Swabian Time Tagger

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

Contracting Opportunities Announcement Type: Special Notice
Announcement Number: NB771030-26-01579

Subject: Swabian time tagging units for single photon counting

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

Purpose
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate a firm-fixed priced purchase order on a sole source basis with Swabian Instruments USA, Inc. located at 4 Lucy St, Boston, MA 02125-2698. The purchase order will specifically procure two (2) TimeTaggerX that is manufactured by Swabian Instruments, GmbH located in Germany. Delivery shall occur within 30 days after receipt of an order. The TimeTaggerX will be used for single photon counting and will assist with NIST’s research of developing a measurement test suite for quantum network component and protocol testing, verification, and characterization.

Authority
This acquisition is being conducted in accordance with FAR 12.102, citing the statutory authority 41 U.S.C. 1901 to solicit from only one source using simplified procedures. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334515 – Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals with the small business size standard of 750 Employees.

Description
NIST requires a quantity of two (2) Swabian Time Tagger X Systems (and software).  The Swabian Time Tagger X System & Software time tagging unit for single photon counting shall consist of the following specifications:

• 5 channel streaming time tagging system
• 2 ps resolution (rms jitter)
• A channel deadtime of less than 1.5 ns
• Full software package, to include development kit with programming examples for implementation into Matlab, Python, Labview and C++, and lifetime software and firmware updates. Software needs to be compatible with the software suite developed at NIST on the existing Time Tagger X and Time Tagger 20 manufactured by Swabian.

Sole Source Determination
The sole source determination is based on the following:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology requires two Swabian X time tagging units to be implemented into our quantum component measurement suite. In order to perform most state-of-the art measurements of most state-of-the art single photon devices, such as detectors and sources, the required dedicated time tagging unit shall allow determination of a single photon's arrival time. This time tagging unit shall allow NIST to characterize afterpulsing, dark noise and source response times. All these measurements have already been implemented in a similar system also using a Swabian X time tagger, and an extensive software and data acquisition library has been written by NIST researchers. Results would not be comparable to results produced from experiments using other time tagging units not produced by Swabian. The Swabian Time Tagger X is the only system that is compatible with this software and the existing research produced from it. A software change as a result of using a time tagging unit from other than one produced by Swabian would result in a significant time delay that would be required to achieve a fully operational unit able to be used with existing research. Per market research, no other sources exist that sell Swabian time tagging units. NIST intends to solicit this requirement directly from Swabian Instruments USA, Inc.

Swabian Instruments, GmbH authorizes one domestic (US-based) distributor to coordinate domestic sales for Swabian products. Swabian Instruments USA, Inc is the exclusive, authorized domestic distributor for the Time Tagger X manufactured by Swabian Instruments, GmbH. Swabian Instruments USA, Inc. and is located at 37R Juniper St, Roxbury, MA 02119-1750. The required Time Tagger X must be purchased directly from Swabian Instruments USA, Inc. and no other authorized resellers exist.

Information for Interested Parties
Interested parties that believe they could satisfy the requirements listed above for NIST may clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing by or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation.

Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to Brian Jamieson, Contract Specialist, at Brian.Jamieson@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted via email to brian.jamieson@nist.gov so that they are received no later than June 18, 2026, at 12:00 PM, Eastern Time.

Each response should include the following Business Information:

1. Contractor Name, Address,
2. Point of Contact Name, Phone Number, and Email address
3. Contractor DUNS
4. Contractor Business Classification (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, hubZone, veteran owned, etc.) as validated in System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors must have an active registration in www.SAM.gov.
5. Capability Statement