron energy. Such a commercial detector panel does not currently exist. Over the past decade much time and effort has been invested in an electronically produced source of high-energy neutrons for performing NR to great success. It is currently available at a commercial facility. This SOTA source requires an equally SOTA detector in order to achieve optimal results. Neutron Radiography is now performed by using a detector which is optimized for X-radiography that is then modified via the addition of a conventional conversion screen, allowing for sufficient NR to be performed. Neutron radiography is so important because whereas X-radiography highlights possible defects in the high-density components of a munition, neutron radiography highlights defects in the lower density regions, even when these lower density regions are obscured by high density steel components. Thus, energetic fill and voids, gaskets, O-rings and any low-density components will show up better using NR than using traditional X-radiography. This NR technique will serve as an important complement to the current traditional X-radiography and will allow for more thorough inspections of ammunition and armaments.� Requirements for the detector panel include an overall size, weight and power draw that is compatible with the current industry standard for an 11�x 17� usable imaging area silicon-based digital detector panel and connection to a standard computer for download of images. Long lifetime use equates to at least one (1) year of half-time (20 hours beam-on time per 40 hour work week) operation without degradation. Specific requirements for high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, high signal to noise ratio (SNR), and high conversion efficiency will be determined during Phase I. PHASE I: Phase I will consist of a modeling and feasibility study that will result in laboratory bench top prototype conversion screens being manufactured and then demonstrating their performance requirements in a laboratory setting. This may require the contractor to have access to a silicon-based digital detector panel, which must be arranged by the contractor. It may also require access to a high-energy neutron source, which the government can facilitate. The contractor is responsible for providing the prototype detector to the neutron source facility and providing any personnel support required. The contractor can assume the facility is Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. The main focus of the testing will be to demonstrate and quantify spatial resolution, sensitivity, SNR and efficiency. The Phase I Option will finalize the requirements specification to guide development in Phase II. PHASE II: Phase II will further mature the technology to ascertain and weigh any compromises on the requirements so the end result is the best possible detector panel. There will be a final demonstration with a high-energy neutron source at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ followed by delivery of this final optimized detector panel and conversion screen combination to the US Army at Picatinny Arsenal. PHASE III: Phase III will see the incorporation of said detector panel into all US Army NR systems in both laboratory and load plant applications. KEYWORDS: High-energy neutron radiography; Neutron radiography; Digital detector panel; Advanced manufacturing; Munitions inspection; REFERENCES: An Overview of Digital Imaging Systems for Radiography and Fluoroscopy Michael Yester, Ph.D. https://www.aapm.org/meetings/04SS/documents/yester.PDF Digital radiography with large-area flat-panel detectors, E. Kotter1 & M. Langer, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00330-002-1350-1 N. Stull, J. McCumber, L. D�Aries, M. Espy, C. Gautier, J. Hunter, �On a Method for Reconstructing Computed Tomography Datasets from an Unstable Source�, Journal of Imaging, 1-12, 2020.
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