NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812

B -- STUDIES OF AVALANCHE PHOTODIODES (APDS) AS READOUT DEVICES FOR SCINTILLATING FIBERS FOR HIGH ENERGY GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY TELESCOPES" SOL 8-W-7-ES-13672 DUE 110697 POC Chrissa K. Hall, Contracting Officer, Phone (205) 544-5468, Fax (205) 544-9080, Email chrissa.hall@msfc.nasa.gov -- Michael R. Sosebee, Contracting Officer, Phone (205) 544-0415, Fax (205) 544-9080, Email mike.sosebee@msfc.nasa.gov WEB: Click here for the latest information about this notice, http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/MSFC/date.html#8-W-7-ES-13672. E-MAIL: Chrissa K. Hall, chrissa.hall@msfc.nasa.gov. NASA/MSFC plans to issue a Request for Quote (RFQ) for the following study: Task 1. Determine the feasibility and operating characteristics of arrays of APDs used in the Geiger mode for the readout of scintillation pulses from plastic fibers with these characteristics: Fiber diameter: ~250-500 mm, Signal level: 10-20 photons/pulse, Signal pulse width (input): ~20 ns, Recovery/shaping (output): <~1 ms, Wavelength: ~450-650 nm, Signal event rate: <~100 cps, Task 2. Estimate the following characteristics and identify trade-offs: 1) Dark count rate as a function of temperature 2) Power and bias voltage requirements 3) Gain Task 3. Study possible alternative configurations for array sizes and pitch and their effect on the above characteristics to optimize the use of APDs for space-borne readout of scintillating fiber systems of several hundred thousand to one milliam channels. The contractor shall participate in the above on a part-time basis (350 man-hours) over a six-month period. MSFC will depend on the contractor's expert judgement to end each task as objectives are completed in consideration of the total, limited effort. Completion of objectives as to workable feasibility and completion of the final report will determine the stopping point. One interim progress report shall be submitted on or about the third month of the study summarizing the progress completed. A final report shall be prepared which documents the results and the outcome of all of the tasks combined as outlined above. The final report shall document that proper scientific methods have been used to assess the feasibility (or non-feasibility) of continued research leading to the use of avalanche photodiodes as readout devices for gamma-ray astronomy. NOTE: The Government reserves the right to make multiple awards under this procurement. This procurement is being conducted under the Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP). The Government does not intend to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12. See Note 26. This procurement is a total small business set-aside. See Note 1. The SIC Code and Size Standard are 3674 and 500, respectively. The DPAS Rating for this procurment is DO-C9. The anticipated release date of RFQ 8-W-7-ES-13672 is on or about October 22, 1997, with an anticipated quote due date of on or about November 5, 1997. All qualified responsible sources may submit a quote which shall be considered by the agency. Prospective quoters shall notify this office of their intent to submit a quotation. An ombudsman has been appointed -- See Internet Note "B". The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will be in Microsoft Office Suite (Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, or PowerPoint 4.0) format and will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. The WWW address, or URL of the NASA/MSFC Business Opportunities home page is http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/MSFC/class.html. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential quoters will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Any referenced notes can be viewed at the following URL:http://genesis.gsfc.nasa.gov/nnotes.htm. (0297)

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