Defense Nuclear Agency, 6801 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22310-3398

A -- PLASMA OPENING SWITCH DIAGNOSTIC SOL DNA001-96-R-0017 POC Damon Q. McClure, Negotiator, (703) 325-1198, Daniel R. Gonzales, Contracting Officer, (703) 325-6684. This solicitation was synopsized in the CBD on 01 Feb 96. Contract award will be in accordance with DFARS Subpart 235.70, Research and Development Streamlined Contracting Procedures. A FORMAL WRITTEN REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation does NOT include a supplemental package. In case it may later be found necessary for the Contracting Officer to issue an amendment, offerors must provide written address information now to the contract negotiator, Damon Q. McClure at FAX (703) 325-9294. Note: If your company has provided address information in response to the synopsis, a second submission is NOT necessary. All of the mandatory terms, clauses, and provisions in DFARS 235.7006, Research and Development Streamlined Contracting Format, and the following optional items are incorporated by reference (*Denotes that clause will be incorporated at the time of award if appropriate): B.3, B.6, C.2, E.3, F.1, G.1, G.2, H.3, I.43, I.51, I.53, I.60, I.64, I.68, I.75, I.78, I.82, I.84, I.87, I.89, I.96, I.107, I.127,I.129, I.153, I.154, I.155, I.156, I.159, J.1 and M.2. The applicable clauses and provisions are those in effect through FAC 90-35 and DAC 91-8. Evaluation factors at Section M of this subpart is hereby modified. Section (A) Technical applies as follows: TECHNICAL APPROACH - The contractor shall demonstrate that the technical approach selected is capable of meeting the specifications in the statement of work by providing adequate evidence and documentation to support the claimed performance of the diagnostic. This documentation must support performance at currents, voltages, and power levels cited in the statement of work. In addition, the contractor shall provide compelling arguments to show that all parts of the diagnostic either survive a test or are so inexpensive that parts can be replaced as needed without significant impact on facility operations. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE - The contractor shall demonstrate relevant diagnostic experience performing tests on terawatt-class pulsed power radiation effects simulators. This shall be accomplished by citing pervious contracts under which this work was performed. Included shall be contract number with administrative and technical points of contact under which the previous diagnostic work was performed. QUALIFICATIONS OF PERSONNEL - The contractor shall demonstrate the qualifications of key personnel in the areas of pulsed power technology, radiation simulation, nuclear weapons effects simulation and plasma physics. The contractor shall also demonstrate the availability of these key personnel by citing present and projected workloads of the identified personnel. MANAGEMENT - The contractor shall demonstrate an ability to manage contracts in terms of cost, schedule, and technical performance in the last five years by citing contract number and administrative and technical points of contact. The contractor shall provide organizational and work breakdown structures for the proposed effort. In addition, the contractor shall identify problems and solutions which aided in maintaining program integrity in terms of cost and schedule on cited contracts. Cost will not be a weighted factor and contract award will be based on Best Value analysis. Deliverables will include the following: 1.) Monthly Progress Reports, 2 copies (1 DNA/AM, 1 PM), due 45 days after contract award (DAC); 2.) Draft Final Report w/SF 298, 8 copies (6 DNA/ISST, 1 DNA/AM, 1 PM), due 32 months after contract award (MAC); 3.) Camera-Ready Copy of Final Report w/SF 298,4 copies (1 DNA/AM, 3 PM), due 35 MAC; 4.) R&D Status Report, 11 copies (7 DNA/ISST, 2 DNA/AM, 2 PM), due 13 MAC; 5.) Design Review, 2 copies (1 DNA/AM, 1 PM), due as required; 6.) Test Plan, 2 copies (2 PM), due as required; 7.) Operation and Maintenance Manual, 3 copies (1 DNA/AM, 2 PM), due 31 MAC. A cost plus fixed fee contract is contemplated. Period of performance is estimated to be thirty-five (35) months including the final report. This procurement is a small business set-aside. See Note 1. Technical and cost proposals are due at DNA/AMD, Attn: Damon Q. McClure, no later than 1600 hours local time, on 22 Mar 96. All questions concerning this solicitation must be submitted in writing not later than 06 Mar 96. Five copies and one original of the technical and cost proposals must be provided. The technical proposal is limited to 40 pages; the cost proposal to 50 pages. Multiple awards are not contemplated. The Contracting Officer is Daniel R. Gonzales, 6801 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22310, (703) 325-6684. Contractor personnel will not require a DoD security clearance. The Statement of Work (SOW) is as follows: 1.1 BACKGROUND: The Defense Nuclear Agency maintains and operates nuclear weapons effects simulators for the Services. There are currently shortfalls in diagnostic capabilities for the terawatt-class of pulsed power simulators which are used for x- and gamma-ray radiation effects testing. These shortfalls fall into two critical areas: 1.) diagnostics needed by system developers and validators to determine the radiation field at their test object generated by the source; and 2.) diagnostics needed by the radiation source developers in order to develop, and understand and optimize the source for the user needs. In many cases, there is an overlap of the utility of diagnostics for these separate uses. In the former category, the needs are for accurate, inexpensive-to-operate, fast-turnaround diagnostics which may be used at DNA simulator facilities in order to support user tests. In the latter category, there is also a well-defined range of needs which revolve around obtaining information about the radiation sources for which there is presently no reliable measurement capability. 1.2 OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this effort are to develop and acquire diagnostics for characterization of the radiation field and for the development of radiation sources at DNA terawatt-class nuclear weapons effects simulators. 3.0 REQUIREMENTS: The contractor shall undertake the following task: 3.1 Task 1 - Plasma Opening Switch Diagnostic. The contractor shall design and implement a diagnostic capable of simultaneously measuring the current density and plasma density during the conduction and opening phases of a coaxial or planar plasma opening switch. The diagnostic should have an accuracy to within 20 per cent with a time resolution of less than 10 nsec and a spatial resolution of 1 mm or less. The pertinent range of switch operation is 100 kA to 10 MA, with densities appropriate for conduction times from 100 nsec to several microseconds. The contractor shall prepare a test plan prior to fielding this diagnostic on a test at a DNA terawatt-class plasma radiation source x-ray facility to demonstrate its utility. Up to three weeks GFE machine time at such a facility will be provided. At the conclusion of testing, the contractor shall prepare an Operations and Maintenance manual for the diagnostic, and the contractor shall provide all the equipment as well as the spares required for one year's operation of the diagnostic at the specified facility. For information, contact Damon Q. McClure at (703) 325-1198. Information on DNA solicitations, already released, can be obtained by calling the DNA Hotline at (703) 325-1173. Reference Synopsis No. 96-32 (0059)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0011 19960229\A-0011.SOL)