Notice of Intent to Sole Source for NMR Gaussmeter

Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively acquire a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Gaussmeter

This notice is not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued, and quotations will not be requested.

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of RFO 12.102(a). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing which has a small business size standard of 1,000 employees.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML), Nanoscale Device Characterization Division, Advanced Electronics Group intends to purchase a gaussmeter whose operating principle is the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of protons. Additionally, the gaussmeter must be calibrated and traceable to international standards. 

A primary strategic focus of the division involves exploring the chemical and physical nature of atomic-scale defects in materials. Chief among these materials is diamond; including applications exploiting its wide bandgap properties for power electronics and its ultra-stable defect entities for use in quantum sensing applications.

The division is currently undertaking an effort to develop diamond-based magnetometers for magnetic field sensing. A critical aspect of this program is the precise measure of the electronic g-tensor of a specific diamond-based defect entity, the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center. Our ability to measure this quantity directly relates to our ability to calibrate the magnetic field of our magnets. Thus, we require an ultra-sensitive NMR gaussmeter. Additionally, our program requires that our measure of g-tensor be SI traceable and thus requires an SI-traceable measure of magnetic field.

The primary purpose of this acquisition is to measure magnetic field in an ultra-sensitive and SI-traceable manner by exploiting the nuclear magnetic resonance of protons. This unit will serve to measure and verify against international standards the magnetic fields of our existing magnet infrastructure. The ability to perform this is ultimately directly related to the sensitivity and traceability of the diamond-based magnetometers currently under development.

In order to realize this mission, NIST requires an NMR Gaussmeter that meets all essential minimum technical specifications identified below:

1. The gaussmeter shall operate on the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance of protons.
2. The gaussmeter shall be a standalone instrument that does not require integration or requirements of any other systems.
3. The gaussmeter shall have a precision of less than 0.01 parts per million in a stable magnetic field of 1.5 T.
4. The gaussmeter shall have an accuracy of plus or minus 5 parts per million that is independent of temperature.
5. The gaussmeter shall have a maximum field gradient of at least 1 mT per cm.
6. The gaussmeter shall have an operating frequency range covering at least 1 MHz to 1 GHz.
7. The gaussmeter shall have the ability to accept interchangeable probe heads for measuring a variety of different magnetic field ranges.
   1. The gaussmeter shall come furnished with one such probe head that shall
   2. Cover the magnetic field range of 200 mT through 500 mT.
   3. Include a remote passive measurement head in which the electronic components are separated from the active measurement area of the probe.
   4. Be sized such that the remote passive measurement area of the probe will fit into a space 1.5 mm x 9.5 mm.
8. The gaussmeter shall be calibrated and must
   1. Be traceable to standards maintained in accordance with international agreements and the SI system of units.
   2. Include a calibration certificate stating
      1. The instrument, serial number and date of calibration.
      2. The entity performing the calibration.
      3. Standards utilized.
      4. Measurement methods.
      5. Measurement results that include uncertainty.

NIST conducted market research from May to August 2026 to determine what sources could potentially meet NIST’s minimum requirements. This included searches on Google, GSA; SAM; surveying vendor websites; and issuance of a Sources Sought Notice on SAM.gov. Market research identified various manufacturers of NMR Gaussmeters, but only one can provide a commercial product that meets all of the above listed essential specifications. The results of market research revealed that only Metrolabs Technologies SA provides an NMR Gaussmeter that meets all required specifications (NMR Precision Teslameter PT2026), and GMW Associates is their sole, exclusive reseller of this product in the United States. Therefore, GMW Associates (UEI: D69RTQNNVGP4) appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements.

However, any sources that believe they are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements are encouraged to respond to this notice by the response date to provide the following information at a minimum: Company Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number in https://sam.gov; 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; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement may be competitively satisfied. 

A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Only responses received by the offers due date and time of this notice will be considered by the government. Responses shall be submitted via email to the primary point of contact indicated in this notice.