Flexible Superconducting Coaxial Cables

This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action under FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services, and FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This 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 335929– (Other Communication and Energy Wire Manufacturing) with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees.

The Government requires the procurement of qty. 72 flexible, hand-formable superconducting coaxial cables, and intends to negotiate a sole-source award for this requirement with Quantum Coax, LLC., 1100 Agate Ave, Bozeman, MT 59718.  Relevant Quantum Coax part numbers and product descriptions are as follows:

Part Number:

 NbTi MicroFlex Coax Cable Assembly

Product Description:

Niobium-Titanium Microflex 0.047” flexible coaxial cable, 50 ohm, 12 inch length, SMA male straight non-magnetic connectors (both ends)

The Government has determined that other companies' products do not meet or cannot be modified to meet the Government's needs.  Quantum Coax is the only known commercial vendor capable of offering flexible, hand-formable superconducting coaxial cable assemblies, which are required for reconfiguration of a variety of experiments within cryostats on approximately a monthly basis.  While several other companies produce superconducting coaxial cables, no others have been found to meet the required flexibility and reconfigurability requirements while also being superconducting at temperatures from 0 to 4 Kelvin.  All other identified coaxial cables are semi-rigid and do not allow for frequent bending and re-bending, as required for the Government’s use, without significant risk of breaking or becoming damaged to the point of no longer being useful.  Moreover, the Government already owns and is currently using in its experiments Quantum Coax branded hand-bendable superconducting coaxial cables.  Procurement of a consistent brand of superconducting coaxial cable to those currently in use by the Government ensures hardware uniformity within the existing experimental setups thereby minimizing overall risk.  Interchanges with Quantum Coax have yielded that they are the sole-source provider of the required superconducting coaxial cables and do not actively maintain a network of resellers for their products.  Accordingly, as aforementioned, the intent is to make a sole-source award for the required cables to Quantum Coax.

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 directed via email to Jennifer.calandra@us.af.mil. Responses must be submitted by the deadline indicated in the notice. Any response to this notice must provide clear and convincing evidence that competition would be beneficial to the Government in future procurements. The Government will evaluate responses but reserves the right to not compete this procurement based on the information provided. The anticipated award date is on or before 30 September 2024.

A Sole Source Justification will accompany the subsequent Notice of Award in accordance with applicable regulations.