Multi-line laser engine – Combined Sources Sought/Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Active

Contract Opportunity

NIST-SS25-47

6640 / 334413

Primary POC: Forest Crumpler (forest.crumpler@nist.gov)

Title:  Multi-line laser engine – Combined Sources Sought/Notice of Intent to Sole Source

BACKGROUND

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

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a one (1) multi-line laser engine. If no alternate sources are identified, the Government intends to issue a Sole Source Award for an Omicron Laser BRixX laser system, purchased through their distributer Market Tech, Inc, located at 340 El Pueblo Rd, STE E, Scotts Valley, CA 95066-4237. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334413.

NIST has a need for one (1) multi-line laser engine that meets the specifications below:

1. The laser engine must have at least six individual, multimode laser lines combined into one output.


2. The laser lines must span the range of 450 to 800 nm, +- 10 nm. The spacing between laser lines shall be no more than 60 nm for wavelengths below 550 nm, and no more than 130 nm for wavelengths above 550 nm. No laser lines shall be within 35 nm or less of each other.


3. The laser engine’s combined output port must be user-switchable between free-space collimated and multimode fiber coupled. In free-space collimated mode, no laser shall be coupled into an optical fiber and all lasers must be aligned co-linearly.


4. The power of each laser line though a 50 µm core diameter multimode fiber must be 600 mW or greater.


5. Each laser line must have an individually addressable analog modulation input to modulate the line’s output power, with a minimum modulation frequency of 100 kHz, while accounting for laser output rise/fall time.


6. Each laser line must have an individually addressable digital on/off modulation input with a minimum modulation frequency of 100 kHz, while accounting for laser output rise/fall time.


7. The off state of the digital modulation must be completely off, with no residual light emission.


8. After an initial warm up time, the output power of each laser line must have a nominal stability of 5% or smaller.


9. The laser engine must come with a fiber-based despeckler device compatible with a multimode fiber with core diameter in the range of 50 to 100 micrometers.


10. The laser engine must have a safety interlock switch to disable laser output.


11. It must be possible for the user to plug-and-play, swap each laser line’s diode module with a commercially available laser diode module at a different wavelength. Instructions must be provided for laser switching, as well as instructions for aligning the laser engine after switching lasers.
    
    
    
    1. The system must be capable of supporting compatible multimode laser sources that span the wavelength range of 375 nm to 1100 nm.
    
    
    2. If a wavelength gap between provided laser lines is more than 110 nm, an additional laser module with a wavelength within the gap, but no closer than 35 nm to another laser line, must be supplied which can be swapped in. This laser must also have at least 600 mW of power when coupled to a 50 µm core diameter multimode fiber.
    
    
    
    


12. The laser engine must be automated and controllable via a computer.


13. The laser engine shall come with software to control it. A programming software development kit, dll file, serial command list, or similar must be included to allow NIST to control the instrument with custom written software.


14. The laser engine shall operate on 120V for all components.


15. If necessary for normal operation, the laser engine shall come with a water chiller and all necessary cabling and tubing.


16. The laser engine shall include all necessary power supplies, cables, adapters, etc. for normal operation.


17. An installation and user manual shall be included with the laser engine which fully describes proper set-up, installation, and usage.

NIST conducted market research during the first quarter of 2025 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 Market Tech, Inc (distributer of Omicron Lasers) (UEI: CBUNHDFRG2W6) 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. 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 at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice.

• 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 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on June 4, 2025. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline.

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 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.

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

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