Sources Sought Notice .pdf

Notice ID Number 1333ND-25-01840

Title: Sources Sought Notice for Entangled Photon Source

Department of Commerce -NIST Purchase Request Number: NB674000-25-01840

The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs.

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Communication Technology Laboratory, Smart Connected Services Division, Transformational Networks and Services Group has a requirement for the following system:

The Transformational Networks and Services group develops measurement science, test, and measurement techniques, and best practices to enable new disruptive network technologies, including high-performance networking, 5G/6G core networks, optical and quantum networking, cloud computing, information-centric networks, end-to-end service management, edge intelligence, and applications such as teleoperation of automated vehicles.

To continue its effort in supporting NIST overall objective, the research group aims to procure an entangled photon source, of which is fundamental for the operation of a fully developed quantum network. At the heart of such protocols are entangled photon pair sources, which serve as the building blocks for performing entanglement swapping across distant nodes. To enable this functionality, we require polarization entangled photon sources based on atomic systems that offer well-defined wavelengths and spectral properties. In particular, the source should be based on a rubidium vapor cell, producing entangled photons at 1330 nm and 800 nm. This wavelength combination is specifically chosen to enable interfacing with quantum memories and ensure compatibility within the network infrastructure. Furthermore, the source should be capable of generating at least 5 million entangled photon pairs per second to support high swapping rate.

Specifications:

The Vendor shall deliver (1) one, fully operational ‘Rubidium Vapor Cell Based Entangled Photon Source’ and ancillary instruments (if any) delivered to the NIST Gaithersburg campus.

The contractor shall also provide installation, and testing and validation of system operation. All are inclusive of F.O.B. Destination delivery, installation, and warranty.

I. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications 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 are 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.

Line Item 0001: Rubidium Vapor Cell Based Entangled Photon Source Description: The contractor must provide a fully operational ‘Rubidium Vapor Cell Based Entangled Photon Source’ that meets the following technical specifications.

Quantity: One (1)

A. Technical Specifications

1.1 Warm rubidium vapor, spontaneous four-wave mixing polarization entangled photon source

1.2 Biochromatic photons pairs are at 1324 nm and 795 nm

1.3 Sub-GHz photonic spectral linewidth

1.4 More than 5 million photon pairs/sec with a gSI >= 50

1.5 Heralding efficiency more than 30%

1.6 State fidelity more than 95%

1.7 S parameter greater than 2.7

1.8 Rack mountable

1.9 Continuous Operation: Designed for reliable 24/7 operation

1.10 Power Requirements: 110 V, 15 A

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.

Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response: Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice. Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response.

• Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).

• Identify the equipment that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice. For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following:

o Manufacturer name o Model number o Technical specifications o If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s)

• Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response.

o Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization.

• Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why.

Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive.

https://sam.gov/

• State whether the proposed equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured.

• Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned equipment and provide relevant details, including timeline.

• For the NAICS code listed in this notice:

o Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.

o If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement.

• Describe services that are available with the purchase of the aforementioned equipment from your company such as installation, training, and equipment maintenance.

• Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order;

FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; equipment setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services. Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified equipment, if available.

• State whether your company offers facility renovation services related to installation of the recommended equipment at its delivery destination, if required per the NIST-identified minimum specifications, and provide description of said services. Indicate if your company performs the facility renovation services or typically subcontracts the work to another company. Indicate if your company would be interested in inspecting the intended installation site during the market research phase.

• State published price, discount, or rebate arrangements for recommended equipment and/or provide link to access company’s published prices for equipment and services.

• If the recommended equipment and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.

• Identify any customers in the public or private sectors to which you provided the recommended or similar equipment. Include customer(s) information: company name, phone number, point of contact, email address.

• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for NIST to know as part of its market research for this requirement.

https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards

• State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received by [June 10, 2025]. If the Contracting Officer determines that providing a written amendment to this notice to document question(s) received would benefit other potential respondents, the questions would be anonymized, and a written response to such question(s) would be provided via an amendment to this notice.

IMPORTANT NOTES

This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. There is no solicitation available at this time.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response.

NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate.

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).

The responses shall not exceed [5 ] pages including all attachments, charts, etc.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!