CSS_SOW_Cryostation.docx

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS & TECHNOLOGY

Cryogenic Microscope System

RFQ NUMBER 1333ND25QNB680174

100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899

PAGE REFERECE

FAR PART 13 – SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES

SECTION 5: Statement of Work Page, 6-11

SECTION 1: COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION

A. COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION

a. 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 separate written solicitation document will not be issued. This solicitation is being issued under the authority of FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2025-03 published January 3, 2025, and effective January 17, 2025.

b. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing which has a small business size standard of 1,000 employees, is the best fit for this acquisition. This acquisition is being competed full and open competition. All responsible, qualified business concerns can respond to this notice.

c. 1352.215-72 Inquiries (APR 2010); Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to ranae.armstrong@nist.gov . Mailed and/or faxed questions will not be accepted. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Amendments to this solicitation (if applicable) will be posted on the SAM.GOV website under the solicitation. Inquires must be received no later than five (5) days after the RFQ is posted for Government response.

B. Solicitation Posting

a. This solicitation is only posted on the System for Award Management (SAM) website, www.sam.gov.

b. Attachments, amendments and other associated documents as applicable will be posted to the SAM.GOV website, under the solicitation.

C. Contract Type

a. This is a firm fixed-price contract type.

END OF SECTION 1

SECTION 2: SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT

A. SAM Registration

a. An Offeror is required to be active and registered in the System for Award Management when submitting an offer or quotation and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation, to comply with the annual representations and certification requirements. If an offeror is not active and registered in SAM, their submission will not be considered for award offer and will not be reviewed the Government. The Government will review the Offeror’s SAM registration and affirm the determination of responsibility. In addition, the Government will review the currently available credit/assessment/performance reports. The Government will also review an Offeror’s SAM exclusions record. A non-responsible determination may be made if an Offeror lacks adequate financial resources or has demonstrated poor past performance.

END OF SECTION 2

SECTION 3: QUOTATION SUBMISSION. LATE SUBMISSIONS, & RESPONSE DEADLINE

A. General Instructions Quotations are expected to conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. To aid in evaluation, the quotation shall be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the name of the offeror, the date, and the solicitation number.

B. Electronic Submission Only The offeror shall submit their quotation electronically to ranae.armstrong@nist.gov with a cc to Donald.collie@nist.gov, FAXED AND/OR MAILED QUOTATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Quotations must be received in the email inbox on or before the due date and time specified above. Only information received on or before the due date and time shall be considered for award. Any quotation, or part thereof, received after the due date and time, shall be deemed late and not considered for award. Offeror’s quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation is entered in the e-mail inbox provided above.

C. All Offerors Shall Submit the Following:

a. For the purpose of evaluation of technical acceptability, the offeror must submit documentation that demonstrates the offered equipment/services meet the technical specifications and requirements as detailed in the Statement of Work.

b. Offerors shall provide a firm fixed-price offer for ALL line items, including option line items (when applicable).

c. A completed version of all required solicitation provisions (see attached provisions/clauses document – required submissions highlighted in blue). THE BUY AMERICAN ACT PORTION OF THE RFQ MUST BE COMPLETED AND RETURNED WITH THE QUOTATION.

d. Any award resulting from this solicitation will contain the following statement: “The Government’s terms and conditions, identified herein, shall be the prevailing terms and conditions governing this award. In the event of a conflict between the Government’s and contractor’s terms and conditions, the Government’s terms and conditions take precedence.” If the Contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the contractor shall state “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:” [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the Contractor to identify in their quote any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor’s acceptance of the Government’s terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order as prevailing.

e. Offeror shall provide an active UEI # for the System for Award Management (SAM) registration.

f. Please note that this procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If a contractor 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 contractor’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation.

D. Due Date for Quotations

a. All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to Contract Specialist Ranae Armstrong at RANAE.ARMSTRONG@NIST.GOV. Submission must be received not later than 05/27/25, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A quotation shall be considered received when it is received in the electronic inbox of Ranae Armstrong not later than the date and time identified herein.

b. The clauses and provisions applicable to this solicitation can be found under Applicable Clauses & Provisions. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at or www.acquisition.gov/far. The full text of a CAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at or https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-48/chapter-13

E. Late Submissions and Withdrawals of Quotes

a. Any quote received in the inbox of ranae.armstrong@nist.gov after the date and time specified for receipt of Quotes may not be considered unless it is determined by the Contracting Officer that the submitted quotation is advantageous to the Government and/or is received before a purchase order is issued.

b. Quotes can only be submitted electronically. This is also applicable to any modified quotes. The request to withdraw a quote must be submitted electronically to the contract specialist and contracting officer.

E. Schedule Line Item Line Item 0001: Low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic microscope system including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective Quantity: One (1)

END OF SECTION 3

SECTION 4: BASIS OF AWARD

A. Basis of Award – Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) The Government will award a firm fixed price purchase order resulting from this solicitation once the Contractor is verified as responsible and the quotation conforming to the solicitation is found to be the lowest price technically acceptable offer.

B. Evaluation Criteria The Government intends to award a single purchase order from this RFQ to the responsible offeror whose quotation, conforming to the solicitation, is the lowest price, technically acceptable quotation. The Government reserves the right not to award a purchase order.

Technically acceptable means that the offeror provides the equipment/services as specified in the Statement of Work. No prototypes or demonstration models will be considered. Evaluation of technical capability shall be based on the information provided in the quotation. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will evaluate whether the offeror has demonstrated that its proposed equipment/supplies meet all minimum requirements. If an offeror does not demonstrate how the equipment/services meet the required technical specifications NIST will determine the offer is not technically acceptable.

The proposed pricing will be evaluated to determine that the total price is consistent with the technical portion of the quotation and is a fair and reasonable overall price to the Government.

NIST intends to evaluate quotations and issue a purchase order based on the initial quotes received. Therefore, the offerors initial quote should contain the offerors best terms from a price and technical standpoint. NIST reserves the right to request revised quotes from, or negotiate final contract terms with, one or more, but not all, Contractors if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

END OF SECTION 4

SECTION 5: STATEMENT OF WORK

STATEMENT OF WORK

Title: Low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic microscope system including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective Requesting Lab: National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Physical Measurements Laboratory (PML)

BACKGROUND

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 to achieve better performance and uncertainties or to enable new applications that are not possible with classical methods and light sources. Therefore, one of the most important aspects of Quantum Measurement Division’s research is to demonstrate a prototype of a high-efficiency deterministic single-photon source in a telecom band. This source is an essential component for quantum communications and for future scalable quantum computer networks. Operation of the source requires a Low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic microscope system, including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective. The low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic microscope system including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective. This device shall be optimized for high-efficiency coupling of C-band telecom photons produced by quantum dots. This device will be an integral component in NIST’s Physical Measurement Laboratory’s Quantum Measurement Division’s laboratory. It will be used to study single-photon and entangled light state generation for quantum networks and quantum information science. Light emitted from the quantum dots will be coupled into the fiber for experiments and characterization.

Purpose: To accommodate a high-efficiency deterministic single-photon source in telecom C-band, for applications ranging from classical and quantum telecommunication networks, in-situ source recognition and classification, and quantum effects in biological systems.

SCOPE

The contractor shall deliver a quantity of one (1) Low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic microscope system including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective, inclusive of warranty and FOB Destination delivery terms.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The offeror shall submit a firm fixed price quotation for the system that meets or exceeds the minimum requirements identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor is not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) 0001:

Description: Closed-loop helium cryostat with compressor and vacuum pump to include free-space experimental chamber with XYZ nanopositioning stages and high numerical aperture (NA) objective.

Quantity: One (1) A. Technical Specification Requirements

1. Operating Ambient Temperature: between 295 K or less and 305 K or more

2. Experimental chamber technical specifications:

a. Cold stage base temperature ≤ 3.8 K.

b. Temperature stability < 15 mK peak-to-peak fluctuations with damped sample mount

c. Cooling Power with the bare cold plate ≥ 170 mW at 5 K or ≥ 130 mW at 4.2 K

d. Cooldown time to 5 K with the bare cold plate ≤ 4.5 hours.

e. Cold plate vibration stability <5 nm peak-to-peak fluctuation in X, Y,& Z Axis

f. DC Electrical access: ≥ 16 available DC feed-throughs for future uses (i.e. not counting feed-throughs already in use e.g. for nanopositioning stage, temperature monitoring, etc.).

g. RF electrical access: ≥ 2 RF connections (50 Ohm coaxial, 18 GHz).

h. Nanopositioning stage (see description below) installed.

i. The system includes two fiber optic feedthroughs compatible with SMF-28.

j. At least 5 optical access ports, with two windows (one cold and one warm) on each port. Ports must be reconfigurable to easily replace windows.

k. Free-space optical access: ≥ 5 windows (≥ 25 mm diameter) with <5 % loss at wavelengths from 1450 nm to 1650 nm

l. The system should be deployable to an optical lab with optical tables.

m. Internally housed and vertically mounted microscope objective holder.

n. The system to include at least two interchangeable sample holders: one with 16 DC wires, and one flat sample holder.

o. The top optical access window must have threaded holes (or set screw holes) that allow for an external fiber coupler mount via Thorlabs 30 mm cage system.

3. Objective Technical Specifications

a. ≥0.8 NA objective.

b. Working distance: < 1.3 mm.

c. Optical loss <20% everywhere in the wavelength range from 1150 nm to 1620 nm.

d. Temperature and pressure compatible with the experimental chamber.

e. Mounted in the experimental chamber using a user-removable mount.

f. Vertical mount compatible.

4. Nanopositioning Stage Technical Specifications:

a. Installed in the experimental chamber – thermally coupled to cold plate.

b. System needs to include integrated cryogenic closed-loop X, Y, and Z Nanopositioners and controller. Each axis equipped with a travel range of at least 4.8mm or more.

c. Sensor resolution per direction: <= 200 nm.

d. Ability to operate the nanopositioner in an open loop mode with fine (sub-nm) positioning via adjusting a DC voltage.

e. Non-magnetic.

f. Unidirectional repeatability: <= 5 microns (closed loop).

g. Operating temperature: <= 3 K.

h. Operating pressure: <= 10-8 Torr.

i. Closed loop control for all nanopositioners; PC control with applicable software.

j. Vibrations on the sample holder (peak-to-peak):

1. XY: 300 nm or smaller

2. Z: 300 nm or smaller

3. Bandwidth: up to at least 100 Hz or more

k. Relative drift between a sample and objective focal point at the base(fixed) temperature, without a thermal load: < 100 nm/hour or smaller (best effort)

5. Compressor Technical Specifications:

a. Type: Air-cooled.

b. Helium connection: appropriate ≥ 30 ft flexible tubing(hoses)

c. Electrical connection: 208 V @60 Hz 1 phase or 110 V @60Hz 1 phase as appropriate to provide and maintain the above performance.

d. Continuous operation cryostat without the use of extra-instrument liquid cryogens

e. Fully automated pump, cooldown, temperature stabilization, and warmup. The system should include all necessary pumps, controllers, and compressors.

6. Vacuum Technical Specifications:

a. The cryostat system shall have the vacuuming capability that results in the above-required system features and performance capacities.

7. Software Requirements:

a. The cryostat system shall include automated operational and temperature control software and motion control software.

b. Control software that is capable of running automated program scripts from MATLAB, LabVIEW, and Python.

8. Additional Requirements:

a. The cryostat temperature should be held for at least 24 hours with no thermal load

b. System shall be air-cooled

c. Target temperature at the sample of 3.8 K or lower

d. 110V or 208V @60Hz/1-Phase compressor

e. The system must support the modification to a different wavelength range by the user e.g. to support replacement of installed optical elements with the elements with different antireflection coating

DELIVERABLES

DELIVERY

Delivery shall be FOB DESTINATION and shall occur no later than twenty (20) weeks ARO.

FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The contractor shall deliver all Line Items to:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301(Receiving) C/O TBD Building 221 Room 224 Gaithersburg, MD 20899

SHIPPING REQUIREMENTS

Standard commercial shipping standards

INSTALLATION

If professional installation is required, it must be performed by the contractor; otherwise, the system will be installed and tested by NIST. If NIST installs and tests the system, the vendor shall provide detailed instructions and unlimited remote videoconference support during the installation and the initial testing for no extra charge, during normal business hours of 9 AM-6 PM EDT. No evenings or weekends will be required. The installed device must meet contract specifications. If the contractor does not allow for the government to perform the installation, the Contractor must submit a detailed Installation Plan, that included all tasks the Contractor will perform, as part of their submitted quotation.

INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense.

Performance Tests:

1. Upon installation, the operational base temperature and the target temperature will be verified.

2. NIST staff will measure vibration, drift, and optical loss at certain wavelengths, and the data will be compared to the list of required specs. NIST staff will use CW and/or pulsed lasers and other sources with known power, emission wavelength, and spectral width as an input.

3. Other testing methods may be acceptable upon the vendor’s request with a detailed description of the proposed acceptance method.

NIST may choose at its discretion to forego this part of acceptance testing.

The Government will test, inspect, and accept the equipment onsite within seven (7) business days upon receiving and installing the system. A visual inspection of the Low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic system including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective, will be performed by the NIST COR to identify surface defects or any form of indication that the Low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic system including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective was damaged during transport to NIST. The Government will have sole discretion to require the 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 Low-noise and low-drift closed-loop cryogenic system including nanopositioners and cryogenic high-NA optical objective due to defects and/or nonconformance.

WARRANTY

The contractor shall warrant the entire system for a period of a minimum of one (1) year after receipt of the equipment and shall be in accordance with terms in FAR 52.212-4. The warranty shall commence upon acceptance of the equipment.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The invoice must be submitted in the areas after acceptance of the equipment by the government. The contractor shall be paid IAW with Net 30 Payment Terms. Invoices submitted prior to government acceptance of the equipment may be rejected.

NOTE: Partial shipments and partial invoices will not be accepted, unless otherwise requested and accepted by the Contracting Officer prior to award offer. Proposed payment schedules shall be submitted with vendor’s response to the RFQ for consideration.

END OF SECTION 5

SECTION 6: SOLICITATION ADMINISTRATION

A. Amendments and Modifications

a. Changes in terms and conditions of this solicitation shall be accomplished by written amendment only.

b. Changes in terms and conditions of any resulting contract shall be accomplished only by written modification signed by the Contracting Officer.

END OF SECTION 6

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