Integrated Multi-Modal Materials Instrumentation (FA1)

The contract seeks the design and construction of a laboratory-based proof-of-concept instrument capable of generating multiple material signatures for both surface and bulk analysis under ambient conditions without requiring any sample preparation. The core innovation lies in the use of a single configurable excitation source that can be dynamically adjusted to elicit distinct analytical responses from diverse materials, enabling versatile characterization across a broad range of sample types. This instrument must integrate multiple analytical modalities into a unified platform, ensuring seamless operation and data correlation while operating in standard environmental conditions to enhance practicality and real-world applicability. The project emphasizes minimal sample handling, rapid analysis, and flexibility in excitation parameters to support a wide array of material science applications. The initiative falls under the Defense Sciences Office within the Department of Defense, with a NAICS code of 334516 indicating a focus on analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing. It is issued as a subcontract with a submission deadline of August 26, 2026, and was posted on June 17, 2026. No place of performance or specific point of contact is provided, and the solicitation does not indicate a set-aside classification. The goal is to advance defense-relevant analytical capabilities by creating a compact, adaptive instrument that replaces multiple specialized tools with a single, reconfigurable system, thereby improving efficiency, reducing logistical burden, and enabling field-deployable diagnostics for materials characterization in operational environments.