Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714

A -- GROUP III - NITRIDE OPTOELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY SOL BAA95-38 DUE 120695 POC Dr. Anis Husain, ARPA/MTO, FAX: (703)696-2201. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) solicits pre-proposals, to be followed by full proposals, for innovative technical research to advance the state of the art in group III- Nitride optoelectronic materials and devices. The group III- Nitrides promise the potential to develop highly efficient, reliable, and high temperature operation Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), lasers and detectors, ranging from ultra violet(uv) to the green. This program will focus on developing the critical materials, processing and device technology for this new material system. It will expand on the current understanding of the group III- Nitrides that will enable the development of a viable device technology which is to be rapidly transitioned to industry to meet future military needs. Military applications include high density storage, sensing biological and chemical agents, lightweight countermeasures, and solar blind detectors. PROGRAM GOAL AND SCOPE: ARPA is interested in two types of research efforts. Type A must be an Industry led team which will lead to producible, reliable, efficient, room temperature, continuous wave emitters (especially lasers) operating in the uv and blue with potential to operate at green wavelengths in the group III-Nitride material system. Type B may be either individual investigators or a collaborative effort led by universities or non-profit organizations. The emphasis of this program is to accelerate the progress in developing emitters, especially lasers emitting in the uv, blue and green spectrum and transfer this technology effectively to industry. However, other novel optoelectronic devices including detectors and waveguide based devices will also be considered. Multiple awards for 24 to 36-month efforts are anticipated utilizing contracts, grants or cooperative arrangements as appropriate. Bidders may include as an option continuation of the effort for an additional period of up to 2 years. The available funds will be roughly divided into 70% for Type A teams and 30% for Type B offerors. TYPE A OFFERORS: Industry-led collaborative teams (comprised of manufacturers, material suppliers, equipment vendors). Participation by Universities and research laboratories is strongly encouraged. TYPE B OFFERORS: Individual offerors or collaborative efforts led by other than industry. RESEARCH AREAS: ARPA is interested in funding collaborative research and development related to the following areas: 1) MATERIAL QUALITY ENHANCEMENT -- This area involves reducing the defect density from the presently high value of 1010 cm-2 down to values of 105 cm-2. This includes developing appropriate substrate technology, which is lattice-matched to the group III-Nitride system. High pressure MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition), Supersonic growth, wafer fusion, and other novel growth techniques for epitaxy are of interest, in particular those techniques that will scale easily to large substrate sizes. This area also includes research into: the fundamental chemistry of growth, understanding of precursor reactions, understanding of the surface and interface physics and its impact to defect and dislocation density. New sources for growth, innovative bulk growth of GaN, and new substrate materials are of interest. 2) MODELING / SIMULATION AND CHARACTERIZATION -- Understanding the role of native defects, impurities, dislocations, dopants (especially p-dopants) is important to being able to produce efficient, reliable and producible devices. The focus here is on research to lay the fundamental theoretical and modeling work to form the basis for improved materials and devices, especially for lateral and Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting laser structures. A fundamental understanding of dopant incorporation is of interest, especially p-type dopants. Modeling work must be tied in with experimental work to develop effective and predictive tools. Also of interest is process modeling of epitaxial and bulk growth. Such modeling can help optimize growth parameters cost effectively, and when combined with process control(model & sensor based) can improve the quality and throughput. 3) DEVICE DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION -- The device goal is to demonstrate a producible, reliable, continuous wave, short wavelength emitter (especially lasers) from uv to the green. Development of techniques to achieve optically-confined structures and the development of processes to demonstrate laser heterostructures, including those with high In and Al concentration or novel alternative dopants to move the emission wavelength from the uv to blue and to green, development of robust contact technology especially p-type contacts and demonstration of the best etching techniques both wet and dry for processing these new materials. Formation of effective Fabry Perot cavities in this material system is problematic and needs to be addressed. Type A Teams must bid all three research areas, while Type B offerors may bid on one or more of the three research areas. EVALUATION CRITERIA: Screening of pre-proposals and selection of final proposals for award will be based on the following criteria in descending order of importance: (1) Overall scientific, technical merit, and realism, of the proposal in achieving the goals in the areas proposed. This includes the degree to which the program proposed will achieve the offerors stated goals. (2) The offeror's ability to implement the proposed approach as demonstrated by specific accomplishments in the technical field, by availability of qualified personnel, and by appropriate facilities. (3) The management plan and team structure and composition will be assessed from the viewpoint of its potential effectiveness in productization (for Type A Offerors), or transitioning to industry of the group 3-Nitride optoelectronic technology (for Type B Offerors), (4) Commitment to productization (for Type A Offerors), or transitioning the technology (for Type B Offerors) will be evaluated. This will include the extent of offeror's cost-share commitment, as well as the offeror's business and/or technology transition plans.(5) Offeror's cost and cost realism, cost realism will only be significant in proposals which have significantly under or over estimated the cost to complete their effort. Note: Individual proposals will be evaluated without regard to other proposals submitted under this announcement, however, all selected proposals may not be funded due to budgetary constraints. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: Proposals may be submitted any time on or before 4:00 P.M. local time 6 December 1995 to the ARPA address listed below. However, to be considered for FY'96 funding, offerors are required to submit an original plus ten (10) copies of a pre-proposal which must be received by 1:00 P.M. local time 14 August 1995 at the ARPA address listed below. Full proposals are due 30 days after receipt of letter from ARPA stating the disposition of the pre-proposal. Each paragraph within the pre-proposal or full proposal containing proprietary information shall be clearly marked and will be held in strict confidence. No classified proposals will be accepted. PRE-PROPOSALS: Pre-proposals are strictly limited to 15 pages on single sided, double spaced pages, page size not larger than 8 1/2 x 11 inches, font not smaller than 12 point, one-inch left / right margins, 1.25 inch top margins, 1/2 inch bottom margins on all sheets. The 15-page pre-proposal limit includes all figures, charts and tables. Attached letters or statements of commitment from proposed subcontractors or team members do not count against the 15-page limit. The pre-proposal must briefly address all key issues described below under the full proposal format, and must contain a table summarizing a breakdown of the estimated cost per task, per team member, per year. FULL PROPOSALS: Full proposals shall be formatted in two volumes. Volume I shall contain no cost information and include the following sections: (A) Cover Sheet: with reference to BAA #95-38 including proposal title and date, name(s) of principal investigator their institutions and address, telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address, (B) Executive Summary, (C) Statement of the Problem: this section clearly defines the problem(s) being addressed. For Type A Teams, this section must identify the technical hurdles and challenges that need to be overcome to successfully develop optoelectronic devices in the group 3-Nitrides. (D) Technical Approach: this section must describe how the key technical challenges will be solved. Offerors must include a discussion of the innovative aspects of the solution and a description of how the proposed approach is superior to current State-of-the-Art. The risks, solutions, advantages and disadvantages associated with proposed techniques, including cost models of the proposed devices to identify current cost and future projected cost reductions need to be discussed. (E) Business/Production Plan or Transition Plan: this section includes a discussion of future production plans for the material, substrates or devices. Offerors must address the business impact of the proposed technical goals and approach. Alternatively, offerors must discuss clearly how their research will transition to industry, and the mechanisms and structure of the transition team. (F) Program Plan: including Statement of Work, Key Milestone/Decision Chart, Schedule and list of Deliverables, (G) Management Plan and Team Structure: includes, management control plan, organization, subcontractor and/or teaming arrangements, resumes of Key Personnel, a clear delineation of user-producer cooperation, team member roles and contributions, methodology for establishing and achieving technical milestones, management approach, arrangements to promote cooperation, communication, dissemination of information, and arrangements for handling intellectual property rights among team members. Offerors should include statements of commitment from proposed team members at sufficiently high levels to make meaningful commitments for the proposed members, and (H) Facilities and Equipment description and Related Experience. Volume I is strictly limited to 50 pages on single sided, double spaced pages with margins the same as required for pre-proposal submission. The 50-page count includes all tables, charts, figures with the exception of table of contents and any attached letters or statements of participant commitment. Volume II, the cost proposal, shall contain all cost/price information with supporting cost schedules consistent with the offeror's cost accounting system. Cost breakdowns shall include materials, direct labor, subcontracts, indirect costs and other direct costs such as special equipment or travel. A table summarizing the breakdown of the cost per task, per team member, per year is required. Offerors shall provide exhibits as necessary to substantiate cost elements. Proposals must clearly link costs to program schedules and technical milestones. Proposals must further identify team member costs and schedules within the total program, and must explicitly identify the source and composition of any proposed cost-sharing and resource contributions. Each paragraph within the pre-proposal or full proposal containing proprietary information shall be clearly marked and will be held in strict confidence. No classified proposals will be accepted. A table outlining current support (source of funds, start date, duration, approximate funds per year, and title of effort) being received in this area should be included. GENERAL INFORMATION: No formal RFP or other solicitation with regard to this requirement will be issued and requests for same will be disregarded. No portion of this BAA will be set aside for Historically Black Colleges or Universities or Minority Institution participation due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable tasks relating to group 3 optoelectronic technology. However, appropriate small business and university participation is encouraged, and all responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal which will be considered by ARPA. ARPA reserves the right to select for negotiation and/or award all, some or none of the proposals received. Initial screening of preproposals will minimize unnecessary effort and expense in proposal preparation and review. ARPA will ask only those offerors with promising preproposals to submit full technical and cost proposals. Pre-proposals and full proposals may not be submitted by telefax or electronic mail, any so sent will be rejected. Acknowledgement of receipt of proposals will not be made, and proposals will not be returned. The Government also reserves the right to propose alternate teaming arrangements. Restrictive notices notwithstanding, proposals will be handled for administrative purposes by a support contractor, Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc. Due to anticipated large response, telephone inquiries are discouraged. All questions regarding this BAA must be submitted in writing to ARPA/MTO, Attention: Group III-Nitride Optoelectronics Program BAA95-38, ARPA/MTO,3701 N.Fairfax Drive, Arlington VA 22203-1714, or, via FAX # (703)-696-2201, Attention BAA95-38, or via e-mail: BAA95-38@arpa.mil. (0177)

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