Optical Fiber Automation Equipment

The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) seeks information on vendors that are capable of providing Optical Fiber Automation Equipment.

The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications identified below. All items must be new.  Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered.  The use of “gray market” components are not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor is not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

Line Item 0001:

Description:  Optical Fiber Automation Equipment

Quantity:  1

1. Technical Specifications for entire system

1. A compact system such as a mainframe with the following subcomponents
   1. 3 x 1 fiber switch
   2. 2 x 1 fiber switch
   3. 2 fiber optical shutters
   4. 2 optical attenuators.

The technical specifications for each of the subcomponents will be described separately.

1. The system must be optical fiber based, with SMF-28 fiber and FC/APC connections.
2. The system should be addressed by a single computer connection via GPIB
3. It must be possible to control the instrument via custom LabVIEW or Python software.
4. The sum of insertion losses of all subcomponents must be less than 8 dB. This can be achieved with for example < 1.4 dB insertion loss for every subcomponent, or by having some subcomponents with higher and some with lower insertion losses, summing to less than 8 dB.
5. All subcomponents must tolerate 50 mW input power.

1. Technical specifications for subcomponent A, 3x1 fiber switch

1. FC/APC input and output for SMF-28  fiber
2. The switch must connect any of at least three inputs to a single output. Larger numbers of inputs or outputs are acceptable, however.
3. The switch must operate over a range from 1260-1650 nm.
4. Must be computer controllable via GPIB.

1. Technical specifications for subcomponent B, 2x1 fiber switch

1. FC/APC input and output for SMF-28  fiber
2. The switch must connect any of at least two inputs to a single output. Larger numbers of inputs or outputs are acceptable, however.
3. The switch must operate over a range from 1260-1650 nm.
4. The switch must be repeatable to better than 0.1% over a period of an hour.
5. Must be computer controllable via GPIB.

1. Technical specifications for subcomponent C, optical shutter
   1. FC/APC input and output for SMF-28 fiber
   2. The shutter must block the light with better than 80 dB rejection in the wavelength range from 1260 nm – 1650 nm.
   3. Tolerate 10 mW input power.
   4. Must be computer controllable via GPIB.
2. Technical specifications for subcomponent D, optical attenuator
   1. FC/APC input and output for SMF-28 fiber
   2. Operate at 1310 and 1550 nm with attenuations from 0 to 75 dB possible.
   3. Must be computer controllable via GPIB.
   4. The total attenuation could be achieved (for example) with two attenuator modules in series if necessary.

The purpose of this notice is to identify organizations capable of providing the necessary items and meeting the minimum contractor qualifications.

This announcement is not a Request for Proposals or Quotes (RFP/RFQ) and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. The information contained in this notice is DRAFT only and as such, is subject to change prior to issuance of a solicitation. No solicitation is available at this time.
 

After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, NIST may conduct a competitive or non-competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. NIST will use the results of this sources sought notice to determine whether to proceed on a sole source basis or competitively if it is determined that other vendors could potentially meet NIST's needs. This requirement is assigned a NAICS code of 334516 with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees.

Interested business organizations that believe they are capable of meeting the requirement should submit electronic copies of their capability statement. Please limit responses to four (4) pages or less. Responses should include the following information:

1. Name of company that will provide product.
2. Name of company that will manufacture the product.
3. Spec sheets and examples of products that meet the specifications.
4. Typical lead time to deliver the product after receipt of order.
5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.

Any proprietary information should be so marked. The written capability statement should be received by the Contract Specialist, Matthew M. Delgado by email at matthew.delgado@nist.gov no later than 1 p.m. MST Friday, March 14, 2025. The capability statement shall identify the business status of the organization. No quotes will be accepted at this time and will not be considered.