External/Spare Laser Diodes.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division Sources Sought for Commercial Item Purchase THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTE. It is a market research tool being used to determine potential and eligible business firms that are capable of providing the services described herein prior to determining the method of acquisition. The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) seeks information on vendors that are capable of providing LASER AND LASER DIODES as describe below. This announcement is not a Request for Quote (RFQ) and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. No solicitation is available at this time. Additionally, The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of this synopsis. As a result of this Sources Sought announcement, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage that can fulfil the requirements, in accordance with the requirement descriptions and technical specifications indicated below, then this acquisition may be solicited as a small business set aside. However, NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, large and small businesses (SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB and VOSB). This requirement is assigned a NAICS code of 334413. The specific purpose of this Sources Sought Announcement is to determine if there are small businesses, within the parameters identified above, that are capable of providing the services identified. Interested business organizations that believe they are capable of meeting the requirement should submit electronic copies of their capability statement. Please limit responses to five (5) pages or less. Responses should include the following information: 1. Name of company that will provide product. 2. Name of company that will manufacture the product. 3. Spec sheets and examples of products that meet the specifications. 4. Typical lead time to deliver the product after receipt of order. 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research. Requirement overview A 397-nm laser is required to cool and readout the state of calcium-40 ions and a 729-nm laser is used to study the motional state of the Ca-Al ion pair. The ideal proposal will meet or exceed the specifications for the laser and laser diodes listed below. DELIVERABLES: - External cavity diode laser that operates at 397 nm - Laser diode at 397-nm (replacement parts for the 397-nm ECDL laser system) - Anti-reflection (AR) coated laser diode at 729 nm. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: 397-nm external cavity diode laser (ECDL): - External cavity diode laser (ECDL) based on a Littrow configuration - The laser must operate with a single frequency at 396.96 nm - The output power of the laser diode must be greater than 14 mW after the optical isolator. - The cavity grating of the ECDLs must have screw adjusters for coarse alignment and a piezo actuator for fine wavelength adjustment. - The 397nm ECDL must have a short term (5us) linewidth of <1MHz. - The laser must have a mode hop-free tuning range of at least 20GHz. - The laser housing should incorporate an optical isolator with >32dB of isolation and >80% transmission. Anamorphic prisms should also be provided if required to prevent the beam from clipping in the optical isolator. - The ECDL must have an input to modulate the laser diode's current via a FET or similar mechanism. This input must have an electrical bandwidth (-3dB) of at least 10MHz. - The ECDL must have an input to modulate the laser diode's current directly via a Bias-T. This input must have an electrical bandwidth (-3dB) of at least 250MHz. - The temperature stability of each ECDL's frequency must be <100 MHz/K. - The ECDL must have linear output polarization (typically 100:1). - Due to the stringent reliability requirements of this project the supplier must have successfully built and shipped lasers at the 397nm wavelength and supply references as to where they are installed. - The laser must seamlessly and effortlessly interface with the Toptica DC 110 series diode laser supply and control rack. This includes the DTC 110 temperature control module, the DC 110 monitor unit with LCD display, SC 110 scan generator with HV amplifier, DCB 110 computer analog interface, and the DCC 110 low noise current control module. Satisfying this requirement entails the following: o The laser temperature controller must plugin to and be fully compatible with Toptica DTC 110 temperature control module. o The laser current must plugin to and be fully compatible with the Toptica DCC 110 low noise current control module. o Fine control of the laser wavelength via a piezo actuator must be fully compatible and adapted to the Toptica SC 110 scan generator with HV amplifier. o The settings for these three controllers should be easily monitored with the Toptica DC 110 monitor unit and seamlessly modified by the DCB 110 computer analog interface. o No additional control modules should be required to operate the laser. Spare 397-nm diode for the ECDL laser system: - We require a spare laser diode for the 397-nm laser that can meet all of the specifications described above if used as a spare part for the ECDL laser system. Spare 729-nm diode for an ECDL laser system currently owned and in use by this group: - We require a anti-reflection coated laser diode that operates 729-nm - Diode should be compatible with the Toptica tapered amplifier laser system with serial number TA pro-2V0_13231. - The laser diode should require no more than 500 mA to achieve the maximum output power. - The diode should be capable of outputting >40 mW after >60 dB optical isolation when operated in a Littrow ECDL configuration. - The laser diode should achieve all of the above specifications over a wavelength tuning range of at least +/- 2 nm. - The laser should achieve the target wavelength of 729 nm when within a temperature range of 18 to 32 C. Detailed specifications (optional but strongly preferred): - Laser head should be smaller than 250x100x100mm (L x W x H) and the output beam height should be 50mm from the base of the laser. TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS: 397-nm ECDL laser system: We already possess a Toptica DC 110 series diode laser supply and control rack. We require that the new laser be fully compatible with this control system for the following reason: - Reuse of this controller will save NIST the cost of purchasing additional control electronics as well as the costs associated with the retraining of NIST personal for the operation of new control system. A fully compatible laser should incorporate the following specifications: - The laser temperature controller must connect to and be fully compatible with Toptica DTC 110 temperature control module. - The laser current must connect to and be fully compatible with the Toptica DCC 110 low noise current control module. - Fine control of the laser wavelength via a piezo actuator must be fully compatible and adapted to the Toptica SC 110 scan generator with HV amplifier. - The settings for these three controllers should be easily monitored with the Toptica DC 110 monitor unit and seamlessly modified by the DCB 110 computer analog interface. - No additional control modules should be for full operation and control of the laser. 729-nm anti-reflection coated laser diode: - Must be fully compatible with the Toptica tapered amplifier laser system currently in our possession. The serial number for this laser is TA pro-2V0_13231. - A fully compatible diode must include the same pin-out configuration for the laser diode. This includes the following three pins: pin 1 is laser diode anode, pin 2 is the common ground pin, and pin 3 is the photodiode cathode. - The spatial output mode of the laser should be similar to the Toptica diode #LD-07300-0040-AR-2 to ensure the spatial mode is well mode matched to the tapered amplifier currently owned by the system. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY OR INFORMATION: - Toptica DC 110/19" control rack: serial number DC 110/19"_01612 Any proprietary information should be so marked. The written capability statement should be received by the Contract Specialist no later than 3:00 pm MST May 21, 2015. The capability statement shall identify the business status of the organization. Only electronic statements will be accepted. Faxes will not be accepted. Send to Contract Specialist Miguel Vasquez at Miguel.Vasquez@Nist.gov. Direct all questions to this e-mail no later than May 20, 11:00AM MST.