Diverse Wavelength Ring Laser

Synopsis #: FA8601-19-R-0010
Notice Type: Special Notice
Synopsis:
The United States Air Force, AFLCMC/Base Support Contracting Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433-5344. This is a Sole Source synopsis published for informational purposes only. This proposed action is for the procurement of a Diverse Wavelength Ring Laser for the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT/ENP) located at Wright-Patterson AFB. The reason for lack of competition is that M Squared Lasers' Diverse Wavelength Ring Laser is the only equipment available that is able to meet all of AFIT's minimum requirements listed in the statement of work. The Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(ii).

This proposed procurement will be a Sole Source under North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing and FSC code 6650 - Optical Instruments. Business size standard for NAICS 334516 is 1,000 employees.

The proposed source is M Squared Lasers INC. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract regardless of responses that may be received to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations. However, all responsible sources or authorized distributors may submit a capability statement, proposal, quotation or exception to the intent to purchase on a sole source basis, which shall be considered by the Government if received by Wednesday, 28 November 2018 by 10:00 am EST and meets all the following requirements:

Minimum requirements:
(1) Power: The core titanium sapphire ring laser must achieve at least 4 Watts of peak output power between wavelengths of 700-1,000 nm, and at least 100 mWatts of peak power between 515-660 nm range, at least 50 mWatts of peak power between 302-347 nm range, at least 1 W of peak power in the 350-500 nm range, and at least 10 mWatts in the 210-250 nm range.
(2) Size: The system must be compact to allow for additional equipment in the operational environment - the core titanium sapphire ring laser should be smaller than 30 x 18 x 10 cm.
(3) Environment Immunity: The core titanium sapphire ring laser must be hermetically sealed to prevent dust from entering the cavity while simultaneously allowing for purge times of less than 10 minutes.
(4) Robustness: The core titanium sapphire ring laser surviving environment trauma (for example, drops from heights of at least 1 m, extreme vibration, or similar) must be demonstrated.
(5) Demonstrated Performance: A list of existing customers using the ring laser system must be provided with contact information to demonstrate prior performance.
(6) Remote Operation: The core titanium sapphire ring laser must have no manually adjustable parts that require human intervention while still being fully tunable from 700 to 1,000 nm with software development kits available in LabView and Python.
(7) Scanning Parameters: The core titanium sapphire ring laser must have scan rates of up to 200 GHz/sec with mode-hop free wavelength scanning over 5 nm with up to 10 kHz resolution in less than 10 minutes. High resolution single scan widths must be at least 25 GHz wide.
(8) Amplitude Noise: The core titanium sapphire ring laser must have an amplitude noise of 0.1% RMS or better.
(9) Linewidth: The core titanium sapphire ring laser must have an absolute linewidth of 50 KHz or better.
(10) Wavelength Access: Additional modules must allow for tunability over the spectral ranges of 210-250 nm, 302-347 nm, 350-500 nm, 515-660 nm, and 700-1,000 nm.
(11) Visible Frequency Doubling Mechanism: The core titanium sapphire ring laser must be coupled to a visible frequency doubled for the range of 350-500 nm and must achieve at least 35% conversion efficiency. The frequency doubling cavity must not need temperature control.
(12) Pump Source: The laser system must include a single mode Verdi V18 as the pump source to support mixing modules.
(13) Chillers: The laser system must include any chillers needed to support all normal operations.
(14) Mixing sources: The laser system must include all pump sources required for mixing to achieve all tunable ranges.
(15) Wavemeter: The laser system must give a wavelength reference using a wavemeter for fast feedback of the laser output with resolution and sample speed equal to or better than a High Finesse WS-6. The wavemeter must also include all optics for coupling and integrate with the ring laser control software to support wavelength estimates for all tunable wavelength ranges listed.
(16) Laser Dye: The laser system must not contain or require any laser dye or laser dye medium for operation at any wavelength.
(17) Control System: The laser system must include all hardware, firmware, software, and computer systems needed for operation.
(18) Documentation: Full documentation for maintaining, operating, and repairing the laser system, including all control software, must be included.
(19) Updates: Future software updates will be made available to AFIT as they become available free of additional charges.
(20) Installation & Training: The complete laser system must be installed in AFIT's laboratory and the manufacturer must provide hands on training for all operation and maintenance of the laser system (for example, the training traditionally given to new field technicians). A complete user guide for all operations must be included. A complete maintenance manual for all repairs must be included.

Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.
In order to comply with FAR 5.207(c)(15), the reason for lack of competition is as follows: M Squared Lasers INC. provides the only Diverse Wavelength Ring Laser capable of satisfying the full list of the Government's requirements. Other vendors provided their Diverse Wavelength Ring Laser capabilities during the market research phase, but none could meet all of the technical requirements.
The Department of Defense (DoD) has determined the System for Award Management (SAM) to be the single DoD registration for contractors who conduct business or who are interested in conducting business with the DoD. Contractors must be registered in SAM prior to award for solicitations issued after 29 May 2012. You may contact SAM at 866-606-8220. SAM website: www.SAM.gov
Any information should be e-mailed to hannah.wood.3@us.af.mil no later than 10:00 am EST on Wednesday, 28 November 2018. Only inquiries/Information received by this date and time will be considered.
Be advised that all correspondence sent via email shall contain a subject line that reads "FA8601-19-R-0010 Diverse Wavelength Ring Laser". Note that email filters at Wright-Patterson AFB are designed to filter emails without subject lines or with suspicious subject lines or contents (i.e., .exe, or .zip files). Therefore, if this subject line is not included, the email may not get through the email filters. Also be advised that .zip or .exe files are not allowable attachments and may be deleted by the email filters at Wright-Patterson AFB. If sending attachments with email ensure only .pdf, .doc, or .xls documents are sent. The email filter may delete any other form of attachments.

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