they also have the read?

https://www.fbo.gov/index?tab=documents&tabmode=form&subtab=core&tabid=017558650932302339f1b74b2923f34b

NOTICE OF INTENT
FEDERAL AGENCY NAME: Air Force Research Laboratory
ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: Integrated Photonics Institute
ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: This is a Notice of Intent
ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: BAA‐RQKM‐2015‐0007
1. General Intent
The purpose of this Notice is to announce the U.S. Government’s intent to launch a competition
for the sixth Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) and the fourth to be led by DOD. The
technical focus area for this Institute will be Integrated Photonics. The planned government
investment for this Institute – cost shared by at least 1:1 from the private sector – will be up to
$110M. A Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) is anticipated to be released in early November
2014. An Offerors Day is planned for November 18, 2014 in Rosslyn, VA. It will be confirmed in
the BAA release.
Integrated Photonics manufacturing advances the promise of unprecedented interconnection
between electronics and photonics that will deliver previously unattainable performance in
speed, density and power consumption. This performance capability is anticipated to quickly
become differentiating for defense applications such as high-speed signal processing, electronic
warfare, information transport and computation, sensing, imaging and targeting. Similarly,
integrated photonics will provide critical components in many commercial applications, such as
data centers, high performance super computers, autonomous driving, and equipment for drug
discovery, clinical diagnostics, and many consumer products.
The President has already launched four Institutes: Additive Manufacturing (America Makes),
Lightweight and Modern Metals, Digital Manufacturing and Design, and Power Electronics.
Three of these 4 are led by DOD, with DOE leading the Power Electronics Institute. DOE is also
in the acquisition stage for an Advanced Composites Institute. These Institutes are expected to
bring together industry, universities and community colleges, federal agencies, and the states to
accelerate innovation by investing in industrially-relevant manufacturing technologies with broad
applications to bridge the gap between basic research and product development, provide
shared assets to help companies access cutting-edge capabilities and equipment, and create
an unparalleled environment to educate and train students and workers in advanced
manufacturing skills. Each Institute will serve as a regional hub of manufacturing excellence,
providing the innovation infrastructure to support regional manufacturing hubs and ensuring that
our manufacturing sector is a key pillar in an economy that is built to last.
This IMI will be expected to create an end-to-end ‘ecosystem’ in the U.S. for Integrated
Photonics; including responsive domestic integrated photonics chip fabrication foundry access,
integrated design tools, automated packaging, assembly and test, and workforce development.
The IMI will be structured to allow government, industry and academia to come together with the
goal of organizing the currently fragmented U.S. capabilities in integrated photonics technology
and better position the U.S. relative to global competition. The Integrated Photonics IMI will also
enable universities and small to medium enterprises to participate in and benefit from the IMI’s
manufacturing advances. The IMI will need to be structured to address both DOD and
commercial applications, with a focus on maturing the technology from TRL 4 to 7. The Institute
will be expected to become self-sustaining after 5 years from the signing of the Cooperative
Agreement. If there are any questions, please direct them to Dr. Fred Arnold, AFRL, at
fred.arnold@us.af.mil
2. DISCLAMER: This Notice of Intent does not constitute a solicitation. Any resulting
procurement will address the BAA business specific requirements defined by the Government.
THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR PROPOSALS.
DO NOT SUBMIT PROPOSALS AT THIS TIME.
ANY PROPOSALS RECEIVED WILL BE DISCARDED