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

A -- HIGH RELIABILITY DEFORMABLE MIRROR SOL 98-D-01 POC Ms. Barbara Steinbock, Contracting Officer, Det 8 AFRL/PKDB,505-846-2246 HIGH RELIABILITY DEFORMABLE MIRROR. PRDA NO. 98-D01. Contractual POC: Barbara Steinbock, Contracting Officer (505)846-2246; AFRL/PKDB; 2251 Maxwell Ave SE, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5773. Technical POC: Lt Jeff Barchers, AFRL/DES, (505) 846-5671.The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is seeking proposals for design and fabrication of a High Reliability Deformable Mirror. BACKGROUND AND PRIMARY GOALS: The goal of this effort is to design and build 1000-actuator class deformable mirrors with close actuator spacing, high reliability and low cost. Innovative approaches to accomplish these goals are strongly encouraged. The deformable mirror will be used in adaptive optics systems designed to correct phase distortions created by atmospheric turbulence. The deformable mirror will be used in a closed loop servo having a control bandwith of 500 Hz (at -3 dB error rejection). The mirror must have inter-actuator spacing of less than 7.0 mm with individual actuator stroke greater than 2.0 mm and adjacent actuators restricted so that differential stroke does not exceed 2.0 mm. SPECIFICATIONS: The DM must meet or exceed current industry standards including but not limited to the following: have a minimum of 941 active actuators in a square array of 35 actuators on a side with corner actuators eliminated to accommodate a circular aperture. The location of the actuator centers relative to a best-fit square grid, must be less than 1/50 of an actuator spacing distance. The mirror surface over the active area with no excitation on the actuators shall be flat to better than l/5 peak-to-peak (l = 0.5 mm). Actuator to actuator uniformity must be achieved such that the mirror surface error, using a maximum offset of 5% of full stroke on individual actuators, is less than 1/30 wave rms and 1/16 wave peak-to-peak at mid-stroke operation. At full stroke operation, the mirror surface error must be less than 1/10 wave rms (1 wave = 0.5 mm). Actuator hysteresis shall not exceed 3% on any actuator. Full-scale operating voltage shall be chosen to ensure that the actuator's strength will not be compromised due to excessive stress in the individual actuator layers. The actuator influence function describes the shape of the mirror surface in response to the displacement of an actuator. The goal is that the displacement of the mirror surface at any actuator location is less than 10% of the displacement at the driven actuator location, under both static and dynamic conditions. Actuator response shall be independent of temperature to 0.3% over the temperature range 20 5 C. Mirror response, defined as the ratio of surface displacement to actuator drive voltage, is required to be flat ( 0.5 dB) with a maximum phase shift of 5 out to 2 kHz for small signal operation and out to 500 Hz for full stroke operation. It is intended that the mirror will be operated with drive circuitry designed and provided by the vendor. This circuitry shall drive all actuators and shall have protective circuitry to prevent excess current to actuators. This drive circuit shall be digitally controlled. Frame rate shall meet or exceed 10 kHz. Latency, as measured from the last command input to the last voltage output, must be less than 10 msec. As an additional goal, the design should be compatible with the application of a multi-layer dielectric coating. When used in an adaptive optical system, the DM must be aligned so that the actuators are coincident with the sub-apertures of the phase sensor. To facilitate this alignment, provisions shall be made for the accurate registration of an alignment fixture. This fixture could be either a crosshair centered on the aperture or a mask defining each actuator location. Good commercial practices shall be used throughout. The DM shall be operable without degradation of performance under the following conditions: -- at altitudes from sea level to 10,000 feet -- storage over the temperature range -10 to 50 C -- at any attitude in the gravitational field. Offers are not limited in technical approach, though the proposed design should consider the goals of the effort and specifications listed above. Projected total funds are currently unavailable, though projected funding is $2.5 million for the total project. PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: Proposals are due 30 days from the date this announcement is published. Submit Technical and Cost proposals in separate volumes. An original and three copies of your proposal are required. Technical Proposal shall include an executive summary of the offeror's capabilities (including key personnel), relevant/related experience, program description, program plan detailing the technical effort to be accomplished, and facilites. The technical proposal shall be limited to 25 pages (12 pitch or larger type), double spaced, single sided, 8.5 by 11 inch pages, use one inch margins on top and bottom of page and 3/4 inch side margins. The page limitation includes all information i.e., indices, photographs, foldouts, attachments, resumes, etc. COST PROPOSALs shall be limited to 5 pages and should be preparedin accordance with instructions under the secondary link entitled "PL BAA/PRDA Cost Preparation Instructions" at AFRL web site, http://www.plk.af.mil/ORG_CHART/PK/mainmenu.htm. Pages in excess of the limitation will not be considered by the government. Data deliverables, including a final report, shall be proposed that will adequately provide the government with sufficient information to ascertain the effectiveness of the offeror's operations. Proposals shall be valid for a period of not less than 180 days after the due date. Proposals must reference the above PRDA number and include a unique proposal identification number. All firms submitting responses should indicate whether they are, or are not, a small business, a socially and economically disadvantaged business, an 8(a) firm, a woman owned business, a historically black college or university, or a minority institution. For purposes of this PRDA the business size standard is 1000 employees, SIC 8731. Proposals shall be submitted to DET 8 Air Force Research Laboratory/PKDB, 2251 Maxwell Ave SE, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5773. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the government to pay for proposal preparation cost. The cost of preparing proposals in response to this PRDA is not considered an allowable direct charge to any resulting contract or to any other contract. A Cost-Plus-Fixed Fee (CPFF) contract(s) is anticipated to be awarded. This acquisition is unrestricted and unclassified. BASIS FOR AWARD: Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria: (1) The overall scientific and/or technical merit of the proposal; (2) the potential contributions of the effort to the project's mission and the extent to which the research effort will contribute to balancing the overall mission program. The proposal should be directed toward advancing the state of the art and should provide for new and creative research and development solutions for scientific and engineering problems. (3) The offeror's capabilities,related experience, facilities, techniques, or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives; (4) the qualifications, capabilities, and experiences of the proposed key personnel who are critical to the achievement of the proposal objectives; (5) offeror's record of past and present performance; (6) reasonableness and realism of the proposed costs and fee. No further evaluation criteria will be used in selecting the proposals. This CBD announcement in and of itself constitutes the PRDA. Subject to the Availability of Funds, the Government reserves the right to select for award any, all, part, or none of the proposals received. Proposals will be classified into one of the following three categories: (1) Category I -- Well conceived scientifically and technically sound proposals pertinent to the program goals and objectives and offered by a responsible contractor with the competent scientific and technical staff and supporting resources needed to ensure satisfactory program results. Proposals in Category I are recommended for acceptance and normally will be displaced only by other Category I proposals. (2) Category II -- Scientifically or technically sound proposals that may require further development and can be recommended for acceptance but are at a lower priority than Category I. Proposals in this category are not always funded. (3) Category III -- Proposals are recommended for rejection for the particular announcement under consideration. This PRDA will be posted on the AFRL Contracting Bulletin Board under the AFRL Acquisition Information Quick ftp repository -- http://www.plk.af.mil/ORG_CHART/PK/mainmenu.htm. AFRL Contracting Bullentin Board POC is John Webb, AFRL/PKAX, (505) 846-4457. An Ombudsman has been appointed to hear concerns from offerors or potential offerors, primarily during the proposal development phase of this competitive, negotiated 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. Before contacting the Ombudsman, potential offerors should first communicate with the Contracting Officer. In those instances where offerors cannot obtain resolution from the Contracting Officer, they are invided to contact the AFRL Ombudsman at DET 8 of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Mr. Eugene DeWall, DET 8/AFRL/PK, at (505) 846-4979, 2251 Maxwell Ave SE, Bldg 424, Kirtland AFB NM 87117-5773. When requested the Ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals or in the selection process. For contracting issues, please contact Barbara Steinbock, Contracting Officer at (505) 846-2246. For technical concerns, please contact Lt Jeff Barchers, AFRL/DES, (505) 846-5671. (0138)

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