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Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract for Thermal Management Technologies

 

Description

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Contracts Management Office (CMO), on behalf of the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), intends to award an approximately 36-month sole source follow-on Phase 2 (base) and 3 (option) contract to the University of California at Berkeley, of Berkeley, CA, for continuation of their Thermal Management Technologies (TMT) research program initiated under the program formerly referred to as Thermal Ground Plane (TGP). The goal of the program is to enable a new generation of high power density electronics by creating the technology necessary to manage the thermal loads; this will necessitate 100X improvement in overall thermal conductance as compared to existing thermal carriers, like copper-molybdenum. Berkeley will address the challenge of getting heat into the evaporator and out of the condenser, not just thermal transport through their design, called Microcolumnated Loop Heat Pipe (μcLHP), for complete relevance to applications. At the completion of their current Phase I grant (N66001-08-1-2027), Berkeley completed a preliminary demonstration of enhanced boiling using a Self-Nucleating Evaporator. In Phase 2, this unique work will continue, leading to demonstration of a complete TGP structure, the μcLHP, with self-nucleating evaporators. In Phase 3, the optimization of the design, fabrication, and operation of the Self Nucleating Evaporator will be carried out to achieve overall optimization of the performance of the Berkeley TGP structure. The critical challenge is to achieve low thermal resistance at the two primary thermal interfaces, between the electronic heat load and the μcLHP evaporator and the heat sink and the μcLHP condenser. The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under authority of FAR 6.302-1, "Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements." Berkeley is in a unique position to conduct this research because this is a continuation effort that was competitively selected under BAA 07-36 Thermal Ground Plane. The same team, resources, and access to in-house laboratories will ensure that a TGP structure with self-nucleating evaporators is produced. This notice is NOT a request for competitive proposals and a solicitation is not currently available. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. Responses/proposals received within forty-five (45) days after date of publication of this notice will be considered by the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed effort on a full and open basis is solely within the discretion of the Government. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to meet the requirements by submitting a white paper and past performance data by no later than 13 January 2010 to DARPA-SN-10-10@darpa.mil. Questions shall be submitted to the above email address only. Please refer to Numbered Note 22.

Contracting Office Address

3701 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22203-1714

Primary Point of Contact

Michael Blackstone
Contracting Officer
DARPA Contracts Management Office
DARPA-SN-10-10@darpa.mil

Secondary Point of Contact:

Thomas Kenny
Program Manager
Microsystems Technology Office
DARPA-SN-10-10@darpa.mil