Cryogenic Circulators

This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action under the FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services and FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Notice is for information only; a solicitation will not be issued. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION. No contract will be awarded on the basis of offers received in response to this notice. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334515 Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals) with a small business size standard of 750 employees.

The Government requires the procurement of cryogenic microwave circulators, and intends to negotiate a sole-source award for this requirement with Quinstar Technology, 24085 Garnier St. Torrance, CA 90505.  The applicable Quinstar Technology part number and associated description for the required cryogenic microwave circulators is as follows:

• QCY-G03000602AU-R-1  / 3-6 GHz double junction Cryo Circulator w/ standard shielding

The Government has determined that other companies’ products and services do not meet or cannot be modified to meet the Government’s needs.  Quinstar Technology is the only known commercial vendor that offers cryogenic microwave circulators that meet the Government’s following essential requirements:

• 3 GHz or below minimum frequency of operation
• 30 dB or higher signal isolation

Interchanges with Quinstar Technology have yielded that they are the sole-source provider of the required cryogenic microwave circulators, and do not maintain a network of resellers.

This is a notice of proposed contract action and not a request for competitive proposals; however, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement or proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. All inquiries should be sent by email to tiffany.slopka@us.af.mil. Responses must be submitted by the date/time listed on the notice. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government in future procurements.

Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government anticipates an award date on or before 15 April 2024.

A Sole Source Justification will be attached to the subsequent Notice of Award in accordance with applicable regulation.