This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action under FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This notice is for information only; a solicitation will not be issued. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334413 with a size standard of 1,250 employees.

Brief Description of Requirement:

AFRL requires the purchase of a Rb Frequency Standard Laser System that integrates with existing systems and has the smallest footprint and noise. A turn-key atomic reference laser system is to be used as an etalon for all other lasers in the lab. The system comprises a D2-005 Power Supply with linear design that eliminate switching noise at ~100kHz, a D2-105 Laser Controller featuring <100 nA rms noise and >3 GHz modulation, a D2-100-DBR Laser featuring all-electronic tuning, not susceptible to vibration, with anamorphic prism pair & optical isolator embedded in a small package (3.75 x 3.975 x 1.7"), and a D2-210 Saturated Absorption Spectroscopy Module with magnetic shielding, also in a small package (3.62 × 4.98 × 1.7").

The Rb Frequency Standard Laser System includes the following:
• Low-Noise Linear Power Supply
separates line noise from experiment
does not add switching noise powers up all system modules

• 200 mA Laser Controller
<100 nA rms noise (10 Hz - 1 MHz)
3 GHz modulation capability
two stages of PID temperature regulation

• DBR 780 nm Laser Head
<1 MHz linewidth
current tuned: no moving parts
on resonance with Rb D2 transitions
>40 mW output power
>40 GHz mode-hop-free tuning
anamorphic prism pair for beam shaping
integrated optical isolator (>35 dB)
size not to exceed 3.75" x 4" x 1.75"

• Saturated Absorption Spectroscopy Module
Rb reference and pertinent optics
magnetic shielding
dynamic range power input <2 mW to >1,000 mW
pass-through or terminal beam configurations
size not to exceed 3.75" x 5" x 1.75"

The Government intends to negotiate a sole-source contract with the manufacturer of the required system:
Vescent Photonics
6770 W. 52nd Ave, Suite B
Arvada, CO 80002

The Government has determined that no other source can meet the requirements for this laser system. The system described above demonstrates the unique capability of Vescent Photonics to satisfy the particular research needs, which is a turn-key system with the smallest optical bench footprint and is the least susceptible to vibration, in addition to meeting the above required specifications. The system integrates a Vescent Servo Module already in place and operation in the Lab, which further reduces procurement cost and operation and maintenance overhead. Procuring a different system would require an additional cost for personnel re-training per person, which would quickly outweigh any potential cost benefits. Additionally, procurement of a different system would require an additional cost and man hours of development effort by Government employees. Award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

This is a notice of proposed contract action and NOT a request for competitive proposals. However, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement or proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this notice must be submitted by the date/time listed on the notice. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government in future procurements.

Responses received will be evaluated; however a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government anticipates an award date on or before 30 June 2017.

"Notice to Offeror(s)/Suppliers(s): Funds are not presently available for this effort. No award will be made under this solicitation until funds are available. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, either before or after the closing date. In the event the Government cancels this solicitation, the Government has no obligation to reimburse an Offeror for any costs."

Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL - Rome Research Site, AFRL/Information Directorate
26 Electronic Parkway
Rome, New York 13441
United States

Bid Protests Not Available