Request for Solutions: FREQUENCY SELECTED LIMITERS MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENT

Special Notice N0016421SNB54Agency:  Department of the NavyOffice:  Naval Sea Systems CommandLocation:  NSWC Crane DivisionClassification Code:  AC13; National Defense R&D Services; Department Of Defense - Military; Experimental DevelopmentNAICS Code:  334419 – Other Electronic Component ManufacturingResponse Due Date:  10 May 2021Request for Solutions:FREQUENCY SELECTED LIMITERS MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENTPURPOSEThis Request for Solutions (RFS) is issued seeking prototype support for the Frequency Selected Limiters (FSLs) Manufacturing Development Project.  The purpose of this effort is to advance the domestic manufacturing readiness of FSLs using Auto-tunable Filters (AtF) technology with specific improvements to reduce wafer/substrate defects and variability, as well as increase yield and performance, while driving down the cost per device.  The Government will evaluate the solutions with the intent of awarding an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) in accordance with 10 U.S. Code §

2371b.  BACKGROUND AND SUMMARYS2MARTSVendors interested in responding to this RFS must be members of the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) consortium. Interested parties may visit S2MARTS.org for membership information. This project will be managed by a Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division Project Manager. PROJECT OVERVIEWThe Department of the Navy (DoN) uses Radio Frequency (RF) waveforms to execute the Warfighter’s mission requirements. As threats and mission requirements continue to evolve, the DoD is constantly looking to improve and upgrade its radar and Electronic Warfare (EW) system’s capabilities. An emerging capability the Warfighter is looking to include in its systems is tunable filter and tunable limiter technologies. These technologies leverage Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) films to provide an excellent combination of high quality (high Q) and broadband tuning range that enable the manufacturing of high-quality broadband pre-selectors and EW receiver front-end applications.Domestic manufacturing processes are immature and vary from supplier to supplier. This immaturity and variability results in low wafer yields caused by Gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) and/or YIG substrate growth defects, substrate/wafer cracking, and a lack of uniformity related to Electromagnetic (EM) properties of the devices.The lack of reliable domestic manufacturing technology maturity creates challenges for technology adoption and transition to DoD programs. It also drives up production costs. Developing affordable substrate film growth processes for FSLs / AtF devices used in microwave DoD applications will require reliable domestic manufacturing capability and capacity. This will require greater uniformity and reproducibility to deliver cost-effective high yield GGG and YIG substrates. The intent is that through the high yield GGG and YIG substrates growing processes, defects will be reduced and cost reductions for FSL/AtF end items will be realized.Please visit the S2MARTS website at https://s2marts.org/ to review the full RFS. Contracting Office Address: 300 Hwy 361Crane, IN 47522United StatesPrimary Point of Contact.: ReBecca Poplin-Smithrebecca.poplin@navy.milPhone: 757-635-0170Secondary Point of Contact: Suzanne Kixmiller kelli.kixmiller@navy.milPhone: 812-854-6272