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

A -- SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY FOCUS CENTER RESEARCH PROGRAM SOL RA 98-23 DUE 050898 POC D. Radack, DARPA/ETO, Fax (703) 696-2206 WEB: http://www.darpa.mil, http://www.darpa.mil. E-MAIL: RA98-23@darpa.mil, RA98-23@darpa.mil. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), and the Microelectronics Advanced Research Corp. (MARCO) are soliciting proposals for Focus Centers in Design & Test and Interconnect at U.S. universities. By initiating and supporting this exploratory research at or beyond the horizons of the NTRS, and through the exploration of off-Roadmap technology opportunities, the Focus Centers will concentrate research attention and resources on topics that help sustain the historical productivity growth of the microelectronics industry and provide the Department of Defense with research into advanced semiconductor technologies. MARCO is a not-for-profit organization that will manage the Focus Center Research Program in semiconductor technology for its Participants and other contributors. DARPA is participating in this program as part of the DDR&E's Government-Industry Co-Sponsorship of University Research (GICUR) initiative. As a co-sponsor with DARPA/DDR&E, MARCO anticipates contributing more than half of the total funds for this R&D program; however, cost sharing from other means is strongly encouraged. DARPA and MARCO will jointly evaluate all proposals submitted in accordance with the guidelines set forth in this RA and the associated Proposer Information Pamphlet. This program, entitled the Focus Center Research Program (FCRP) in Semiconductor Technology, will address major challenges in semiconductor technology research and development by utilizing the United States research university system to work on long-range innovative research. Only U.S. universities and/or research institutions associated with universities will be considered for funding. Proposals may include other organizations, but those other organizations must be funded by some other means; they can not receive funding for activities through the proposed Focus Center. Research funded under the FCRP is generally very high-risk, high-payback, long-term and targeted to silicon integrated circuit (IC) technology. Additional information on the Design & Test and Interconnect focus areas is provided in the Areas of Interest section of the RA 98-23 Proposer Information Pamphlet referenced below. PROGRAM SCOPE: Single awards are expected in each of the two focus areas identified above. A total of about $45 million is expected to be available over the next three years to fund these efforts. Following proposal selection, DARPA and MARCO plan to award grants, cooperative agreements, or other transactions, as appropriate, for base periods of up to three years. The option for two-year renewals exists, dependent on the overall success of the program, the technical progress of the Center, and the availability of funds. The technical POCs for this effort are Daniel J. Radack (DARPA/ETO, fax: 703-696-2206, electronic mail: dradack@darpa.mil) and Peter Verhofstadt (MARCO, fax: 408-453-9948). GENERAL INFORMATION: Proposers must obtain apamphlet entitled RA 98-23, Semiconductor Technology Focus Center Research Program, 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 from the World Wide Web (WWW) or 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. Proposers must submit an original and six (6) copies of the proposal to DARPA/ETO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (Attn.: RA 98-23) on or before 4:00 p.m., local time, Friday, May 8, 1998, in order to be considered. This notice, in conjunction with the RA 98-23 Proposer Information Pamphlet, constitutes the total RA. 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 FCRP needs may submit a proposal which shall be considered by DARPA and MARCO. 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 RA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research in the FCRP. Any objections to the terms of this RA or the RA 98-23 Proposer Information Pamphlet must be presented in writing within fifteen (15) calendar days of the publication of this RA in the CBD. Any objections to the conduct of receipt, evaluation or award of grants, cooperative agreements or other transactions must be presented in writing within ten (10) calendar days of the date the objector knows or should have known the basis for its objections. Objections must be provided in letter format, clearly stating that it is an objection or protest to this RA or to the conduct of evaluation or award of a grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction, and providing a clearly detailed factual statement of the basis for objection. Objections must be received at the address stated above for delivery of proposals within the times indicated in order to be considered. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation, including requests for information on how to submit a proposal to this RA, 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 RA 98-23. Proposals may not be submitted by fax or e-mail; any so sent will be disregarded. DARPA and MARCO encourage the use of the WWW for retrieving the Proposer 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: (1) Overall scientific and technical merit, including the likely impact on meeting the technology challenges at the NTRS horizon; (2) Ingenuity, novelty, and impact of overall Center and new frontier projects; (3) Potential contributions to the DARPA, DDR&E, and MARCO missions; (4) Offeror's capabilities and related experience, including personnel, resources, facilities, equipment, and data to perform the work; (5) Cost realism. Cost realism will only be significant for proposals that have seriously over or under estimated the cost to complete. As this is a joint solicitation, the proposal evaluation and selection process will be performed jointly by MARCO and DARPA. The administrative addresses for this RA are: Fax: (703) 696-2206 (Addressed to: DARPA/ETO, RA 98-23), Electronic Mail: RA98-23@darpa.mil, Mail: DARPA/ETO, ATTN: RA 98-23, 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. (0078)

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