Phase Grating Translation System

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Notice ID Number: NB682030-26-01621

Title: Phase Grating Translation System

Department of Commerce Advanced Acquisition Planning Entry Number: NA

PURPOSE
The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs.

BACKGROUND
The NIST neutron imaging team, in the Radiation Physics Division of the Physical Measurement Laboratory, is developing a far-field grating neutron interferometer to measure the projection of the pair correlation function, G(Z), of a sample of interest.  This interferometer geometry requires precision translation of 2 gratings in three orthogonal directions, though with different travel, minimum incremental movement requirements and load carry capacity.  The gratings are lines etched into silicon wafers, where the period of the lines is of order 1 micrometer.  To quantify the interferometer pattern, the gratings must be translated with step size less than 100 nm, with a range at least twice the period in both the vertical and horizontal directions. The period of the interference pattern is varied by changing the spacing along the optical axis of the two gratings and must repeatably position a single grating to with 2 micrometers.

This procurement is to obtain to a quantity of two of a 3-axis translation system.  Two of the axes will be used in “phase stepping” and require fine step size (less than 50 nm) with a travel range at least 3 mm, while the third axis (longitudinal axis) requires a long travel of 200 mm with a coarser resolution requirement (better than 10 micrometers).  The vertical phase step stage will support the phase grating and its holder, and this will be mounted directly to the horizontal phase step stage.  The longitudinal axis will support the phase stepping stages as well as other alignment stages, and thus must be capable of moving a somewhat large mass (at least 25 kg).  A motor controller with at least 6 inputs that can natively control all axes is also sought.

NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a Phase Grating Translation System  that will achieve the objectives identified in this notice.  The NAICS code is 334516-Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a size standard of 1,000 employees.

ANTICIPATED REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall Phase Grating Translation System  to the NIST Gaithersburg campus.  All are inclusive of FOB Destination delivery. The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications identified below:

TASK 1: Vertical Translation (phase stepping) stage (quantity 2)

1. The vertical translation stage shall have a load capacity of at least 40 N to enable lifting the phase grating and the grating holder (capacity larger than 40 N is better).
2. The vertical translation stage shall have a range of motion at least 4 mm to enable fine tuning of alignment (range greater than 4 mm is better)
3. The vertical translation stage shall have a mass less than 3 kg (less than 3 kg is better).
4. The vertical translation stage shall have minimum incremental motion of less than 100 nm (smaller is better).
5. Compliance in pitch, roll and yaw of the vertical translation stage shall be less than 60 microradians / Nm.
6. The vertical translation stage shall be controlled and position monitored by the motor control specified in task 4.
7. Cable(s) to control the stage shall be at least 1 m long (option for 10 m long cables is sought)

TASK 2: Transverse Horizontal Translation (phase stepping) stage (quantity 2)

1. The transverse horizontal translation stage shall have a load capacity of at least 90 N to enable moving the vertical translation stage, the phase grating and the grating holder (capacity larger than 90 N is better).
2. The transverse horizontal stage shall have a range of motion at least 40 mm to enable fine tuning of alignment (range greater than 4 mm is better)
3. The transverse horizontal stage shall have a mass less than 3 kg (less than 3 kg is better).
4. The transverse horizontal stage shall have minimum incremental motion of less than 5 nm (smaller is better).
5. Compliance in pitch, roll and yaw of the transverse horizontal stage shall be less than 30 microradians / Nm.
6. The transverse horizontal stage shall be controlled and position monitored by the motor control specified in task 4.
7. Cable(s) to control the stage shall be at least 1 m long (option for 10 m long cables is sought)

TASK 3: Longitudinal Translation (moire period variation) stage (quantity 2)

1. The longitudinal horizontal translation stage shall have a load capacity of at least 250 N to enable moving all other alignment components of the phase grating (capacity larger than 250 N is better).
2. The longitudinal horizontal stage shall have a range of motion at least 40 mm to enable fine tuning of alignment (range greater than 4 mm is better)
3. The longitudinal horizontal stage shall have a mass less than 3 kg (less than 3 kg is better).
4. The longitudinal horizontal stage shall have minimum incremental motion of less than 5 nm (smaller is better).
5. Compliance in pitch, roll and yaw of the longitudinal horizontal stage shall be less than 30 microradians / Nm.
6. The longitudinal horizontal stage shall be controlled and its position monitored by the motor control specified in task 4.
7. Cable(s) to control the stage shall be at least 1 m long (option for 10 m long cables is sought)

TASK 4: Motor controller (quantity 1)

1. The vendor shall supply a motor controller that controls, reads encoders and automatically detects settings of the three stages in tasks 1, 2, and 3 above, with a minimum of 8 input axes.
2. The motor controller shall enable the stages to achieve the minimum specifications listed in tasks 1, 2, and 3.
3. The motor controller shall be supplied with a software development kit in C/C++ or .NET that enables remote commands to control the stages.
4. The motor controller shall be able to control the following classes of motors:
   DC, Servo, Linear, Brushless, piezoelectric stacks, others via pass through card
5. The motor controller shall communicate with a control computer via TCP/IP with the option for defining a fixed IP address on a local area network without access to the world wide web.

 
HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the information described below, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or Adobe .pdf format.

Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice, July 15, 2026, at 10:00 AM ET.  Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response. “ID Assigned” is not acceptable.

• Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).

• Identify the equipment that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice.  For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following:
  • Manufacturer name
  • Model number
  • Technical specifications
  • If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s)

• Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements.  Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response.
  • Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization.

• Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why.  Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive.

• State whether the proposed equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured.

• Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned equipment and provide relevant details, including timeline.

• For the NAICS code listed in this notice:

• • Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business.  See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.

• • If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement. 

• Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; equipment setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services.  Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified equipment, if available.

• If the recommended equipment and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.

• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for NIST to know as part of its market research for this requirement.

• State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment.

IMPORTANT NOTES

This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.  There is no solicitation available at this time.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response.

NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate.

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).

The responses shall not exceed five (5) pages including all attachments, charts, etc.