The United States Department of Commerce (DOC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division (AMD) intends to negotiate a firm fixed price purchase order, on a sole source basis, with Continuum Lasers of 140 Baytech Drive, San Jose, CA 95134 for the purchase of one (1) nanosecond tunable OPO and pump laser. The statutory authority for this sole source acquisition is FAR 13.106-1(b) by the authority of FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) enables science and industry by providing essential measurement methods, instrumentation, and standards to support all phases of nanotechnology development, from discovery to production. The Nanofabrication Research Group of the CNST has the mission of advancing measurement science by developing novel nanofabrication and nanomanufacturing techniques. NIST seeks to acquire a nanosecond tunable OPO and pump laser which will be used for several spectroscopy and nanomaterial characterization experiments of ultra-thin films by using dynamics of freestanding nanoscale metamaterial devices in the CNST user facility. Methods of materials characterization, actuating and imaging dynamics of micro- and nano-electromechanical system dynamics will be developed in the CNST NanoLab as a resource accessible to researchers in the CNST and to outside users via collaboration. To fully achieve our characterization and measurement needs of ultra-thin films with micro and nano electromechanical systems, the tunable OPO and pump lasers need to span the wavelength range between 192nm to 2750nm. Furthermore, with tunability over this range shall be gap free.

Procurement is for one (1) nanosecond tunable OPO and pump laser.

Delivery shall be FOB DESTINATION and shall occur not later than 2 weeks after receipt of order (ARO).

Research has found that only one (1) company can meet the required specifications, with the unique characteristics shown below:

(1) No wavelength gap (710nm): Continuum lasers is the only company that offers a tunable OPO system that does not exhibit a degeneracy gap at 710nm. Not having a wavelength gap is critical for spectroscopy applications. A continuously tunable range over the entire specified spectra is critical for the experiments our group and our user community collaborators. In particular, our metamaterial nano-electro-optomechanical and plasmonic structures are designed to address a wide wavelength range, including resonances at 710nm.

(2) Range up to 2750nm: Continuum lasers is the only company that provides a monolithic system that is gap-free tunable from 192nm to 2750nm without the need for purchasing any additional UV tunability options. Market survey has found that other available systems typically, even with the purchase of multiple systems, can only cover the range up to 2500nm this is approx. 10% less tunability range than the Continuum laser. The range between 2500nm and 2750nm is important for our nanomechanical quality factor spectroscopy and materials characterization experiments. Many organic and inorganic molecules fundamental absorption and vibration bands fall into these ranges. For example, H2O and CO2 have strong absorption lines at 2600nm and 2750nm, respectively. In our experiments, for instance, monolayers of water condensing on the surface of the nanomechanical structures and other ultra-thin films residing on the surface of the nanomechanical structure induce changes in the static and dynamic behavior of the oscillator. One of the fundamental molecular vibrations of water molecules is the O-H asymmetric stretching at 2662 nm. This extra range would provide our group and our user community with an avenue to extend our access to monolayer liquid (and gas) interactions with surfaces and materials residing on the nanomechanical structures.

(3) Energy Range: Continuum lasers is the only company that offers the energy range to meet the requirements in this solicitation. Market survey has found that other available systems typically produce approx. 60% less power at the peak (80mJ vs 50mJ) when the pump is not seeded and approx. 20% less power at the peak (60mJ vs 50mJ) when the pump is seeded. NIST's devices range from compliant micromechanical structures to extremely stiff nanomechanical structures. The nanomechanical experiments of our group and the user community collaborators require access to the energies in the range between 60mJ to 80mJ to efficiently excite the vibrational dynamics of nanomechanical oscillators and arrays of the nanomechanical structures.

(4) Linewidth of <0.005 cm-1: Only Continuum laser can meet our specification for the pump laser operating in a single longitudinal mode using an active inbuilt injection seeder. The injection seeder reduces the linewidth (hence color purity) of the pump laser to <0.005 cm-1 thereby facilitating Raman spectroscopy type experiments. The unseeded pump lasers typically have linewidth of approx. 1 cm-1 which does not meet the required specifications. The narrow linewidth offered by the Continuum laser is a crucial in our spectroscopic experiments for the materials characterization of the next generation ultra-thin molecular films using resonant linear and nonlinear nanomechanics.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, and the size standard is 1,000 employees.

No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, all responsible sources interested may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. The Government will consider responses received by 3:00 p.m. Eastern on February 23, 2017. Inquiries will only be accepted via email to [email protected] . No telephone requests will be honored.

A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement in the future.