Combined Sources Sought/Notice of Intent to Sole Source: Pump Suppression Module

Active

Contract Opportunity

THIS IS A COMBINED SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

Announcement Number: NIST-SS26-CHIPS-40

Subject: Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively Acquire Pump Suppression Module

This notice is not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested.

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) via FAR 13.106-1(b). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing.

BACKGROUND

The Spin Electronics Group requires the acquisition of a “Pump suppression module”, which is critical components for a new Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) spectrometer. This new Brillouin Light scattering system is essential to our CHIPS project, where we determine magnetic materials parameters including the Heisenberg exchange, for magnetic random-access memories (MRAM). This capability directly supports the CHIPS R&D: Metrology Program's Grand Challenge 4. The magnetic materials parameters inform and support the advancement of models to accelerate the magnetic device development process. These models will enable screening of new materials without the need of the time consuming and costly step to manufacture devices to determine if a new material leads to performance improvements. This benefits the semiconductor industry and the broader public through improved product reliability and performance.

Ferromagnet-based microelectronic devices play an increasingly important role within the semiconductor ecosystem. Magnetic RAM (MRAM) is already replacing embedded Flash memory and is being considered for last-level cache in processors. Our CHIPS funded project "High Speed Metrology for Magnetoelectronic Devices and Models" will address the critical chipmakers need for precise measurement of magnetic material and device parameters, in particular the Heisenberg exchange by expanding measurement methods first developed at NIST. This requires Brillouin Light scattering spectrometers to measure magnetic wavelike excitations. NIST will build a second spectrometer, which promises faster data acquisition than an already existing spectrometer. A critical optical component of the spectrometer is a module to suppress the unscattered light (pump suppressor). The pump suppressor prevents the unscattered light of the laser beam with a wavelength of 532 nm used to probe the sample from entering the spectrometer. The spectrometer measures the scattered light, which is much weaker than the unscattered light. Without suppression of the unscattered light the performance of the spectrometer is much degraded. The pump suppressor needs to suppress the unscattered laser light by at least 60 dB, otherwise part of the pixels of the camera will be saturated and the scattered light cannot be measured and consequently the frequency shift of the scattered light cannot be determined, which is critical to determine the Heisenberg exchange. The pump suppressor needs to have a high transmission of more than 25% when tuned off resonance in order to achieve high performance. Otherwise, the scattered light will be too strongly attenuated, which would increase the data acquisition time that data. The data acquisition time is a critical performance metric of the spectrometer. Light Machinery, Inc is the only vendor that provides commercial pump suppression module that meets NIST's requirements.

The Contractor shall provide one (1) Light Machinery, Inc. equipment that meets the following minimum specifications:

Line Item 0001:

Description: Pump suppression module for 532 nm.

General Technical Specifications

1. 
   
   
   
   1. The pump suppression module shall be designed for 532 nm.
   
   
   2. The pump suppression module shall suppress the pump laser beam by at least 60 dB.
   
   
   3. The pump suppression module including all fiber optics shall have a transmission of more than 25% when the system is tuned off the central suppressed wavelength.
   
   
   4. The pump suppression module shall be based on a Fabry Perot Etalon.
   
   
   5. The pump suppression module shall be setup for at least 4 reflections from the Etalon.
   
   
   6. The pump suppression module shall transmit the laser pump beam and reflect the scattered signal.
   
   
   7. The pump suppression module shall be compatible with fiber optics.
   
   
   8. The pump suppression module shall be reconfigurable to be used with spatial filters instead of fiber optics.
   
   
   9. A pressure tuning air cylinder with control unit and all necessary components to tune the Fabry Perot center frequency shall be included.
   
   
   10. All components shall be new. Used or refurbished systems will not be considered.
   
   
   
   

NIST conducted market research from March 2025 – December 2025 by conducting online searches, discussions with sources, and discussions with colleagues to determine what sources could meet NIST’s minimum requirements. The results of that market research revealed that LightMachinery Inc., 80 COLONNADE RD, NEPEAN, ON, Canada, UEI: HSB1JD18KNN7 appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Include only the following information provided below. Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact no later than 08/01/25, 5:00pm ET.

1. Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).


2. Details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements (Capability Statement).


3. Whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization.


4. Identify any aspects of the description of the requirements in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or create unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your company’s ability to provide a technically acceptable product. Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses.


5. For the NAICS code
   
   
   
   1. Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.
   
   
   2. If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement.
   
   
   
   


6. your firm has existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts for products or services against which the Department may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.


7. Describe your company’s experience (as a prime, subcontractor, or consultant) providing the products or services described in Background section.


8. Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the Government to know as part of its market research for this requirement.


9. Contact the primary and/or secondary point of contact (provided below) if you would like to engage in discussions to gain a better understanding of the requirement or need additional information about the Government’s requirement for the products or services described in the Background section (provided above).

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this notice must be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact. Questions must be submitted so that they are received by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 12/15/25 to receive a government response prior to the close of this notice. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline.

IMPORTANT NOTES

1. The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future.


2. This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.


3. This notice is not a request for a quotation. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations.


4. No award will be made as a result of this notice.


5. NIST is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.


6. NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate.

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