NOTICE OF INTENT SOLE SOURCE SYNOPSIS

***NOAA's Acquisition & Grants Office, Mountain Region Acquisition Division, intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with High Precision Devices located in Boulder, Colorado, for the purchase of a Denali Model 102 cryocooler-type ADR cryostat (Square, Closed-Cycle, adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator-ADR).

***The sole source determination is based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) requirements for a Square, Closed-Cycle, adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator that will meet the demands of the Quantum Sensors Project here at NIST. This project can only use the Denali Model 102 cryocooler-type ADR cryostat (Square, Closed-Cycle, adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator-ADR) refrigerator. High Precision's Denali Model 102 refrigerator reaches 0.05 Kelvin using a combination of a pulse tube cryocooler and an existing adiabatic demagnetization unit. High Precision is the only vendor that offers this type of refrigeration capabilities. Specifically, this project needs to test cryogenic sensors that only function properly at the refrigerator's 0.05 Kelvin operating temperature. The development of these sensors is required for this NIST project to include measurements of the cosmic microwave background and ultrahigh resolution X- and gamma-ray spectroscopy.

***This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can provide equipment that can fully meet the Government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation to include detailed specifications as identified above in writing to the identified point of contact within 15 days after publication of this synopsis. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.