Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) Photonic Chips

Active

Contract Opportunity

The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs.

BACKGROUND

The Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) performs research in quantum communications and networking. ITL is investigating integrated optics using the thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) platform for manipulating optical states and for performing quantum measurements.

Requirements:

The Contractor shall provide a product that meets all technical specifications identified below.

1. Design Support for TFLN Photonic Chips

The Contractor shall provide the Government with a design manual and process development kit (PDK) which allows the Government to custom-design TFLN photonic chips. At a minimum, the design manual and PDK shall allow for the following design capabilities:

• Optical components including waveguides, micro rings, delay lines, 1x2 and 2x2 couplers, edge couplers and surface grating couplers.


• Electronic components including electrical lines and heaters


• Chip size of at least 45 mm2

The Contractor shall provide consultation support services to aid in the chip design process. Consultation support shall confirm that the custom-design is viable for fabrication and use. NIST will approve the final design.

1. Fabrication of Designed TFLN Photonic Chips

The Contractor shall fabricate seven TFLN photonic chips in accordance with the final custom-design TFLN photonic chip developed under Requirement A above.

• Chips shall be fabricated using x-cut thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN)
  
  
  
  • The lithium niobate film thickness shall be between 400 nm to 700 nm.
  
  
  • The TFLN layer shall sit on top of a silicon dioxide layer of at least 2 micrometers, which shall sit on top of a silicon handle wafer
  
  
  
  

Fabrication shall be completed within four months following design finalization

NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the objectives described above.

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).

• Identify the product that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice. For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following:
  
  
  
  • Manufacturer name
  
  
  • Design specifications and design support consultation services
  
  
  • Fabrication specifications
  
  
  • If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s)
  
  
  
  

• Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response.
  
  
  
  • Discuss whether the product that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice has any limits to customization.
  
  
  
  

• Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why. Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive.

• State whether the proposed product is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the product is manufactured.

• Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned product and provide relevant details, including timeline.

• For the NAICS code listed in this notice:

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  • 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.
  
  
  
  

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  • 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.
  
  
  
  

• Describe services that are available with the purchase of the aforementioned product from your company such as consultation support.

• Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended products such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration).; if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; product setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services. Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified product, if available.

• State published price, discount, or rebate arrangements for recommended products and/or provide link to access company’s published prices for product and services.

• If the recommended products and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.

• Identify any customers in the public or private sectors to which you provided the recommended or similar products. Include customer(s) information: company name, phone number, point of contact, email address.

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

• State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified product.

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 February 7, 2025, 12:00 p.m. ET. 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

This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. There is no solicitation available at this time.

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

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

After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).

The responses shall not exceed 3 pages including all attachments, charts, etc.

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

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