Phillips Laboratory/PKVB Directorate of Contracting, 2251 Maxwell Avenue SE, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5773

A -- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SOURCES SOUGHT FOR RADIATION TESTING OF SPACE SOLAR CELLS SOL F29601-96-R-0014 POC Floyd R. Martinez, Contracting Officer (505) 846-4967, 1st Lt. Randy Boswell, Project Officer (505) 846-5716. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SOURCES SOUGHT FOR RADIATION TESTING OF SPACE SOLAR CELLS. The Air Force Phillips Laboratory (PL) Space Power Technology Group (VTPP) anticipates solicitation of a radiation testing effort for multijunction space solar cells. The solicitation will be published on or about TBD with the date of receipt of proposals 30 calendar days after date of publication. Towards this effort, PL/VTPP is seeking qualified parties which can perform ALL tasks of the following test description. TEST DESCRIPTION: (a) A series of unidirectional electron irradiations on a variety of multijunction solar cell types shall be performed. Electron energies of 600 KeV, 1 MeV, and 2.4 MeV shall be used, with test cells at each energy incrementally exposed to fluences of 1.E13, 1.E14, 1.E15, and 1.E16 electrons/cm2. (b) A series of unidirectional proton irradiations on a variety of multijunction solar cell types shall be performed. Proton energies of 50 KeV, 500 KeV, 1 MeV, and 3 MeV shall be used, with test cells at each energy incrementally exposed to fluences of 1.E9, 1.E10, 1.E11, and 1.E12 protons/cm2. (c) At select energies, omnidirectional testing shall be performed and the resulting data correlated with unidirectional test data from (a) and (b) above. (d) Light I-V measurements at Air Mass Zero (AM0) shall be taken initially and periodically throughout the radiation testing of each solar cell. (e) Spectral response measurements shall be performed before and after irradiation from 360nm - 1100nm in 5nm increments. (f) Due to the extreme sensitivity of multijunction solar cells with regard to solar simulation accuracy, the offeror shall provide an estimate of the measurement error in the light I-V curves caused by the solar simulator used for this effort. All statements of capabilities should be specific as to 1) present capabilities, 2) present and past solar cell irradiation efforts, and 3) references from recent solar cell irradiation efforts. Only those statements of capability which adequately address each item in the test description above will be considered. An organizational conflict of interest clause is anticipated in any resulting contract as testing of advanced space solar cells may require access to other contractors' proprietary data. The contractor will require access to Militarily Critical Technology Data which is controlled under the Export Control Act (Title 22, U.S. Sec. 2751, et seq.) or the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended (Title 50, U.S.C. App. 2401, et seq.). Only contractors listed on the Qualified Contractor's Access List may receive controlled data. Contact the Defense Logistics Services Center, Federal Center, 74 North Washington, Battle Creek MI 49016-3412, (800) 352-3572, to become registered certified. Foreign firms are advised there are restrictions. Interested contractors must indicate whether they qualify as a small business under SIC Code 8711, size standard $13,500,000. Firms responding are to indicate whether or not they are a small business, an 8(a) certified firm, a socially and economically disadvantaged business, a woman-owned business, a Historically Black College or University, or a Minority Institution. Interested contractors are requested to submit a Statement of Capability (SOC). SOC shall be unclassified. Information submitted should be pertinent and specific in the technical areas under consideration. Do not provide advertisement brochures in lieu of a written SOC. The SOC is limited to 20 pages (resumes not included in page count) and must be received within 30 calendar days of publication of this announcement. Replies received later than this date and responses by telegram or fax will not be honored. Based on the responses to this announcement, the Air Force reserves the right to set-aside this acquisition, or portions thereof, for an 8(a) Program Award, an award to a Historically Black College, University, or Minority Institution, or a Small Business Set-Aside. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors or potential offerors during the proposal development phase of this acquisition. The purpose of the Ombudsman is not to diminish the authority of the Program Director or Contracting Officer, but to communicate contractor concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations to the appropriate government personnel. When requested, the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsmen does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the source selection process. Interested parties are invited to call the PL Ombudsman, Colonel James Ledbetter in the Operations Directorate (505) 846-4964. The Ombudsman should only be contacted with issues or problems that have been previously brought to the attention of the Contracting Officer and could not be satisfactorily resolved at that level. For Contracting issues, please contact Floyd Martinez, Contracting Officer, at (505) 846-4967. For Technical issues, please contact 1Lt Randy Boswell, Project Officer, at (505) 846-5716. Acquisition information is provided on the Science and Technology Acquisition Referral System (STARS) which is provided by the Phillips Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM, as a service to industry and other interested parties. This system is a means of disseminating key Request For Proposal (RFP) documents to allow contractors and other interested parties to access the documents and download these documents into their existing computer systems. The STARS Bulletin Board is now available on the Internet -- http://www.plk.af.mil/. All files in the ''Show Available RFPs'' category are self-extracting executable (.EXE) files. In order to access STARS on the Internet, PC users need to run NETSCAPE or MOSAIC version 2.0 Beta 4. STARS BBC POC: Sandra M. Maes, PL/PKM, (505) 846-4457. This announcement is for informational and planning purposes only. It does not constitute an Invitation For Bid (IFB) nor a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. In the event a formal solicitation results from review of the SOCs, respondents desiring a copy of the solicitation must request it in writing and provide a mailing address and their assigned Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code. Mail all SOCs and requests for the solicitation referencing RFP number F29601-96-R-0014 to: Phillips Laboratory/PKVB, Attn: Floyd Martinez, 2251 Maxwell SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5772. (Note 13 and 25 of this CBD shall also apply) (0157)

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