1333ND20QNB680245 Combined Synopsis Solicitation.pdf

1333ND20QNB680245

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN

ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES

FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED

WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT

CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED; AND A

WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT (I.E. STANDARD FORM) WILL NOT BE ISSUED.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2020-07.

The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the requirement is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing. The small business size standard is 1,000 employees.

This is an unrestricted open market RFQ. Simplified acquisition procedures will be utilized.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The mission of the Quantum Optics Group of the Quantum Measurement Division is to develop and characterize measurement methods that take advantage of the quantum nature of light so as to achieve better performance, uncertainties, and to enable new applications that are not possible with classical methods. Typically, these measurements are of single quantum states, and thus are done in very low-light environments. Therefore, one of the most important aspects of Quantum Measurement Division’s research is the photon arrival time detection and photon number statistics for probing these states of light.

As a result, NIST requires a high-efficiency, low-noise single photon detection system compatible with the Quantum Measurement Division’s measurements of faint and/or nonclassical sources. NIST will use the single photon detectors to characterize the output of faint classical sources, single photon sources and sources of exotic quantum light, with applications ranging from classical and quantum telecommunication networks, in-situ source recognition and classification, and quantum effects in biological systems.

APPLICABLE ATTACHMENT

• Attachment I – Applicable Provisions and Clauses

1352.215-73 INQUIRES (APR 2010):

Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing electronically to adam.powell@nist.gov. Questions must be received no later than five (5) business days after solicitation issuance. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Even if provided in other form, only the question responses included in the amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of Provision).

CONTRACT LINE ITEM STRUCTURE

Responsible quoters shall provide pricing for the following contract line item numbers (CLINs):

CLIN 0001: Quantity one (1) Each – High-efficiency, low dark-count single photon detection system with a minimum of four (4) single photon sensors that meet the following minimum specifications:

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• Operating Ambient Temperature: 295-305K

• Measurement Wavelength Range: 1000nm-2000nm

• Minimum of four (4) single-photon sensors that are separately fiber-coupled capable of meeting the following minimum specifications. All detector specifications shall be met under the same operating conditions.

o Dark count rate at target temperature: 100 cps or lower o Recovery time after single photon detection: < 100 ns (to maximal detection efficiency) o Timing jitter: < 75 ps FWHM o Output pulse voltage: 100 mV or more. User-switchable peak positive/negative o Fiber type: Single mode o Two detectors must have:

Detection efficiency between 1310nm and 1550nm; must be above 82% everywhere in this spectral range o Two detectors must have:

Detection efficiency at 1550nm must be above 87% Detection efficiency at 1310nm must be above 45%

• The system must contain a closed-cycle cryocooler. An operational base temperature of 2.5 K or lower must be maintained.

• Cooldown time to 2.5K shall be 12-hours or less

• System shall be air-cooled

• Target temperature at the detectors of 0.8K or lower

• Uninterrupted runtime at target temperature of 0.8K 24 hours or longer

• Temperature drift: <16mK in 24-hours

• Compressor Flex-lines length: 6m or longer

• 100-120V/60Hz/1-Phase compressor

• Power consumption of cryocooler compressor shall not exceed 1.5kW

Warranty

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a one (1) year warranty for the equipment in accordance with FAR 52.212-4(o). The warranty shall commence upon successful completion of delivery and the Government’s acceptance.

Remote Installation Support

The equipment will be installed by NIST personnel. The Contractor shall provide detailed installation instructions and shall provide remote videoconference support for the purpose of NIST installation.

DELIVERY

Delivery shall be completed no later than 90-days after award. Delivery shall be coordinated with the NIST Technical Point of Contact (TPOC).

Delivery shall be made to:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Delivery terms shall be FOB Destination.

INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

The Government will complete inspection and acceptance in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-4(a) no later than 14-days after delivery.

Upon NIST installation, the operational base temperature and the target temperature will be verified. A measurement of quantum efficiency and dark count noise of all sensors will be performed by NIST researchers and data will be compared to the list of required specs. NIST will use CW and/or pulsed lasers and other sources with known power, emission wavelength and spectral width as an input. Other testing methods may be acceptable, upon the vendor’s request with a detailed description of the proposed acceptance method.

The Government will test, inspect, and accept the equipment onsite as soon as possible upon receiving the single photon detection system. A visual inspection of the High-efficiency, low dark-count single photon detection system will be performed by the NIST TPOC to identify surface defects or any form of indication that the High-efficiency, low dark-count single photon detection system was damaged during transport to NIST. The Government will have sole discretion to require repair or replacement of damaged and/or nonconforming supplies at no cost to the Government. The Government, at any time prior to acceptance, will reject the High-efficiency, low dark-count single photon detection system due to defects and/or nonconformance.

PAYMENT TERMS

One lump sum payment will be authorized upon completion of delivery and the Government’s acceptance.

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1 – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

OVERALL ARRANGEMENT OF QUOTATIONS

All quotations shall conform to solicitation provisions/clauses and be prepared in accordance with this section. The quotation shall be clearly and concisely written as well as be neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled.

In preparing the quotation, each volume shall stand on its own. For each given evaluation factor or subfactor the Government will only evaluate the information provided in the corresponding section of the quotation.

Volume Section

I

Executive Summary

A. Technical Capability B. Experience C. Past Performance

II Business Quotation

Volume I: Non-Price Volume

Volume I of an Offeror’s quotation shall consist of the following three (3) subsections:

A. Technical Capability: The technical quotation shall include commercial documentation and product literature, which clearly demonstrates that the items being quoted conform to the specifications identified herein.

B. Experience: The Offeror shall demonstrate the extent of its experience (either as a prime contractor or as a significant subcontractor) in performing work on similarly sized and scoped contracts providing similar items within the past five-years.

C. Past Performance: The Offeror shall submit at least three examples of past performance conducted within the last five (5) years of contracts of relevant work of a similar type and scope as the requirement herein with Federal, State, or Local Governments and/or commercial customers. If the Offeror has no relevant past performance, it shall include a statement to that effect in its quotation. The Government reserves the right to consider past performance data obtained from sources other than those provided by the Offeror in its quotation.

The description of each reference described in this section shall not exceed one page for the prime and each significant subcontractor. For each of the contracts, the Offeror shall provide the following information:

• Contract number;

• Client’s name and address;

• Dollar value;

• Period of Performance;

• Narrative describing the requirement and its relevance to the requirement herein;

• Name of the Contracting Officer or Point of Contact – telephone number and e-mail address; and

• Additional information (i.e. If performance was documented as less than satisfactory, the

Offeror shall provide a summary of the identified issues, steps taken to resolve the problem and processes in place to improve future performance).

Definition:

• Significant Subcontractor – A subcontractor performing major or critical aspects of the requirements relevant to the requirement.

Volume II – Business/Price Volume

The Offeror shall submit the following as part of Volume II:

• The Offeror shall submit a firm-fixed price, F.O.B. Destination quotation for each CLIN. Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 90-days from the date quotations are due.

• In the event the Offeror takes exception to the Government’s payment terms, the Offeror’s price quotation shall include a firm-fixed price payment schedule for the Government’s consideration.

• The Offeror shall provide a completed copy of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions listed below:

o FAR 52.204-17 – Ownership or Control of Offeror o FAR 52.204-20 – Predecessor of Offeror o FAR 52.209-2 – Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations- Representations o FAR 52.209-11 – Representation by Corporations Regarding Delinquent Tax Liability or a Felony Conviction under any Federal Law o FAR 52.212-3 – Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items o FAR 52.225-2 – Buy American Certificate o FAR 52.225-18 – Place of Manufacture

• Written Acceptance of Terms and Conditions: This is an open-market solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this solicitation that will include the clauses set forth herein. The quotation shall include one of the following statements:

“The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition.”

OR

“The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:

Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)

Note: This procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an Offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant purchase order, not the terms and conditions of the Offeror’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation.

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to adam.powell@nist.gov and tracy.bisson@nist.gov.

Quotations must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time August 14, 2020.

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

The Government intends to use a price/non-price tradeoff process to award a firm-fixed price purchase order to the responsible offeror whose quotation represents the best value to the Government. The Government reserves the right to make an award to other than the lowest-cost/priced offeror or to the offeror with the highest technical rating if the Contracting Officer determines that doing so would result in the best value to the Government. The Contracting Officer intends to award without discussions, but reserves the right to initiate discussions, if necessary.

Quotations that are unrealistic in terms of technical or schedule commitments, or unrealistically high or low in terms of price, may be deemed to be reflective of an inherent lack of technical competence, or indicative of a failure to comprehend the complexity and risks of the proposed work and may be grounds for rejection of the quotation as being technically unacceptable. Failure to provide the information required to evaluate a quotation could result in rejection of the quotation as being unacceptable.

The following evaluation factors will be used. Factors A through C are equal in importance.

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Factor A – Technical Capability Factor B – Experience Factor C – Past Performance Factor D – Price

In determining best value, all non-price factors, when combined are equal in importance to Factor D – Price.

Factor A – Technical Capability: The Government will evaluate whether the offeror has demonstrated that its proposed items meet the minimum requirements provided in the solicitation.

Quotations that do not clearly demonstrate the proposed items meet all minimum requirements may not be considered further for award. Specifically, if documentation submitted by an offeror does not clearly indicate whether its proposed items meet a certain minimum requirement, NIST may determine that it does not.

Factor B – Experience: The Government will evaluate the offeror’s relevant previous experience, either as a prime contractor or as a subcontractor, in providing similar items to that of the quoted items.

Factor C – Past Performance: The Government will evaluate the offeror's past performance information and, if appropriate, its proposed subcontractors' past performance to determine its relevance to the current requirement and the extent to which it demonstrates that the offeror has successfully completed relevant contracts in the past five (5) years. In assessing the offeror's past performance information, the Government will evaluate, as appropriate – successful performance of contract requirements, quality and timeliness of delivery of goods and services, cost management, communications between contracting parties, proactive management and customer satisfaction.

Evaluation of this factor will be based on information contained in the technical portion of the quotation and information provided by references. The Government will evaluate past performance information by contacting appropriate references (including Government references, if applicable). The Government may also consider other available information in evaluating the Offeror’s past performance.

Offerors without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, will not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on Past Performance, and will be assigned a Neutral rating.

Factor D – Price: The Government will evaluate the offeror’s proposed pricing information to determine the extent to which the pricing is fair, reasonable, realistic and consistent with or discounted from prevailing market pricing information. Proposed pricing must be entirely compatible/consistent with the technical quotation.