Combined Sources Sought Notice and Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract for FPGA-based GHz Multi-instrument

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting market research to identify alternative sources that (a) are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements for the following commercial products and commercial services and (b) would be interested in competing for that requirement:

As part of its mandate to maintain and develop standards for absorbed dose of ionizing radiation, the NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML), Radiation Physics Division, Dosimetry Group has undertaken projects for realizing the gray (the SI unit of absorbed dose, abbreviated Gy) in materials and under conditions that support needs in various medical and industrial uses of radiation. To meet emerging needs in absolute dosimetry for radiotherapy, sterilization of surfaces and quality assurance in semiconductor manufacturing, the Dosimetry Group is pursuing projects for imaging dose fields in water and within silicon with high spatial resolution. For this work, specialized instrumentation capabilities – such as GHz lock-in detection, GS/s phase and spectral analysis, Pound-Drever-Hall wavelength locking, frequency-comb generation, GHz streaming to host computer, and customizable signal generation and analysis – deployed through multiple channels and sensor arrays are critically necessary to develop proof-of-concept laboratory prototypes. To support projects in the Dosimetry Group for developing measurement standards to realize the gray (Gy) in water using thermistor probes and imaging modalities such as ultrasound, and for industrial low-energy electron beams using photonic sensors, the Dosimetry Group requires an FPGA-based GHz Multi-instrument.

See attached for list of required minimum technical specifications.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components are not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor is not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

Line Item 0001: Quantity:  1

Description: Customizable FPGA-based instrument with software to realize required technical specifications

1. Technical Specifications
   
   1. Number of analog input channels: at least 4
   2. Number of analog output channels: at least 4
   3. ADC sample rate: at least 5 GS/s
   4. ADC resolution: at least 14 bits
   5. DAC update rate: at least 5 GS/s
   6. DAC resolution: at least 14 bits
   7. Input noise spectral density at/above 100 Hz:  < 10 nV/sqrt(Hz)
   8. Spectral purity/clock jitter: 10 ps or lower
   9. Data transfer rates: 1 GS/s or better
   10. Local data storage: 1 TB
   11. Instrument functionality (configurable through software): waveform generator, arbitrary waveform generator, oscilloscope, phase analyzer, spectrum analyzer, lock-in amplifier, PDH lock – specifications below:
       
       Waveform generator:
       Number of output channels: 4 or more
       Frequency range: DC to 500 MHz
       Output voltage range: +/- 1 mV to +/- 10 V
       Vert resolution: 14-bit or better
       Modulation: AM, FM, PM, PWM
       
       Arb generator:
       Number of output channels: 4 or more
       Sample rate: 5 GS/s 
       Vert resolution: 14-bit or better
       Memory depth: Unlimited
       Bandwidth: 500 MHz
       
       Oscilloscope:
       Number of input channels: 4 or more
       Sample rate: 2 GS/s
       Vert resolution: 14-bit or better
       
       Phase analyzer:
       Number of input channels: 4 or more
       Phase resolution: 10 urad or better
       Update rate: 500 MS/s or better
       LPF bandwidth upper limit: 1 MHz or more
       
       Spectrum analyzer:
       Number of input channels: 4 or more
       Freq range: 500 MHz
       Resolution bandwidth: 1 Hz or lower
       
       Lock-in amplifier:
       Number of channels: 4 or more
       Dual quadrature: 4 channels
       Input noise: 10 nV/sqrt(Hz) above 100 Hz
       Dynamic reserve: 120 dB
       LPF bandwidth: 1 Hz to 1 MHz
       Frequency: DC to 500 MHz
       
       PDH lock:
       Number of channels: 4 or more
       Scan frequency: 10 MHz
       Filter range: 3 kHz to 30 MHz
        
2. Software Requirements: software support for all instruments described immediately above plus DIO pattern generator and logic analyzer (using 32-bit DIO port), customizable multi-instrument coordination capability, neural-net instrumentation mode

NIST has not yet determined its acquisition strategy for this requirement and encourages interested sources to respond to this Notice.

If NIST’s market research indicates there are alternative sources that are capable and interested in competing to fill this requirement, separate and apart from Liquid Instruments Inc (UEI: MS6AHD4EF8D7), then NIST will consider conducting a competitive acquisition in accordance with law and regulation. To be clear, NIST’s identification of Liquid Instruments Inc in this Notice does not constitute a binding commitment or obligation for it to conduct a sole source procurement with Liquid Instruments Inc for this requirement.

NIST has not yet determined its acquisition strategy for this requirement and encourages interested sources to respond to this Notice.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

Parties that respond to this Notice are requested to voluntarily submit the requested information via email in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and/or Microsoft Excel format to the designated point(s) of contact whose name and email address appears at the bottom of this notice. Please provide only the information requested by this Notice, and do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in a response to this Notice.

Information Requested in Response to This Notice: To help NIST with its market research, NIST is requesting that industry sources carefully review this notice and any attachments to it and voluntarily provide the following information: 

1. Company Summary

• Notice Identification: Notice ID and Title of this posting.

• Corporate Details: Company name, physical address, website address, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

• Point of Contact (POC): Name, phone number, and email address.

• Company Size Standard: Your company’s size status relative to the NAICS code provided in this Notice. (Refer to the SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards).

• System for Award Management (SAM) Registration: Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in SAM.gov.

2. Feedback for Draft Requirements

• Review the potential requirements/minimum specifications included with this Notice. Then, please provide suggestions to (a) improve clarity of it; (b) to make it more competitive; (c) to indicate whether there anything in it that may inadvertently exclude domestic involvement; and (d) to indicate how the requirements could potentially be revised to improve the ability for domestic (“Made in America”) end products to be considered.

3. Information Regarding Your Company’s Products and Services

• Provide specifications, company name of the original equipment manufacturer, and the country of manufacture for products and services that your company is legally authorized to sell and that may meet NIST’s minimum requirements.
  • Indicate whether, in your opinion, the product(s) meet the definition of (a) commercial product or (b) commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item or COTS item as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2 and, if so, which definition applies ((a) or (b)).
  • Indicate whether, in your opinion, the service(s) meet the definition of commercial service as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2.

• Standard Commercial Pricing: Provide your company’s standard commercial pricing information for the identified products and services and explain what is included in those standard prices.
   
• Estimated Price Range: You may provide an estimated price or price range for the requirements, including a brief explanation of how the price estimate was developed.

• Standard Commercial Terms and Conditions: Provide a copy of the standard commercial terms and conditions for the commercial products and commercial services identified in the response to this notice, including nature and duration of standard commercial warranty.

4. Existing Governmentwide Contract Vehicles

• Indicate whether your company has its own GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract or other federal contract vehicles under which NIST could award an order and, if so, provide the contract details (contract number, Contracting Officer name/contact, SOW, terms and conditions, and price lists).

We truly appreciate your company’s willingness to provide the above-mentioned information which NIST will be valuable in helping NIST complete its market research.

IMPORTANT NOTES

This Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay respondents to this notice for information provided in response to this Notice. Following a review of the responses and market research, NIST may publish a solicitation on an authorized site, depending on the chosen acquisition strategy. Responses received after the closing date for this Notice may not be considered.

There is no solicitation available at this time.

The Government reserves the right to use information that it receives in response to this Notice as it deems appropriate to establish final requirements or for other legally appropriate purposes.

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).

QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS NOTICE

For additional information, please contact the primary contact or, if named, secondary contact identified at the bottom of this notice.

THANK YOU

Thank you for taking the time to read this notice and for your interest in helping NIST with its efforts to maximize competition!