Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contract Management Directorate (CMD), 3701 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- UNIVERSITY OPTOELECTRONICS CENTERS SOL RA00-26 DUE 050100 POC Dr. David Honey and Dr. Elias Towe, DARPA/MTO, FAX: (703) 696-2206 WEB: http://www.darpa.mil, http://www.darpa.mil. E-MAIL: RA00-26@darpa.mil, RA00-26@darpa.mil. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting proposals to establish University Optoelectronics Centers for research focused on the application of optoelectronic and photonic technologies in future generations of sensing, information access, and information processing systems. Proposals from teams of academic researchers to establish optoelectronics centers are solicited. The intent is threefold: first, to create centers capable of revolutionizing optoelectronics and photonics technology; second, to forge interdisciplinary links aimed at advancing the applications of optoelectronics and photonics technology beyond traditional domains; and third, to make the centers national resources for expertise and highly trained individuals. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE AND DESCRIPTION: Advances in integrated optoelectronics, mesoscopic physical optics, microelectronics, nano-structures, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), micro-fluidics, epitaxial and composite materials systems, and information technology have created new opportunities for designing and fabricating chip-scale microsystems capable of performing complex sensing, analysis and information storage, retrieval and processing functions. These chip-scale microsystems can revolutionize technology capable of meeting emerging National Security challenges in protection from biological, chemical, and information system attacks. The objective of this Research Announcement (RA) is to solicit proposals to establish university-based, interdisciplinary centers focused on research aimed at creating revolutionary capabilities for specific optoelectronic chip-scale microsystems to meet these challenges. Anticipated Center research topics include, but are not limited to; chip-scale optical sensing of biological and/or other molecular scale objects; on-chip optical interconnection of very dense electronics (incorporating 100s of millions of transistors per chip) to enable information processing systems on a chip (SOC); fast memory access in optical memory systems with terabyte capacities; and the exploration of innovative chip-scale architectures that yield revolutionary performance capabilities through synergistic integration of dissimilar technologies. For the purposes of this RA, interdisciplinary should be interpreted to mean inclusion of Center support for faculty researchers whose primary field of research is not photonics; for example, biochemistry, bioengineering, electronics, microelectronics or mechanical engineering. Unfunded participation of industry researchers is strongly encouraged to help guide and focus the Centers' activities toward specific and measurable research goals. The individual research topics pursued, as well as the scope of the Centers' research programs, should be driven by the goal of establishing revolutionary chip-scale optoelectronic and photonic capabilities that can meet the cited National Security challenges. DARPA seeks innovative proposals for the establishment of Centers focused on specific topics as described above. A Center can be located at a single academic institution or distributed amongst a team of researchers at different academic institutions. Additional information is provided in the Area of Interest section of the RA 00-26 Proposer Information Pamphlet described below. PROGRAM SCOPE: The effort is projected to be a four-year effort with available Government funding for University Optoelectronic Centers estimated at approximately $30,000,000. Multiple awards are anticipated during the second half of FY00. The POC's for this effort are Dr. David Honey, and Dr. Elias Towe, fax: (703) 696-2206, electronic mail: dhoney@darpa.mil and etowe@darpa.mil, respectively. GENERAL INFORMATION: Proposers must obtain a pamphlet entitled "RA 00-26, University Optoelectronics Centers Research Announcement, Proposer Information Pamphlet" which provides further information on the area 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. In order to minimize unnecessary effort in proposal preparation and review, proposers are strongly encouraged to submit proposal abstracts in advance of full proposals. An original and six (6) copies of the proposal abstract must be submitted to DARPA/MTO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (ATTN: RA 00-26), on or before 4:00 p.m., local time, Monday, March 20, 2000. Proposal abstracts received after this date may not be reviewed. Upon review, DARPA will provide written feedback on the likelihood of a full proposal being selected and the date and time for submission of a full proposal. Proposers not submitting proposal abstracts must submit an original and six (6) copies of the full proposal to DARPA/MTO, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714 (ATTN: RA 00-26), on or before 4:00 p.m., local time, Monday, May 1, 2000, in order to be considered. This notice, in conjunction with the RA 00-26 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 University Optoelectronics Centers 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 RA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable areas of research in the University Optoelectronics Centers. Any objections to the terms of this RA or the RA 00-26 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 00-26. Proposals may not be submitted by fax or e-mail; any so sent will be disregarded. DARPA encourages 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 proposal abstracts and 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; (2) ingenuity, novelty, and potential impact of the overall center on the creation of revolutionary photonic technology; (3) potential contribution and relevance to the DARPA mission; (4) offeror's capabilities and related experience including the ability to transition technology, and manage a multi-participant, inter-disciplinary team; (5) cost realism. Cost realism will only be significant for proposals that have significantly over- or under-estimated the cost to complete the proposed effort. The administrative addresses for this RA are: Fax: (703) 696-2206 (Addressed to: DARPA/MTO, RA 00-26) Electronic Mail: RA00-26@darpa.mil; Mail: DARPA/MTO, ATTN: RA 00-26; 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. Posted 02/08/00 (W-SN423110). (0039)

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