Announcement Type: Special Notice
Classification Code: 6695

Announcement Number: NB681010-25-01119

Subject: Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively Acquire Widely Tunable IR Laser

The Photonics and Optomechanics Group is developing cutting-edge nanophotonic and cavity optomechanical devices for signal processing, microscopy and sensing. As part of our research on photonic MEMS sensors, we require a short-wave infrared laser with tunable wavelength over a specific wide range. This laser will be used to interrogate micro- and nanophotonic waveguides and cavities for the precision measurement of displacement.

This notice is not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested.

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) via FAR 13.106-1(b). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing.

NIST’s Photonics and Optomechanics Group requires a Widely Tunable IR Laser to develop, test and demonstrate new chip-scale integrated photonic based micromechanical sensors. These devices cannot be developed, tested or operated without the tunable coherent infrared optical power input provided by the laser. The laser will enable NIST research to advance measurement science by developing new high performance measurement methods and sensing devices with both industrial and government applications. After thorough evaluation, it has been determined that only Toptica Photonics can meet NIST’s requirements for the reasons listed below:

1. NIST has put a considerable amount of time and investment into developing software that interacts with these lasers. This software is custom designed for the Toptica lasers and is not compatible with any other vendors' products. Working with lasers other than those from Toptica would require a large undertaking (in both time and investment) by the Government and will not result in performance required by NIST to conduct its research.
2. Purchasing the exact same lasers will allow NIST to swap them between experiments as needed, without any additional modifications, in the case of failure or when required to provide greater confidence in measurements by performing them with multiple independent systems.
3. Finally, tunable lasers are complex systems that require considerable time and effort by the user to understand and master. NIST has spent hundreds of hours with these lasers and have performed numerous laser characterization experiment to understand their performance and have developed methods for optimizing their output. Having to do the same work on a different laser system not only would result in an extreme learning curve and starting over on the optimization of these lasers, setting back NIST's work back by a minimum of six (6) months, resulting large losses to both Government interests and NIST's overall mission.
4. Toptica Photonics is the manufacturer of this laser, and it does not have any third-party resellers.

NIST conducted market research from October 2024 to April 2025 by internet searches, discussions with sources, and a sources sought posting. Sources sought NIST-SS25-27 was posted from April 2, 2025 to April 16, 2025. Only Topitca Photonics replied.  The results of that market research revealed that only Toptica Photonics, Inc., 1120 Pittsford Victor Rd., Pittsford, NY 14534 USA, UEI: EEYC4JKCBA7J9 appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements. However, any sources that believe they are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements are encouraged to respond to this notice by the response date to provide the following information at a minimum: Company Unique Entity Identifier number in https://sam.gov; 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; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement may be competitively satisfied.