Applied Spectra Inc.

Applied Spectra Inc., a West Sacramento, California-based manufacturer of laser ablation and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instruments, sells specialized analytical equipment and maintenance services to federal scientific agencies and defense laboratories as a prime contractor (92% of recent awards), with occasional subcontract work through national laboratories and NASA contractors. Applied Spectra is a for-profit, small-business manufacturer competing predominantly in full-and-open and small-business set-aside procurements; the vendor does not hold SBA certifications such as 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, or WOSB.

Applied Spectra's concrete capability portfolio centers on laser-based analytical instrumentation for elemental and isotopic analysis, with named recent work including a $2.44 million Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Phase III SBIR definitive contract for the U-FIRST-II uranium isotope field testing program (awarded July 2022, completion April 2025); a $273 thousand National Institute of Standards and Technology Total Small Business purchase order for a J200 Tandem LIBS instrument for semiconductor supply-chain Standard Reference Materials development (September 2026); a $240 thousand U.S. Geological Survey Total Small Business purchase order for a 193-nanometer excimer laser ablation system for mineral analysis and geochronology research (September 2024); and a $198 thousand USGS purchase order for laser ablation system delivery (December 2023). The vendor also provides maintenance and upgrade services for existing customer instruments—including a $114 thousand sole-source USGS upgrade of an existing RESOlution-SE Tandem laser ablation system in Denver (March 2025) and recurring LIBS maintenance task orders from Naval Strategic Systems Programs and the Washington Headquarters Service.

Customer concentration is distributed across scientific and defense laboratories. The top five customers by award count account for 50% of recent awards, led by USGS (6 awards, $873 thousand), the Department of Energy Office of Science (5 awards), Naval Strategic Systems Programs (5 awards, $41 thousand), Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (5 awards, $550 thousand), and NASA Johnson Space Center (4 awards, $702 thousand). The top customers by combined potential value diverge somewhat: the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration anchors the portfolio with 2 awards worth $3.3 million, followed by USGS ($873 thousand), NASA Ames Research Center (3 awards, $825 thousand), and the Office of the Secretary of Defense ($998 thousand). The vendor serves 22 distinct federal customer agencies across 50 total awards, with primary NAICS concentration in Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (15 awards) and secondary focus on R&D services and equipment maintenance.

Applied Spectra does not hold positions on government-wide IDIQs, GWACs, or multi-agency BPAs; all recent prime awards are individual purchase orders issued by cognizant agencies. In its subcontract role, the vendor supplies femtosecond laser ablation instruments and warranty service packages to Triad National Security (Los Alamos National Laboratory management contract) and provides scientific equipment and warranty services through NASA Johnson Space Center contractors. Federal grant work includes a July 2023 Department of Energy Office of Science project grant for rapid beryllium analysis capability development to support nuclear site decontamination (ultimate completion April 2024). Activity remains steady at 3–4 awards per year over the past five years; three awards with combined potential value of $534 thousand face recompete inside the next twenty-four months.

Research and development for chemical analysis, nano-sampling, laser ablation, instrumentation design and manufacture, thin-film deposition, spectroscopic instrumentation, nano-particles (fabrication and analysis). Metal and isotope analysis.