Cryogenic Radiometer Electronic Control System– Combined Sources Sought/Notice of Intent to Sole Source

***THIS IS A COMBINED SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE***

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), The NIST critical mission includes establishing and disseminating the SI units through physical measurement standards. For optical power measurements, the NIST Primary Optical Watt Radiometer (POWR) serves as the Nation’s standard. POWR performs low-noise optical power calibrations using an instrument called an absolute cryogenic radiometer (ACR), a type of primary optical standard detector which allows optical power measurements to be traced directly to calibrated electrical power.  The control electronics for these devices are rather specialized, requiring two low-noise temperature control circuits monitored by alternating current (AC) resistance bridges. 

The purpose of this acquisition is to procure a modern, commercial-off-the-shelf control electronics system to replace an outdated system for the POWR absolute cryogenic radiometer (ACR). The new system must provide high-precision temperature control and accurate electrical substitution power measurements to prevent system failure and improve data collection efficiency through modern interfaces and control algorithms.

NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the objectives described above, in addition to the following essential requirements: 

General requirements of all components:

1. Should include two independent, low-noise 4-wire AC resistance bridges with automatic phase compensation for the POWR ACR receiver and heat sink:
   1. usable with resistive sensors (Germanium Resistance Thermometers) from 10 Ω to 100 kΩ
   2. sensor excitation frequency should be in the range from 100 Hz to 500 Hz 
   3. excitation currents from 200 nA to 1 mA
2. Two independent electrical substation heater outputs (one for the heat sink and one for the receiver):
   1. for temperature adjustment, control, and measurement of ACR electrical substitution heater power.
   2. There must be an additional two heaters on the ACR receiver (for a total of three heaters on the receiver) and the system must be able to select, via control software, one of two separate heaters on the receiver.
   3. maximum heater power should be 5 mW
   4. electrical substitution heater resolution should be less than 100 fW
   5. electrical substitution heater power measurement absolute uncertainty should be less than 20 ppm at or above 100 microwatts.
   6. The power supplied to the heaters must be true DC power with variable amplitude as opposed to pulsed.
3. Overall capability of the two temperature control circuits:
   1. should be capable of operation in both open-loop or closed-loop mode with Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) temperature control
   2. capable of servo-loop heater noise level less than 1 pW in open-loop or closed-loop mode
   3. resolution and repeatability within 10 ppm for heater powers above 10 microwatts
4. Input and output capability
   1. resolution of the D/A output and A/D monitoring of the heater power should be at minimum 24-bit
   2. capable of at least one reading per second
   3. ability to synchronize motion of shutters with measurements
5. The receiver heater power control circuit should provide feed-forward capability of adding a shutter-position-dependent power level to the PID output to minimize shutter-position-induced transients.
6. Should use 100 MB Ethernet and/or General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) connections for computer communication
7. LabVIEW or python-based control software for control and monitoring of the system.  LabVIEW (or python) source-code should be provided with purchase.
8. Should include a power supply with chassis mountable in a 19” rack
9. Should include all cabling shielded as required for proper operation with the system.
10. Power supply should plug into standard (NEMA 5-15R) 120 VAC, 60 Hz, grounded wall outlet, and require no more than 220 Watts.
11. Custom interface cables to the POWR ACR module through two (2), 25-pin DB connectors on the POWR cryostat should be provided based on wiring diagrams and specifications provided by NIST after receipt of order (ARO).
12. Custom support brackets for mounting the ACR electronics on or near the POWR cryostat should be provided based on mechanical drawings provided by NIST ARO.
13. NIST-traceable calibration of electrical power reading from the system.  The system must include hardware and software for re-calibration of the system by the user over time compatible with existing NIST POWR software.

NIST conducted market research from September 2025 through March 2026 by speaking with colleagues, performing internet searches, and speaking with vendors to determine what sources could meet NIST’s minimum requirements.  The results of that market research revealed that only L-1 Standards and Technology, Inc. (UEI: E219UNZLCLK3) appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements in particular compatibility to existing NIST POWR software.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response.  Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice.

• Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).
• Details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements.
• Whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization.
• Identify any aspects of the description of the requirements in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or create unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your firm’s ability to fully participate in a procurement for such services and explain why.  Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses.
• For the NAICS code
• Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business.  See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.
• If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement. 
• If your firm has existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts for products or services against which the Department may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.
• Describe your firm’s experience (as a prime, subcontractor, or consultant) providing the products or services described in Background section.
• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the Government to know as part of its market research for this requirement.
• Please let us know if you would like to engage to get a better understanding of the requirement or need additional information about the Government’s requirement for the products or services described in the Background section. 

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received with 5 days of this posting.  Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline.

IMPORTANT NOTES

The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future. 

This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. 

This notice is not a request for a quotation. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations.

No award will be made as a result of this notice.

NIST is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.

NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!