Steady-State and Time-Resolved Micro-Fluorescence Spectrometer System

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION OR AN INDICATION THAT A CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENT WILL EXIST AS A RESULT OF THIS RFI. This Sources Sought Notice (SSN) is in support of market research and procurement planning being conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Washington, DC. This SSN is for informational and planning purposes only and does not guarantee that this will be competed via SAM.GOV. The Government assumes NO financial responsibility for any costs incurred. A solicitation package is not available at this time.

Contracting Office Address: NRL, 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20375

OBJECTIVE: The intent of this RFI is to gauge industry interest and search for potential sources capable of fulfilling a requirement for a Steady-State and Time-Resolved Micro-Fluorescence Spectrometer System in accordance with the following technical requirements. The Government is currently in the planning stages for this procurement and may continue to modify the language within the requirement as necessary. These specifications do not necessarily represent the final specifications.

Technical Description: A combined steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer and fluorescence microscope system with circularly polarized luminescence module is required to support numerous current research programs by providing high-resolution spectral and temporal fluorescence data throughout the ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared spectrum to characterize powder, thin film, and solution samples at temperatures ranging from 77K to 378K.

The Steady-State and Time-Resolved Micro-Fluorescence Spectrometer System must meet the following specifications:

• The system must be modular to allow for upgrade or modification to accommodate experimental requirements
• The system must have double excitation and double emission monochromators
• The system must be able to detect steady-state and time-resolved optical emission between 250nm and 1700nm
• The system must have a spectral resolution <1nm
• The system must be equipped with a uv-visible detector sensitive over the wavelength range 200nm to 980nm with response time <1ns and dark count rate of <150 counts per second
• The system must also be equipped with a near infrared detector sensitive to wavelengths up to 1700nm with response time <1ns
• The system must have a signal-to-noise sensitivity of >20,000:1 corresponding to the water Raman line (350nm excitation, 5nm bandwidth) using the required detectors listed
• The system must be equipped with a continuous wave light source for steady-state optical excitation having an irradiance at 0.5m of >20mW m-2 nm-1 between 250nm and >1000nm
• The system must be equipped with detection of time-correlated single photon counting for time-resolved fluorescence lifetime measurements having an electronic jitter <30ps
• The system must be equipped with a picosecond pulsed white-light continuum source (~ 400nm to >1000nm) with the following characteristics:
  • Pulse repetition rate up to 1MHz
  • Pulse width <400ps
  • Average pulse power <5mW
  • Power stability <2% deviation
• The system must include picosecond pulsed light sources with excitation lines at 260nm, 280nm, 300nm, 320nm, 375nm, and 405nm with the following characteristics:
  • Pulse repetition rate up to 1MHz
  • Pulse width <400ps
  • Average pulse power <5mW
  • Power stability <2% deviation
• The system must be equipped with a thermoelectrically cooled 4-window sample cuvette holder for controlled temperature-dependent measurements at temperatures from <-10C to >+120C, with magnetic stirring
• The system must have a front face sample holder for solid samples
• The system must have a liquid nitrogen cryostat for low temperature fluorescence measurements, powder sample holder, cuvette sample holder, and a turbomolecular pump for the cryostat
• The system must have a stopped-flow accessory
• The system must have an integrating sphere (for spectral measurements between 250nm and 1700nm) and quantum yield accessory
• The system must be equipped with excitation and emission polarizers for polarization/anisotropy measurements (<250nm to 1700nm)
• The system must be equipped with an upright microscope (reflection and transmission) integrated with the excitation and detection elements of the primary spectrometer as described above. The microscope must be equipped with
  • Visible to NIR optical windows (<350nm to 1700nm)
  • 10x, 40x, and 100x objectives
  • polarizers
  • camera for fluorescence imaging and simultaneous viewing of sample under white light, and single-wavelength, or laser spot illumination
• The system must be equipped to acquire circularly polarized luminescence (range <250nm to >800nm) measurements
• The system must be supplied with vendor-supported software for turnkey end-to-end operation.

CONTRACTOR RESPONSE FORMAT: Interested parties, at a minimum, shall supply all of the below required information in a Capability Statement. (Reference RFI N00173-24-RFI- MF18 in your response)

1. CONTACT INFORMATION:

1.  Company Name and Address
2.  Point of Contact for questions/clarification
3.  Telephone Number and e-mail address
4.  DUNS Number, CAGE Code
5.  PSC Code of the proposed solution (SEE https://psctool.us)
6.  Business Size/Socioeconomic Categories

1. TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

a) List of capabilities/resources relevant to the above specification list.

1. COMMERCIALITY OF PROPOSED ITEM

a) Whether item(s) offered/proposed is a commercial item and is customarily used by the general public or non-government entities for the other than Government purposes.

b) Whether the item has been sold, leased, or licensed to the general public, and if so, identify one or more such sales, leases, or licenses to document the commerciality of the item.

1. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
   a) Provide a description of how the proposed product will meet or exceed each of the specifications as it is anticipated that ultimate evaluation will be lowest priced technically acceptable and a go/no go basis.

b) Provide a product brochure and highlight the areas that meet or exceed specifications.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT DETAILS:

Responses should be no more than 10 pages.