Call 0016 Space Electronics Open 5 Year Broad Agency Announcment, Modeling and Experiment with Compund Semiconductors for Applications in High Performance Circuits | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

Call 0016 sits under the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Electronics Open 5 Year Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) VS 06 05, run by AFRL's Directed Energy and Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. The specific focus of this call is "Modeling and Experiment with Compound Semiconductors for applications in high performance circuits," positioned within Topic C2, Advanced Electronic Materials, Devices, and Circuits, and more narrowly within the subtopic on modeling advanced materials for space electronics. In plain terms, AFRL is looking for research that can help them predict, build, and validate next-generation transistor technologies that are better suited for harsh space environments and that can also push performance into very high frequency and high power regimes.

Technically, the core objective is to develop models for wrap-around gate field effect transistors (FETs) made from large bandgap, radiation-tolerant materials, and then fabricate representative devices so they can be tested and compared against model predictions. The announcement highlights work around wrapped-gate MOSFET-style nanoscale structures, including their use in nano-inverter concepts, and it frames the effort as complementary to ongoing AFRL work. One specific analysis approach called out is rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) to study field absorption and emission from sub-wavelength nanostructured surfaces, which signals interest in electromagnetic interactions at very small feature sizes that can matter at terahertz-relevant frequencies. While silicon is acknowledged as the industry standard baseline, the call emphasizes expanding into higher power, higher speed III-V compound semiconductors (such as GaAs, InP, GaN families in general terms) and radiation-hard materials like silicon carbide (SiC). The text also references the idea that SiC, when configured as an ultraviolet detector, could achieve detectivities higher than 10^13 per watt, and it notes that device reliability should be evaluated in comparison to more classical technologies. Overall, AFRL is aiming for credible physics-based and empirically anchored modeling paired with real device fabrication and testing, with reliability and performance benchmarking baked into the work.

Even though the call title stresses compound semiconductors and wrapped-gate FETs, the deliverables section also introduces carbon nanotube transistor modeling and the use of those models to estimate the limits of circuit-level performance. Specifically, it asks for analytical transistor models based on state-of-the-art empirically derived electrical parameters, then using those models to project performance in several representative circuit classes: analog RF building blocks like oscillators and power amplifiers (to extrapolate transmitter power and performance), digital primitives like a memory cell (to extrapolate processor-level potential), and mixed-signal elements like a converter component (to extrapolate ADC-related performance). The stated deliverable is a report analyzing circuit performance using carbon nanotube resistors, which reads like a partially overlapping or cross-cutting interest area within the broader advanced-device modeling theme. Practically, an applicant would want to address this apparent mismatch carefully by showing a coherent plan that ties material/device choices, compact modeling, and circuit implications together in a way that matches AFRL's space electronics goals.

On funding and schedule, the call provides an estimated government funding profile (not guaranteed and subject to change) of $25,000 in FY09, $50,000 in FY10, and $50,000 in FY11, for a total estimate of $125,000 across the effort, which aligns with the listed award ceiling of $125,000. The expected period of performance is 33 months for technical work plus an additional 3 months for final report submission, so applicants should plan for roughly a three-year timeline with a closeout/reporting tail. The Air Force anticipated making an award around May 29, 2009.

Submission rules are strict. The technical proposal (including the cost statement of work, referred to as the C SOW) is limited to 5 pages total, single-spaced, double-sided on 8.5 x 11 inch pages, using an easy-to-read font (no smaller than 12 pitch fixed or at least 10 point proportional). The page cap is comprehensive and includes essentially everything (resumes, figures, attachments, appendices, photos, foldouts), with each printed side counting as a page; only items like title pages and tables of contents are excluded from the count. Anything beyond the limit is not considered. Proposals were due by 1:00 p.m. MDT on April 30, 2009, and late submissions are handled under FAR rules on late proposals. For contracting instruments, paper submissions were required to a specific Kirtland AFB address (no fax or electronic submissions). For grant submissions, applicants had to submit through Grants.gov only, with no mailed, faxed, or emailed proposals accepted.

The call anticipates using either a cost-plus-fixed-fee (CPFF) research contract or a grant, reserving the right to choose the instrument that best fits the proposed work. The announcement states AFRL anticipated one award (either one contract or one grant), but it also reserves the right to make multiple awards or none. Eligibility is described as unrestricted in the listing, meaning any type of entity could potentially apply, subject to the baseline BAA terms. The NAICS code provided is 541712, and it includes small business size standard notes (1,000 employees for Space Vehicles/Guided Missiles contexts or 500 employees for other R&D, with a 500-employee rule also noted for non-manufacturers furnishing products they did not manufacture).

From a compliance and administrative standpoint, all baseline requirements of BAA VS 06 05 apply unless specifically modified by this call, and offerors were instructed to use ORCA (Online Representations and Certifications Application) along with the specific Representations and Certifications package current as of January 14, 2008. The solicitation also includes standard Defense FAR data rights signaling: offerors must identify any technical data or software they intend to deliver with restrictions (DFARS 252.227-7017) and identify any similar technical data/software previously delivered to the government with less than unlimited rights (DFARS 252.227-7028). These provisions matter because advanced device models, process details, and measurement datasets can trigger data rights assertions, and incomplete assertions can make a proposal ineligible.

Other notable characteristics are that the program is unclassified, and the final technical report is assumed not to be ITAR-restricted, which can simplify publication and collaboration planning, though applicants are still expected to flag any export-control sensitivities in what they propose. The work is described as being conducted in close interaction with AFRL/RVSE's Electronics Foundations Group, indicating an expectation of coordination, technical interchange, and alignment with AFRL's internal research directions. The technical point of contact is listed as Dr. Ashwani Sharma (AFRL/RVSE), and contracting contacts are Andrea Stone (Contract Specialist) and Shirley Lindom (Contracting Officer), all at Kirtland AFB. Potential offerors were also asked (as a courtesy) to email the contracting contact with an intent-to-propose notice, though that notice was not binding.

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