Handix POPS Single Source Jun2025_TTsigned.docx (1)_Redacted.pdf

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SINGLE SOURCE DETERMINATION USING

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES (SAP)

FOR AN ACTION NOT EXCEEDING THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION THRESHOLD

(AUTHORITY: FAR 13.106-1(b)(1))

1. Agency and contracting activity. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division (WAD) and Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR) Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL).

2. Description of supplies or services required to meet agency needs (including the estimated value). The OAR CSL requires ten (10) small optical particle counters (OPCs) for use in a field research project. The required OPCs are specifically the Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer (POPS) that were developed in the CSL lab group and that have been used and are using for a number of ongoing projects. The instruments are needed for a project conducting globally distributed balloon sonde measurements of aerosol vertical profiles to study variability in stratospheric aerosol loading and properties. The science needs and sonde payload limitations impose instrument requirements of: weight < 1 kg, power consumption < 6 W, 100% minimum detectable particle size ≤ 140 nm diameter. CSL requires delivery of the full 10 units by 26 September 2025 and request partial deliveries as permitted by production between the acceptance of the order and this date. The total estimated cost is $99,500.00. Payment to be provided in installments based on the number of units if delivered on a periodic basis.

3. Identification of the single source or the brand name to be solicited.

Handix Scientific, in Fort Collins, Colorado, is the sole commercial producer of this instrument and is currently capable of manufacturing them to the required specifications in order to produce units that are interchangeable with those that CSL constructs themselves.

Handix Scientific 1613 Prospect Park Way Suite 100 Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 handixscientific.com

(720) 724-7658 sales@handix.com

Dr. Ping Chen

(303) 746-4099 chen.ping@handix.com

4. Supporting rationale. Only one source or brand name is reasonably available as detailed below:

● Compatibility to existing systems or equipment - The required supplies must be compatible in all aspects (form, fit, and function) with existing systems or equipment, and the source is uniquely qualified to meet the requirement.

CSL requires units that are identical to the sensors that were designed, constructed and are currently being used with respect to the size, weight, power, form factor and analytical qualities that meet the requirements for this project. CSL has extensive experience with the operation of these sensors and have previously validated their performance under the conditions required for their application. CSL originally designed and constructed this sensor themselves due to the lack of any available commercial instrument that meets their needs. Handix Scientific has replicated their original design and is now producing it commercially at a quality that meets the requirements.

● Other - Only one source is capable –

Handix Scientific is the only company that currently produces the Portable Optical Particle Spectrometer and the only company capable of producing them within the necessary timeframe to meet the immediate project needs. Without the requested procurement of POPS instruments from Handix Scientific, CSL will not be able to successfully carry out this research project.

Should a vendor other than Handix Scientific be selected, the government would incur significant harm to the project. The critical scientific objectives of studying stratospheric aerosol loading and properties, which rely on the unique specifications of the POPS instruments would be jeopardized. No other currently available commercial instrument meets these stringent requirements, particularly for high-altitude, low-pressure, and cold-temperature environments, and with the necessary low power consumption for battery-operated balloon sonde flights. This would lead to a failure in collecting essential data, rendering the research project unable to achieve its core scientific aims and resulting in a waste of resources invested in the broader project without the specialized instrumentation.

5. Market Research

The POPS sensor is unique among research grade optical particle counters (OPC) in its combination of small size, weight and power consumption while achieving a low particle size detection limit below 150 nm (0.15 µm). There are a number of commercially available, low-cost OPC instruments [e.g. AlphaSense OPC-N2, Plantower PMSx003, Shinyei PPD42NS], but they are designed for industrial or air quality applications and none have a claimed detection limit below 0.3 µm and a number of assessments in the peer-reviewed literature indicate their performance is of limited quality below 0.5 µm or even 1 µm particle diameter. With these minimum detectable sizes, most of the aerosol number in background conditions is not measured and they would be of no value for measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The mOPC Model 9405 from Brechtel Manufacturing, Inc. comes closest to the POPS performance, but still does not achieve the necessary detection limit [only 50% detection at 0.18 µm], has not been demonstrated to work at high altitude (low pressure, cold temperature), and has a power consumption of 20W, which would significantly compromise the run-time from battery on balloon sonde flights. Other research grade instruments with equal or better performance [e.g. DMT UHSAS, TSI LAS 3340] to the POPS are a factor of 10 or more heavier and significantly larger and therefore not suitable for CSL applications that require sub-kilogram weight for balloon applications. Handix Scientific has been able to reproduce the POPS instrument that CSL designed and built specifically to meet the various requirements and is currently the only source for an instrument that meets all of the requirements.

Additionally, the Contract Specialist issued a sources sought notice to SAM.gov on 08/01/2025 with a response date of 08/08/2025. No responses were received.

6. Technical/Requirements Representative Certification

7. Determination

I hereby determine that the circumstances of this action deem only one source is reasonably available. This determination is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Eliott Waxman Contracting Officer