Optical fiber power meter (2-channel)

This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY.  Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response.  The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small business sources. This notice is strictly for market research and information purposes only. Your responses will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the essential requirements included in the “Description” section below for this effort.  If no alternate sources are identified, the Government intends to negotiate a firm-fixed price purchase order for the purchase of one Keysight Technologies Inc. High Sensitivity Optical Power Meter (2 Channel), model number N7747C-STD, on a brand name only basis.

This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for conducting a follow-on acquisition.  NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested.  No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information.  NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information.  In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper.

 

NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME.

Background:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)/Quantum Information Group applies expertise in mathematical subdisciplines such as combinatorics, graph theory, network science, operations research, optimization, discrete nonlinear dynamics, computational geometry, quantum mechanics, and information theory. Researchers apply their knowledge and skills in areas such as the experimental quantum optics, fundamental models of physics, chemistry, biology, and information systems, complex systems analysis, pattern recognition, and quantum computing and communications. In collaboration with NIST and outside scientists, the group develops, analyzes, and applies related mathematical and experimental methods and tools for critical problems of measurement science at NIST, and develops mathematical foundations for the measurement science of information systems.

Purpose:

The purpose of this acquisition is to obtain a one Keysight N7747C-STD 2-Channel fiber optical power meter (OFPM). The OFPM will be used for the DARPA Quanet phase 2 integration event to characterize the optical fiber links used in this event. The OFPM will be integrated into our quantum network and component measurement suite as a moveable rack-mounted measurement capability. It will assist with NIST’s research on developing a movable measurement test suite for quantum network components and protocol testing, verification, and characterization, as well as DARPA's Quanet phase 2 event. The test suite will be implemented on the DC-QNet infrastructure with a fiber network dedicated to quantum optical signal transfer between various quantum network nodes.

Requirement:

The 2-Channel High Sensitivity Optical Power Meter, quantity one (1) shall meet or exceed the salient characteristics identified below:

• 2 channel inputs
• Operating wavelength range 800 nm to 1700 nm
• Power range –110 dBm to +10 dBm
• Averaging time 25 µs to 10 s
• Linearity: < ± 0.030 dB (in operating temperature range)
• Polarization dependent responsivity < ± 0.005 dB
• Drift: < ± 0.05 pW
• Noise peak-to-peak (dark) < 0.08 pW      
• 2 Connector interfaces, each for LC, FC, and E-2000

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this sources sought notice may be submitted via email to Hing Pan Wong, Contract Specialist, at hnw6@nist.gov. Questions are due by or before 11:00 AM ET on Apr 22, 2026. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline.

RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

All responsible small business sources able to provide the services described above are asked to email a response to Hing Pan Wong, Contract Specialist, at hnw6@nist.gov by or before 11:00 AM ET on Apr 30, 2026.

Please include the following information in the response:

1. 1. Name of company authorized to provide services, along with their address and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, and email address).
   2. The company’s primary NAICS, size classification, and socio-economic status (i.e., Small Business, Woman Owned Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.).
   3. Specific description of capabilities in relation to the three key task areas identified in this sources sought notice.
   4. Information on any GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) or other Government-wide contracts through which the company offers these services, if applicable.
   5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider.

Responses are limited to a maximum total of six (6) pages in MS Word or searchable PDF format.
 

IMPORTANT NOTES

This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.

The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response; however, NIST will recognize as restricted or proprietary data which is clearly marked such.