A -- BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) FOR THE ELECTROMAGNETICS TECHNOLOGY DIVISION OF THE AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY (AFRL/SNH)

NA AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY Sensors Directorate ELECTROMAGNETICS TECHNOLOGY DIVISION (AFRL/SNH) RESEARCH INTERESTS A. INTRODUCTION This is the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Electromagnetics Technology Division of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/SNH) under the provisions of paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which provides for the competitive selection of research proposals. Awards for proposals submitted in response to this BAA are considered to be the results of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provision of PL 98-369, The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. For purposes of this announcement, basic research is defined to be scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge and understanding related to long term national security needs rather than focusing on a specific system or hardware solution. It provides part of the base for subsequent exploratory and advanced developments in defense related technologies. Only basic research proposals are solicited under this announcement. AFRL/SNH contracts with educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and private industry for electromagnetics research. This BAA is intended to cover, in general nature, all research areas of interest to the Division. Persons contemplating submission of a proposal to the Electromagnetics Technology Division are encouraged to not only carefully peruse this BAA, but to contact the appropriate scientist identified in this publication as well, to ascertain the extent of interest which AFRL/SNH may have in a specific research project. The program is organized by scientific discipline, and the reader will note some overlap between sections. The research areas described may have short or long-range impact on Air Force capabilities. Typical research programs sponsored by AFRL/SNH vary in length from 12 to 30 months and require from 1 to 6 total man-years to complete. If progress in certain areas requires several investigators, and especially if an interdisciplinary approach is necessary, AFRL will consider proposals for more comprehensive basic research programs. Only a small number of such large programs can be initiated in a single fiscal year. Inquiries related to comprehensive and interdisciplinary programs should be sent to the AFRL/SNH Division Chief. Proposals may be submitted at any time. We strongly encourage informal discussion and submission of a brief outline of the proposed research (white paper) prior to the submission of a formal proposal. Key AFRL staff members for each area of interest are identified in the description of that area. To contact AFRL/SNH staff members by mail, write to the following address, using the appropriate branch symbol: Air Force Research Laboratory /(BRANCH SYMBOL) 80 Scott Drive Hanscom AFB MA 01731-2909 B. MISSION The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) leads the discovery, development, and timely transition of affordable, integrated technologies that keep our Air Force the best in the world. AFRL is organized into ten technology directorates. The Electromagnetics Technology Division (AFRL/SNH) at Hanscom AFB MA is part of AFRL's Sensors Directorate, whose mission is to ensure unequaled reconnaissance, surveillance, precision engagement, and electronic warfare capabilities for America's air and space forces by conceiving, demonstrating, and transitioning advanced sensors and sensor technologies in partnership with industry, universities and other DoD agencies, as well as providing knowledgeable support to both the acquisition community and warfighters. The Electromagnetics Technology Division, in turn, conducts basic research, and exploratory and advanced development programs to meet Air Force systems needs for air, space, and C2 applications in electromagnetics, and in related electronic and electro-optics technologies. AFRL/SNH explores the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from deep ultraviolet to microwaves, to satisfy growing war-fighter needs by providing cost effective performance options. C. RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS To support the mission of AFRL/SNH, basic research is required in the areas described below. a. ANTENNA TECHNOLOGY The objective of this program is to advance the understanding of array and multiple beam antennas for ground, aircraft, UAV's, and space-based platforms. The program encompasses several areas of major activity dealing with fundamental electromagnetics, array control, active array architecture, antenna measurements, and array affordability. Fundamental electromagnetic issues include the radiation and coupling of antenna elements in arrays, the analysis of antennas conformal to vehicle or support structures, the analysis of printed circuit array elements, and the development of new types of radiators for increased bandwidth or multiple frequency radiation. The program is concerned with many issues of antenna control. It deals with digital beamforming, optical distribution of phasing and control signals, novel concepts for limited-scan arrays, and adaptive or even intelligent means of aperture control for null steering, local failure detection, compensation, and correction in very large phased arrays including both the use of expert systems and neural networks. Multifunction, multifrequency, reconfigurable arrays for aircraft that can be made a structural part of the aircraft skin need to be understood. Major efforts within the program address the architectural aspects of array fabrication with active amplifiers. At SHF and EHF frequencies the primary concern is to employ active devices to enhance array control by using amplitude control as well as phase control. This added flexibility may eliminate the use of hard-wired beamformers and, in addition, improve the null steering capabilities of adaptive arrays. The program seeks advances in antenna front-end technology to achieve low cost, low loss, lightweight, compact antenna control across the spectrum from microwave to terahertz frequencies. Of particular interest is the development of microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices, with the goal of reducing the size and power requirements for large phased arrays. The effort exploits new materials, device, and component concepts for lower loss in passive circuits, higher efficiency in active circuits, higher levels of integration, and expanded performance capabilities. Key antenna architectural issues include the minimization of required via holes, thermal design, bandwidth enhancement, and multi-layer board integration of control and microwave distribution circuits. Antenna measurement topics of interest include the measurement of very large apertures which are either so large that one cannot make far field measurements, so non-rigid as not to be self-supporting in the earth's gravity field, or so large that funding limitations prohibit assembling the complete antenna structure. In each of these cases, there is a need to predict and validate the antenna performance to -60dB levels. Point of Contact: LIVIO D. POLES, AFRL/SNHA, Tel +1 (555) 000-0000, email: contact@example.gov . b. ELECTROMAGNETIC SCATTERING FROM TARGETS AND TERRAIN This research is concerned with the scattering of electromagnetic energy from 1) bodies of arbitrary size, shape, and composition, and 2) a wide variety of terrain types representative of real earth. Frequencies of interest range from 3 MHz to 300 GHz. Areas of interest include the calculation of scattering cross-sections from arbitrary multi-wavelength bodies, conducting, coated, or penetrable, including high-resolution-radar, bistatic radar phenomena, including depolarization and the statistical description of bistatic data. Research is conducted towards the development of algorithms that will allow the integration of phenomenological data from multiple sources for improved detection and identification of difficult targets. The effect of target and clutter depolarization on the signal-to-clutter ratio is also of interest. The target program consists of both theory and measurements. The terrain program includes research, which provides the understanding for predictive models of scattering from a variety of terrain, especially when covered with foliage and vegetation; collection of data that have been calibrated absolutely, and analysis of the effects of the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and terrain on the performance of radar systems. The effects of clutter reduction using polarization diversity are also being studied. The effect of clutter cell size on the statistics of the scattered waves in high-resolution, and bistatic radar systems is under investigation. A comprehensive understanding of statistical behavior of scattering phenomenology is required for the development and validation of models to enhance the performance of adaptive signal processing algorithms with respect to reducing the number of adaptive degrees of freedom, sample support, and computational cost required to suppress clutter. Issues of importance are robust performance in fiercely non-stationary environments with emphasis on CFAR. This research, both target and clutter, will be used in the design, development, and evaluation of future space-based and airborne radar systems, and for improved detection and target identification in existing radar systems operating against ground-based targets and low-observable airborne targets in a dense clutter environment. Point of Contact: BERTUS WEIJERS, AFRL/SNHE, Tel +1 (555) 000-0000, email: contact@example.gov c. OPTRONICS COMPONENTS and ALGORITMS This effort is concerned with basic research and development of advanced performance optronic components, subsystems, and algorithms for Air Force "space and air" image restoration/recognition, multispectral detection and non-cooperative ID, target tracking, threat warning and countermeasures, missile guidance, and high bandwidth communications/data-network systems. The emphasis will be on integrable components and technologies in the III-V and group IV materials systems. This includes indium phosphide (InP), gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), and their alloys. This does not exclude other technologies or materials systems such as fiber-based devices, organic semiconductors, and non-linear optical (NLO) materials, waveguides, and devices. In addition, new heterogeneous devices and integration techniques offering functional performance beyond the capability of similar homogeneous devices in any material system will be considered. Of particular interest is component research using, for example, fusion and lift-off or other techniques that provide process compatibility for the integration of high performance state-of-the-art components for space applications without performance degradation. Other categories include pattern recognition algorithms and architectures, spatial light modulators, and the development of new nonlinear optical materials and the optimization of existing materials. In the category of new nonlinear optical materials, the goal is to provide a material, which simultaneously has sub-millisecond response times, high optical efficiency, and low laser power density requirements. Emphasis is on materials that can be made to work well at visible and IR laser wavelengths. Research in this category can include, for example, photorefractive materials such as BaTiO3 or bandgap engineered materials such as multiple quantum wells. Also of interest are materials that can transfer wavefront information between visible and non-visible electromagnetic waves, for example, visible and infrared. In the optical signal processing category, we want functions that work in real time. This can include research into new techniques for performing operations such as correlation, convolution noise removal, edge enhancement, image multiplexing, and optical storage. Point of Contact: JOSEPH P. LORENZO, AFRL/SNHC, Tel +1 (555) 000-0000, email: contact@example.gov. d. IMAGE EXPLOITATION OF INFRARED CAMERAS Our activities in this area have ranged from the basic study of metal silicides as infrared photo detectors, to fabrication of complete IR sensor systems, to field testing of cameras, to the development of algorithms for special purpose applications. Recent emphasis is to exploit and extend the applications addressed by modern staring infrared cameras through image/signal processing algorithm development and prototype hardware implementations. The major research areas are: development of image/signal processing algorithms for IR image enhancement; algorithms for the detection/tracking of unresolved targets in clutter in consecutive frame IR imagery; and algorithms for hyperspectral data acquisition, data reconstruction, and analysis. In-house-developed thermal infrared sensors and hyperspectral imagers support the research and hinge the algorithm work very closely to real-world data. Image and signal processing algorithms for image exploitation applications with large format infrared arrays must meet the challenge of real-time operation. Key applications involve the extraction of information from IR imagery such as through spectral discrimination, point target detection/tracking, range determination, etc. Improved understanding and control of the effects of noise and ground and cloud clutter and studies on how staring arrays behave in various environments such as on moving platforms are important auxiliary topics to address in conjunction with the algorithm development. Point of Contact: PAUL W. PELLEGRINI, AFRL/SNHI, Tel +1 (555) 000-0000, email: contact@example.gov.