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

A -- DEFENSE APPLICATIONS OF THERMAL MANAGEMENT DIAMOND SOL BAA 96-17 DUE 043096 POC Dr. Steven G. Wax, (Technical), ARPA/DSO (703) 696-2281, FAX: (703) 696-3999. The Defense Sciences Office of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA/DSO) solicits proposals to demonstrate cost-effective applications of diamond materials for thermal management in defense electronic components or systems. This effort builds upon a multiyear ARPA-funded effort to develop cost-effective deposition and processing technologies for the production of diamond substrates for thermal management. Significant progress has been made in the scale up and cost reduction of diamond deposition and processing technologies. Production of diamond substrates up to 6 inches in diameter, over 1 mm thick, with thermal conductivities exceeding 13 W/deg/cm, are currently feasible. Projected production costs are approaching $5 per gram. The development of viable dual-use markets will continue to lower the costs and increase the availability of diamond materials. These costs may not yet be low enough to assure the widespread use of diamond materials in commercial and defense thermal management applications. Yet, it is clear that diamond materials are ready to be evaluated for a wide variety of defense thermal management applications, and to be considered for use in high-value-added defense systems (power electronics, T/R modules, etc.). ARPA believes now is an appropriate time to demonstrate the viability of diamond films in specific applications of high priority to DoD. To this end, ARPA is requesting proposals for the demonstration of one or more DoD applications of diamond materials where the introduction of these materials will have a significant, beneficial impact on the performance (size, weight, lifecycle cost) of the defense system or subsystem. This may be as an inserted substrate or incorporated in a redesign of the subsystem to take advantage of the unique properties of diamond. It is anticipated that acceptable technical teams will combine members with deposition and processing expertise along with the application system developers in order to closely couple the design and cost-effective integration of the diamond materials. Proposals should include approaches for tailoring the growth, processing (including post-processing), properties and cost (verified through technical cost models) of the diamond component to meet the requirements of the application(s) chosen for demonstration. It is expected that a proposal team will have expertise and experience in the processing of diamond thin films. Device manufacturers and, if appropriate, systems/subsystem designers must also be active participants on the proposal team. The balance of the effort between process improvements and the demonstration of the application itself is left to the proposal team. However, successful demonstration in a specific application is the ultimate goal of the program. Congress has appropriated funds to implement this effort beginning in FY 1996. A complete program should be proposed, additional funding beyond that provided in FY 1996 cannot be expected. Proposals will be judged on the following factors: (1) Technical merit of the proposal, including the balance between cost-effective materials growth, post-processing and device demonstration. (2) Composition, expertise and experience of the proposal team (3) Quantitative benefit to DoD of incorporation of diamond substrates into the specific application(s) including realistic approaches for meeting diamond cost (including post processing), property specifications and realistic assessment of the performance improvements accrued from the use of the diamond substrates. (4) Degree to which the demonstration can be adapted to other Defense and commercial applications. (5) Commitment of the team to incorporate successful demonstrations into products of interest to DoD. (6) Cost realism. Each of these factors will be weighted equally except that in no case will a proposal be selected that does not have a significant benefit to DoD. Cost share is not required, but is highly encouraged. In particular, cost share from the device manufacturers and/or designers is considered an excellent demonstration of commitment to the team. Proposers must discuss any relevant on-going Government funded efforts and explain how proposals will build on, but not duplicate, these efforts. However, it is not necessary for proposers to have on-going, Government funded efforts to compete favorably. Full proposals are due no later than 3:00 PM, on April 30, 1996. No white papers will be accepted. However, letters of ''applications interest'' and ''processing capabilities'' from companies which have, respectively, potential thermal management diamond applications and expertise in diamond processing, will be accepted until 3:00 PM, on March 22, 1996. These letters are limited to a single sheet (8.5 X 11 inches), should contain a point of contact and be written for unrestricted distribution to others. ARPA will reproduce and distribute ''applications'' letters to organizations that submitted ''processing'' letters and vice versa. No additional information or guidance will be provided by the Government for this solicitation. GENERAL INFORMATION: This CBD notice itself constitutes the Broad Agency Announcement. Proposal Format: All proposals must be in the following ''page'' format: double-spaced, not greater than 8.5 by 11 inches, typed single sided with 1.25-inch minimum margins, with a font size not smaller than 12 pitch. Volume 1 of submitted proposals shall include an Abstract, Executive Summary, Technical Approach, Program Plan, Statement of Work, Milestone Chart, Facilities and Equipment Description, Relevant Prior Work, Management Plan, and Resumes of Key Individuals. The page count of volume 1 shall be limited to a maximum of 50 pages which includes all figures, tables, and charts. Volume 2 of submitted proposals shall contain a complete cost breakdown. Details of any cost sharing to be undertaken by the offerer should be included in the proposal. The merit of submitted proposals will be evaluated in relation to the proposed cost and availability of funds. All proprietary material shall be clearly marked and will be held in strict confidence Restrictive Notices not withstanding, proposals may be handled, for administrative purposes only, by a support contractor. The Government reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. Proposals identified for funding may result in a procurement contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or other transaction depending upon the nature of the work proposed, the required degree of interaction between parties, and other factors. Although no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation, these organizations are encouraged to apply. In cases where evaluation of proposals is substantially equal, preference for award will be given to those proposals that include HBCUs and MI's as participants over those which do not. All BAA submissions are required with six hard copies and one 3.5 inch magnetic floppy storage disk of either Macintosh or IBM compatible media with all text in generic ASCII or Microsoft Word format and cost data in either Excel or Lotus 123 format. All submissions must reference BAA 96-17. All administrative correspondence and questions on this solicitation should be directed to: ARPA/DSO: BAA 96-17, 3701 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203-1714. SPONSOR: Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington VA 22203-1714 (0066)

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