Automatically tunable UV to IR laser system

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Contract Opportunity

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

Title: Automatically tunable UV to IR laser system

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Sensor Science Division (SSD), Remote Sensing Group (RSG), Primary Optical Watt Radiometer (POWR) lab requires an automatically tunable ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR) laser system to be used in conjunction with the Primary Optical Watt Radiometer (POWR), which serves as the Nation’s optical power reference. POWR, an absolute cryogenic radiometer, measures the optical power from a minimally diverging light source and uses that same light source to then calibrate the responsivity of different types of detectors, which are then used as optical power standards. The detectors used are primarily Si photodiodes/traps (for the UV to near-IR) or InGaAs photodiodes (for the IR). The laser system shall be used for setting the UV to IR optical power scale/standards and must be capable of providing light that can be tuned, at least, between 190 nm to 2300 nm with continuous wavelength tuning. Additionally, a narrow spectral bandwidth (≈10 cm−1) at each chosen wavelength is required. Automatic (i.e. computer controlled/programmable) tuning of the system is essential so that time-efficient calibrations of detectors can be performed in the specified wavelength range.

Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) 0001: The Contractor shall provide one (1) automatically tunable UV to IR laser system to carry out measurements which set the Nation’s reference scale for optical power.

The system shall meet or exceed the technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor is not acceptable.

1. The laser system output shall provide light with wavelengths between 190 nm and 2300 nm, where one wavelength at a time can be selected within the specifications of [3] and [4].

1. The laser system shall have continuous wavelength selection tunability throughout the entire wavelength range, 190 nm to 2300 nm.

1. The spectral bandwidth full-width-at-half-maximum of the laser system output must be approximately 10 cm−1 or less for each selected wavelength throughout the entire wavelength range, 190 nm to 2300 nm. Spectral impurities outside of the selected wavelength should be well-characterized and filtered/filterable if present.

1. The reproducibility of selecting a specific wavelength should be less than 0.5 nm across the entire wavelength range, 190 nm to 2300 nm.

1. The average power of the laser system output must be greater than one milliwatt at each selected wavelength within the wavelength range 190 nm to 230 nm, and approximately greater than ten milliwatts across the rest of the wavelength range, 230 nm to 2300 nm.

1. The laser system must be fully automated, meaning the entire wavelength range should be tunable via a provided control computer with the control software pre-loaded (a backup control computer with software is also required). The control software should include a standard interface (e.g. TCP/IP) that allows the user to remote control the software with a fixed set of provided commands.

1. Wavelength changes should be able to be made without user intervention. However, manual intervention between the wavelengths of 190 nm and 230 nm is okay.

1. The output beam profile should be Gaussian-like, with M2
   

1. The pointing stability of the laser system output must be less than 500 microrad.

1. The laser system must fit on an L-shaped optical table, where the surface dimension limitations for each side of the L are 2 m x 0.8 m.

1. The power requirements for all components of the laser system must be compatible with 100 V to 240 V AC single phase electrical outlets.

If the laser system output is created from a pulsed laser source, then the following minimum requirements must be met:

1. The repetition rate of the pulsed laser shall be quasi-continuous, meaning the repetition rate should be greater than 1 MHz.

1. The pulse duration of the pulsed laser should be in the picosecond range.

1. The pulse energy stability of the pulsed laser should be less than 2% (rms).

NIST conducted market research from June 2024 – August 2024 by, speaking with colleagues, performing internet searches, and speaking with vendors to determine what sources could meet NIST’s minimum requirements. The results of that market research revealed that only APE APPLIED PHYSICS & ELECTRONICS, INC. (UEI: HGJ7PE8KFM14) can meet all the Governments minimum requirements. Particularly, the combination of fast pulse repetition rate (80 MHz) of the pump laser and narrow final spectral bandwidth (10 cm−1), combined with full computer automation tuning of the wavelength and average optical power (> 1 mW), is unmatched by other products.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response: Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice. Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response.

• 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).

• Details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements.

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

• 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 firm’s ability to fully participate in a procurement for such services and explain why. Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses.

• For the NAICS code

• 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.


• 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.

• If 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.

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

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

• Please let us know if you would like to engage to get 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.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received by November 18, 2024. If the Contracting Officer determines that providing a written amendment to this notice to document question(s) received would benefit other potential respondents, the questions would be anonymized, and a written response to such question(s) would be provided via an amendment to this notice.

IMPORTANT NOTES

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.

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

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response.

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

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

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

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

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request.

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