Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- MODULES FOR LITHOGRAPHY SYSTEMS FOR DESIGN RULES OF 0.18 MICROMETERS AND SMALLER SOL BAA95-22 DUE 033195 POC David O. Patterson, ARPA/MTO, FAX: (703)696-2201. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) solicits preproposals, and subsequently full proposals, for developments of modular subsystems of lithography tools suitable for fabrication of semiconductor devices with design rules of 0.18 micrometer and smaller. Specific end applications of interest are deep ultraviolet lithography tools and x-ray point source aligners. Specifically, the goal of this program is to design, construct and characterize one or more of each of the following: 1) a wafer stage suitable for integration with both optical and x-ray sources, 2) x-ray point sources. One or more efforts up to 48 months in duration are envisioned. Offerors are required to propose a basic program with additional 12-month options as needed. The basic program and each 12-month option must have specific measurable goals and deliverables so that progress on the contract can be determined. FY 1995 funds in excess of $5M are available for this procurement. The advanced lithography effort(s) to be proposed shall provide DoD early access and contribute significantly to the development of commercially viable semiconductor lithography systems meeting the array of needs of industrial production, including the following characteristics: 1) Exposing minimum features at least as small as 0.18 micrometers, with the potential for scaling to the 0.13 micrometer generation of technology, 2) Capable of printing at least 26 mm X 30 mm fields over the entire surface of a 300 millimeter diameter semiconductor wafer, 3) Capable of automatic registration of images between masking levels with an accuracy of at least 0.05 micrometers (mean plus three sigma), with the potential for achieving overlay and alignment accuracies required for manufacturing the 0.13 micrometer generation of technology, 4) Control of critical dimensions to 18 nm, and 5) Finally, improved cost of ownership through factors such as high throughput, tool availability,and minimal initial tool cost. The proposer may offer alternative specifications, or a complete pattern transfer tool, appropriate justification must be provided. Both the preproposals and subsequent full proposals will be evaluated with respect to the following evaluation criteria given in descending order of importance: 1) Projected impact of the technology proposed on initial cost and cost of ownership of eventual production models of the lithography system to be developed, 2) Offeror's commercialization plan (suppliers for key subsystems, integration, field service, etc.) for scale up to production quantities for the proposed tool, 3) Offeror's technical approach--ability to meet or exceed the specified program goals, including projected error budgets, expected performance for each area mentioned above, and new advances toward meeting requirements for 0.13 micrometer design rules, 4) Offeror's evaluation of risk in the proposed approach, i.e. clear identification of critical problem areas and realism of proposed solutions, 5) Offeror's present technical capabilities applicable to the proposed technology, 6) Proposed technology's compatibility with, and ease of, insertion into a semiconductor manufacturing line, 7) Management structure and past performance, 8) Specificity and realism of proposed yearly milestone(s), 9) Qualifications of key personnel proposed for this program, and 10) Cost realism of the proposal. Offerors are expected to consider carefully the evaluation criteria in proposal preparation. Proposals should be written such that extensive searching is not required to evaluate the proposal against the stated criteria. The government reserves the right to include consultants from non-profit institutions on the evaluation team. This BAA will remain open until September 30, 1996, however, to be considered for FY95 funding, preproposals must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. local time, March 31, 1995 at the address listed below. Preproposals shall be evaluated for technical merit as soon as they are received. Acknowledgement of receipt of preproposals will not be made, and preproposals will not be returned. This initial screening will minimize unnecessary effort and expense in proposal preparation and review. ARPA will recommend that those offerors with promising preproposals submit full technical and cost proposals. Individual offerors will be given 30 days to submit a full proposal following written notification by ARPA that the preproposal indicates the offeror has a reasonable chance of submitting a competitive offer. Regardless of the recommendation, the decision to submit a full proposal is the responsibility of the offeror. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the government's needs may submit a full proposal which will be considered by ARPA. Preproposals and full proposals may not be submitted by telefax or electronic mail, any so sent will be disregarded. Preproposals shall be limited to 15 pages. Preproposals shall only contain a rough estimate of cost. Full proposals shall be formatted in two volumes. Volume 1 of the proposal shall include an Executive Summary, a Technical Approach including a description of Relevant Prior Work, a Program Plan including a Statement of Work, Milestone Charts, a Facilities and Equipment Description, a Management Plan including a description of the company's plans for marketing the product to be developed, and Resumes of Key Individuals. Volume 1 shall be limited to a maximum of 75 pages. The preproposal and the full proposal shall be submitted on single-sided, double-spaced pages, font to be not smaller than 12 point, one inch left/right margins, 1.25 inch top margins, 0.5 inch bottom margins on all sheets. The page count shall include all figures, tables and charts. Volume 2, the Cost Proposal, shall contain all cost/price information with supporting cost schedules consistent with the offeror's cost accounting system. Cost breakdowns shall include materials, direct labor, subcontracts, indirect costs, and other direct costs such as special test equipment or travel. Offerors shall provide exhibits as necessary to substantiate cost elements. All paragraphs containing proprietary material must be clearly marked and will be held in strict confidence. There will be no formal RFP or other solicitation with regard to this requirement. Requests for same will be disregarded. ARPA reserves the right to select for award all, some or none of the proposals received, and intends to establish options for all efforts proposed for longer than 12 months. No portion of this BAA will be set aside for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MI) participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research. However, appropriate university and small business participation is encouraged, and all interested parties are invited to submit proposals and/or join others in submitting proposals. This BAA is an expression of interest only and does not commit the government to pay any preproposal or proposal costs. No telephone inquiries regarding this solicitation will be acceptable, telefax contact is David O. Patterson, 703-696-2201. Eight (8) copies of all preproposals and proposals shall be submitted and must reference BAA#95-22. The submissions shall be mailed to ARPA/MTO, Attention: Mr. David O. Patterson, 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. (0060)

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