1-07_JA_under_SAP_for_PR_69-0081-18_-REDACTED.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

4555 OVERLOOK AVE SW

WASHINGTON, DC 20375-5320

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition Under

Simplified Procedures For Certain Commercial Items In Accordance With Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5

PURCHASE REQUEST NO. 69-0081-18

J&A NO: J&A13.501-TL27

Estimated Cost: $380,000.00

On the basis of the following, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve the use of a sole source proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of :

☒ 41 U.S.C. 1901 ☐ 41 U.S.C. 1903

1. The U.S. Department of Navy; Naval Research Laboratory Contracting Division proposes to enter into a sole source contract with Coherent, Inc., under simplified procedures for certain commercial items included in FAR subpart 13.5.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved, i.e., sole source under procedures for certain commercial items in accordance with FAR 13.5.

Code 6900 has a requirement to procure a Turnable Laser System, to carry out experiments to elucidate and understand the nanoscale physics of the ultra-fast, non-thermal, welding of plasmonic nanoparticles into IR nanoantennae. This system will also be used to manufacture these IR nanoantennae in bulk quantities. The system must be robust, as specified below, in Table I, due to the long run times, and have sufficient protection to survive operating in harsh environments (e.g. NRL infrastructure, Blue Plains, etc).

The requirement would be procured at a firm-fixed-price, on a sole source basis, under procedures for certain commercial items, in accordance with FAR 13.5.

3. A description of the supplies and/or services required, including the delivery schedule and/or the period of performance (inclusive of all option periods), and the estimated dollar value of the acquisition.

The laser system contains the specifications, as listed in Table I, with an estimated delivery time of twenty-four (24) weeks ARO and an estimated cost of $380,000.00.

TABLE I

1. A continuously tunable (480nm-2600nm) pulsed laser system with large pulse energies across the entire tuning spectrum.

2. Pulse energy must be greater than 7 mJ and pulse width must be less than <100 fs.

3. Center wavelength must be 800 nm.

4. Pre-Pulse Contrast Ratio must be > 1000:1 and Post-Pulse Contrast Ratio must be > 100:1

5. Power Stability must be <0.5 % rms measured over 24 hours.

6. Beam pointing stability must be <10 rad rms measured over 24 hours.

7. Polarization must be linear, horizontal.

8. Beam diameter must be 11mm nominal.

9. Beam mode quality must be TEM00 and better than: M2 < 1.3

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10. 40% conversion to parametric light at peak.

11. Lockouts must be standard Vitara.

12. For reliability, maintainability and simplicity the Ti:sapphire rod in regen needs to be water-only cooled (no TEC)

13. Older round-rod based Ti:S rod will be avoided, rather slab Ti:S rod design for the most efficient cooling should be used to improve cooling efficiencies.

14. The Regen pump laser needs be in same enclosure as amplifier

15. Water-cooling needs to be used for all systems and sub-systems (osc, pump, regen, S/C) to stabilize the temperature. The water cooling should come from 1 chiller (except if Vitara-T-HP is used for oscillator)

16. Shielded high-speed drivers that are water-cooled must be used on the system.

17. For maximum stability no regen optics will be mounted using posts off the sub-plate. All regen optics need to be mounted directly to temp-stabilized baseplate

18. To enhance the reliability and stability, the stretcher-compressor assembly must be O-ring sealed, which requires input and output windows on S/C assembly.

19. For independent control of injection of the seed pulse and ejection of the amplified pulse, 2 Pockels cell in regen must be used and they must be shielded with Faraday cages.

20. Must have capability to have a tunable closed box seed oscillator which produces >70nm of bandwidth.

21. The oscillator must have the capability to be locked to an external reference clock.

22. Must have capability of a CEP compatible oscillator.

23. To provide longer life, the pump laser must be capable of operating at de-rated power and be specified at >38 mJ to provide larger operational headroom.

24. Long term pulse stability must be demonstrated without recourse to active compensation systems, potentially conflicting with data collection.

25. A robustness and optimum reliability assessment (HASS testing or equivalent) should be carried out on the amplifier system, including the oscillator, pump, regen and stretcher/compressor

26. Procedures should be developed as an ongoing product development program to carry out highly accelerated life tests (HALT or equivalent using (HALT/HASS type procedures).

27. Due to volatile organic compounds in the air at NRL, which attach to and degrade the optical elements, we require that the stretcher and compressor gratings in the regenerative amplifier be shielded from these airborne pollutants.

4. The statutory authority permitting sole source.

☒ 41 U.S.C. 1901 ☐ 41 U.S.C. 1903

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring use of the authority.

The Coherent design is unique in that they seal the entire stretcher and compressor in a single module using an O-ring seal to completely isolate the sensitive gratings from the environmental elements. Because of this sealed assembly, the end user is guaranteed to have worry-free operation in the most demanding conditions.

The module also uses slab shaped Ti-S rods which are more stable and allows the beam to pass though Brewster cut windows without additional coatings, thereby eliminating any higher order dispersive affects.

To maintain long-term pulse stability, Coherent developed the compressors with a robust, fixed design that

1-07 JA under SAP for PR 69-0081-18 -REDACTED pg. 3 does not require active compensation. Coherent has also designed their system to reduce EMI by shielding bothe the high speed drivers and the pockels which reduces EMI effects on other components. To maximize stability, all regen optics are directly mounted to a thermal stable base plate in the Coherent system.

Coherent’s design of their system will allow for the long-term stability and robustness that is require to meet NRL’s needs.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure offers/quotes are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized in FEDBIZOPPS (as required by FAR 5.2) and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

A formal Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought was posted to FedBizOpps on 21 November 2017, via Sources Sought Notice NRL-18-GF01, in an effort to ensure offers/quotes would be solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable. The Sources Sought closed on 01 December 2017.

Additionally, a Notice of Intent to award a sole source contract to Coherent, Inc., of Santa Clara, CA, was posted to FedBizOpps, via special notice N00173-18-NOI-TL27, on 20 September 2018. It closed 05 October 2018.

7. The anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition, including options if applicable, and a determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable.

The total anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition is $380,000.00. The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated price to the Government will be fair and reasonable based on market research and a price list, if available.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or the reason market research was not conducted.

Market research was conducted for a turnable laser system, via the following market research methods:

A formal Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought was posted to FedBizOpps on 21 November 2017, via Sources Sought Notice NRL-18-GF01, in an effort to ensure offers/quotes would be solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable. The Sources Sought closed on 01 December 2017.

Additionally, a Notice of Intent to award a sole source contract to Coherent, Inc., of Santa Clara, CA, was posted to FedBizOpps, via special notice N00173-18-NOI-TL27, on 20 September 2018. It closed 05 October 2018.

A summary of the responses is provided below.

COMPANY: COHERENT, INC. 5100 PATRICK HENRY DR. SANTA CLARA, CA 95054

An assessment of Coherent’s solution submitted in response to “Request for Information NRL-18-GF01, was conducted, comparing the proposed solution to the technical requirements shown in Table 1. The Coherent, Inc. submission meets or exceeds all technical requirements.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of sole source.

None http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/05.htm#P56_9651 http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/05.htm#P67_10794

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10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

Vendor Name

Location Point of Contact Capability Type of Business

Coherent, Inc.

Santa Clara, CA

John Miles

(703) 451-3800 John.Miles@coherent.com

Coherent’s proposed solution appears capable of meeting and/or exceeding all requirements

Proposed solution includes an Astrella amplifier, which is a chirped-pulsed amplifier producing 7mJ, sub-35fs, at 1kHz and is made up of four different sub-systems: 1) sealed Vitara-S oscillator; 2) sealed stretcher/compressor; 3) REvolution Nd:YLF pump laser; 4) STAR regenerative amplifier cavity.

Large Business

11. A statement of any actions the agency will take to remove or overcome any future barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

This is a one-time purchase to acquire a single machine that is best suited to NRL’s research needs.

Should the need for additional procurements of these specialized devices arise, additional market research will be conducted to determine market availability.