MHz Erbium Fiber Frequency Comb Synthesizer

The Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), intends to negotiate a firm fixed price purchase order, on a sole source basis, with Menlo Systems, Inc. of Newton, New Jersey for the purchase of a MHz Erbium-Fiber Frequency Comb Synthesizer under other than full and open competition by the authority of FAR subpart 6.302-1: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. NIST's Nanoscale and Optical Metrology Group has a requirement for an frequency comb (OFC, which is a pulsed laser with extraordinarily high frequency stability and a wavelength coverage spanning the visible and near-ir. A laser of this type is required for ultra-high-resolution absorption spectroscopy experiments of greenhouse gases. Key required specifications are as follows: 1. The optical-frequency comb system shall have an optical frequency accuracy of one part in one hundred trillion (1:1014), or better, during 1 second. 2. The optical-frequency comb system shall have a stability (Allan deviation) of five parts in ten trillion (5:1013), or better, during 1 second. 3. The system shall provide comb lines spanning a spectral range from 530 nanometers to 2100 nanometer; lines shall be separate by 250 MHz. 4. The output beam shape shall be TEM00, with beam quality factor M2 < 1.2, or better. 5. The carrier-envelope- frequency of the optical-frequency comb shall be actively stabilized using the self-referencing f to 2f beat note method in combination with an octave-spanning supercontinuum, and referenced to a radio-frequency source. 6. System shall be capable of measuring the beat-signal between the optical-frequency comb and an external continuous-wave laser, over the spectral range of 1200 nanometers to 1600 nanometers. 7. Fully automated, turn-key, and continuous operation. 8. All components, systems, and subsystems included. The MHz Erbium-Fiber Frequency Comb Synthesizer offered by Menlo Systems, Inc. is the only commercially available integrated system that meets all of NIST's specific research needs, yielding an OFC system with self-referencing, 250 MHz repetition rate, tunable carrier envelope offset frequency, 0.5 um to 2 um wavelength range and relative frequency stability of 5x10-13 in 1 second averaging time. Menlo Systems is the only company that sells a complete OFC system spanning the visible and near-ir spectral region. Delivery shall be FOB Destination, Gaithersburg, MD, and be completed in accordance with the Contractor's commercial schedule. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 333314, and the size standard is 500 employees. No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to this requirement. The Government will consider responses received by 12:00 p.m. (EST) on August 4, 2010. Inquiries will only be accepted via email to contact@example.gov. 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.