Solicitation - Dual Frequency Comb Laser

The Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology is conducting a sources-sought market research initiative to identify capable vendors for the procurement of a single 1550 nm Dual Frequency Comb Laser to support advanced electro-optic sampling and characterization of radio-frequency and sub-terahertz electrical waveforms up to 1 THz within the Communications Technology Laboratory's Waveform Metrology group. This notice is not a request for quotation or a solicitation, and no contract will be awarded based on this action alone; it is purely for gathering industry capability data to inform future acquisition decisions. Vendors must submit a capability statement of five pages or less detailing their company profile including UEI and Cage Code, the name of the product provider and manufacturer with country of origin, technical evidence demonstrating alignment with specified laser parameters including a 250 MHz repetition-rate femtosecond fiber laser tunable between 1545–1570 nm, 30–50 mW fiber-coupled output with PM FC/APC interface and PER greater than 20 dB, free-running timing jitter under 20 fs over 1 kHz–10 MHz bandwidth, integrated piezo actuators with defined tuning bandwidth and resonance frequencies, an internal RF photodiode output, a low-noise ALM05 filtered power supply, and a hermetically sealed, passively air-cooled enclosure measuring 250 x 60 x 260 mm³. The equipment must be new, not refurbished, and covered by a full 12-month manufacturer’s warranty that includes labor, parts, travel, and liability for returns, serviced by a U.S.-based organization. Vendors must possess an active SAM.gov registration with a valid UEI and an ECCN at time of award, and must identify their small business status as SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB, or VOSB. NIST is evaluating whether this acquisition could be set aside for small businesses, contingent upon identification of at least two qualified small business sources. Responses must be submitted electronically by the deadline of June 17, 2026, and must exclude marketing brochures or sales materials. Sales and marketing materials will not be reviewed, and no payment will be made for information submitted. If awarded, the delivery location will be Boulder, Colorado, with direct delivery required to the OU Building; partial shipment is acceptable. U.S. citizenship is required for on-site access