Quantum Design, Inc.

Quantum Design, Inc., a San Diego-based manufacturer of sophisticated laboratory instrumentation for materials research and scientific characterization, operates as a prime contractor (98% of recent awards) supplying specialized cryogenic systems, quantum measurement technologies, and precision detection equipment to federal research agencies on full-and-open, non-set-aside purchase orders. The company is a for-profit corporate entity classified under NAICS 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing) and competes without set-aside designations across its federal footprint, though two recent small-business set-aside awards from the Office of Naval Research (a $40,385 dilution cryocooler procurement in August 2025 and a $104,499 vacuum detector system in August 2025) and one from the Air Force Research Laboratory (a $230,500 superconducting nanowire single-photon detector system in September 2021) document intermittent small-business positioning.

Customer concentration is heavily skewed toward civilian research agencies. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) anchors the portfolio with 38 awards carrying $6 million in combined potential value, followed by the Office of Naval Research with 24 awards worth $2.5 million, the Air Force Research Laboratory with 10 awards worth $2.1 million, and the Bureau of Naval Personnel with 12 awards worth $1 million — these four customers account for roughly 70% of all awards and 90% of combined potential value. Representative prime work includes a $383,877.73 liquid helium recovery system contract from NIST (February 2023, completed September 2025), a $224,900 SQUID magnetometer upgrade from NIST (awarded May 2025), a $132,450 dilution refrigerator system from the Office of Naval Research (December 2023), and a $98,980 scanning electron microscope direct electron detector from NIST (April 2026). The source reflects five parent indefinite delivery contracts with one or two task orders each, indicating that Quantum Design places work through specific Navy and Air Force IDIQs rather than government-wide vehicles.

Award activity has remained modest and variable — two awards in 2022, three in 2023, eight in 2024, four in 2025, and three as of April 2026 — with a long award history reaching back to March 1984. Combined potential value across 139 total awards stands at $13.6 million, though obligated dollars total $18.3 million, indicating that completion and receipt-of-goods activity on completed contracts has exceeded outstanding potential value. Only two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, carrying $122 thousand in combined potential value and presenting minimal near-term recompete exposure. Quantum Design operates as a sub-contractor on a limited basis, with three sub-awards identified: engineering supplies support to the University of Dayton's Terminal Burst Point Control Science Research program (May 2024) and laboratory scientific equipment supply to Los Alamos National Laboratory through Triad National Security prime management contracts (February and March 2024). The company's footprint is concentrated in analytical laboratory instrumentation (79 awards) and measuring and controlling device manufacturing (19 awards), with service and repair work rounding out the remainder.