Inactive

This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the NIST for conducting a follow-on acquisition. NIST does not inte... This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the NIST for conducting a follow-on acquisition. NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested. No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST's use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data provided in the response. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors that are capable of providing a tunable, single-frequency Ti:sapphire laser system. NIST's Photonics and Plasmonics Group, within the Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division in the Physical Measurement Laboratory intends to use this laser system to develop atomic-photonic coupling chips for Sr clock while providing ample power and wavelength range for other atomic species. Wavelength tunability, stability and narrow bandwidth of this laser are crucial to be able to probe specific transitions in the atomic systems. High power is required because the power required at the sample location is directed through intermediate fiber coupled nanophotonic devices, which are composed of waveguides, beam splitters, beam expanders and grating out-couplers each of which add significant loss. General Requirements: The Contractor shall provide the following one (1) tunable, single-frequency Ti:sapphire laser system that meet the following minimum specifications: 1. Laser system shall consist of an integrated continuous wave Ti:sapphire ring cavity laser, a diode-pumped, solid state (DPSS) pump laser, an additional cavity for operation in the near UV, and all necessary electronics, hardware and software for operation of the system, including all chillers necessary for cooling. 2. Laser head shall be constructed of stainless steel and hermetically sealed with purge ports. Stainless steel is a critical requirement because the laser will be installed in a laboratory where varying levels of humidity will be present (40%-60%) and thus corrosion or water absorption within the tuning range can be an issue. Also, noticeable dust also accumulates in the laboratory. If the laser is not hermetically sealed, this level of humidity variation and possible dust contamination can cause unacceptable variations in laser performance. 3. Laser system shall be capable of producing output at any wavelength in the range 685 nm to 930 nm and the range of 345 nm to 465 nm. Additional consideration will be given to a system that can achieve larger tuning range than is specified above. 4. Laser output power shall be at least 2 W over the range from 689 nm to 925 nm. The specified power levels are required because the power required at the sample location is directed through intermediate fiber coupled nanophotonic devices, which are composed of waveguides, beam splitters, beam expanders and grating out-couplers each of which add significant loss. 5. Tuning of the laser light from 685 nm to 930 nm shall be mode-hop free, fully automated and "hands-free", requiring no mechanical or optical changes or adjustments by the user. Furthermore, connectivity through TCP/IP is a critical requirement, since the system will be incorporated into a large, complex optical setup. This instrument may be operated by users who are not laser experts and do not have the necessary knowledge and skills to adjust the laser wavelength or power on a regular basis. Providing the level of training needed for all users is unrealistic given the short duration of a typical collaboration. 6. Laser component for access to 345 nm to 465 nm range must use a single set of optics and have conversion efficiency of >35% for 2 W of fundamental power. 7. Laser output in all ranges shall be single-frequency and continuously tunable. Wavelength tunability and narrow bandwidth of this laser are crucial to be able to probe specific transitions in the atomic systems. 8. Laser output shall have an absolute free running linewidth of 100 kHz or less, measured over 100 us. It is critical that the free running wavelength be less than 100 kHz, since we are trying to couple to narrow atomic transitions. This linewidth must be measured relative to an external reference, and not relative to the internal reference cavity, because the internal cavity could itself have errors or instabilities that would make this measurement inaccurate. 9. Laser beam shall be TEM00 with a Gaussian quality factor M2 of at most 1.2. This is critical because the output of the laser will be coupled through multiple optics to single mode optical fibers. If the M2 is greater than 1.2, power losses during the coupling to fiber optics become unacceptable. 10. Laser output shall have at most 0.1% rms intensity noise, measured over 12 hours, including any long-term drift in output frequency or intensity. This is a critical requirement. Amplitude noise and drift in the laser output translates directly into fluctuations. If the variation is higher than 0.1%, an unacceptable level of fluctuations will be present in the measurements, leading to unacceptable performance of the experiments. 11. Laser must include analog inputs and software/hardware control to enable wavelength adjustment and locking. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and specifications are developed for a vendor that can meet NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a small business set-aside. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334516, as those domestic sources having 1,000 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. Companies that can provide equipment with the required capabilities are requested to email a detailed report describing their abilities to forest.crumpler@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The report should include achievable specifications and any other information relevant to your product or capabilities. Also, the following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the system components for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(s) that are authorized to sell the system components, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such systems. 4. Indication of whether each instrument for which specifications are sent to forest.crumpler@nist.gov are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s). 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.