Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington VA 22203-1714

A -- HIGHLY-CONTROLLED INFRARED DIELECTRIC EMISSIVITY (HIDE) SOL BAA 97-10 DUE 021097 POC E. Brown, DARPA/ETO, FAX: (703) 696-2206. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting research proposals in the area of Highly-Controlled Infrared Dielectric Emissivity. This solicitation is in response to the military need for new low-cost IR materials. Composite materials, such as photonic crystals, whose electromagnetic properties can be fully engineered and manufactured by low-cost techniques are of particular interest. The electromagnetic properties of interest are reflectivity, emissivity, and specularity, all of which are functions of incident angle and polarization. It is desirable that the material display high emissivity in specified spectral bands and low emissivity in others which are controlled entirely by design. This design capability could be called "emissivity engineering". Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable rapid advances in this relatively new area. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. In addition, HIDE materials are of interest that can be extended to other advanced functions. Of interest are electronically-controlled emissivity, nonlinear-optic behavior, and birefringence, particularly as they enable new military (e.g., IR chameleons, optical limiters, etc.) and commercial applications. DARPA seeks innovative proposals in the following areas: (1) Optical Properties and (2) Fabrication Methods. Additional information on these technology areas is provided in the Areas of Interest section of the BAA 97-10 Proposer Information Pamphlet referenced below. PROGRAM SCOPE: Multiple awards are anticipated. Collaborative efforts/teaming and cost sharing are encouraged. The technical POCs for this effort is E. Brown, fax: (703) 696-2206, electronic mail: erbrown@darpa.mil. GENERAL INFORMATION: Proposers must obtain a pamphlet entitled "BAA 97-10, Highly-Controlled Infrared Dielectric Emissivity (HIDE), Proposer Information Pamphlet" which provides further information on areas of interest, the submission, evaluation, and funding processes, proposal formats, and other general information. This pamphlet may be obtained by fax, electronic mail, or mail request to the administrative contact address given below. Proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. An original and nine (9) copies of the full proposal to DARPA/ETO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (ATTN.: BAA 97-10) on or before 4:00 P.M., Monday, February 10, 1997, in order to be considered. This notice, in conjunction with the BAA 97-10 Proposer Information Pamphlet, constitutes the total BAA. No additional information is available, nor will a formal RFP or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for the same will be disregarded. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal which shall be considered by DARPA. 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 HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research in Highly-Controlled Infrared Dielectric Emissivity. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit a full proposal to this BAA, should be directed to one of the administrative addresses below, e-mail or fax is preferred. DARPA intends to use electronic mail and fax for correspondence regarding BAA 97-10. Proposals may not be submitted by fax or e-mail, any so sent will be disregarded. DARPA encourages use of the World Wide Web (WWW) for retrieving the Proposal Information Pamphlet and any other related information that may subsequently be provided. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Evaluation of proposals will be accomplished through a technical review of each proposal using the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of relative importance: (l) overall scientific and technical merit, (2) potential contribution and relevance to the DARPA mission, (3) manufacturability and plans to accomplish technology transition, (4) offeror's capabilities, (5) novelty and ingenuity of technical approach, (6) offeror's related experience, and (7) cost realism. Note: cost realism will only be significant in proposals which have significantly under or over-estimated the cost to complete their effort. The administrative addresses for this BAA are: Fax: (703) 351-8616 (Addressed to: DARPA/ETO, BAA 97-10), Electronic Mail: BAA 97-10@darpa.mil, Mail: DARPA/ETO, ATTN: BAA 97-10, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. This announcement and the Proposer Information Pamphlet may be retrieved via the WWW at URL http://www.darpa.mil/ in the solicitations area. (0347)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0006 19961216\A-0006.SOL)