Stable Optical Cavity Absolute Reference System

This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action under RFO Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services. This notice is for information only; a solicitation will not be issued. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION. No contract will be awarded on the basis of offers received in response to this notice. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 334516 (Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing) with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees.

The Government requires the procurement of a Stable Optical Cavity Absolute Reference System, and intends to negotiate a sole-source award for this requirement with Stable Laser Systems, 4946 63rd Street Suite B, Boulder, CO, 80301-3285.  Relevant part numbers and associated product descriptions are as follows:

Item 1, qty. 1 each – Part #: 6010-4

• Cylinder Cavity Assembly

Item 2, qty. 1 each – Part #: VH6010-4

• Vacuum Housing for Cylinder Cavity Assembly

Item 3, qty. 1 each – Part #: N/A

• Measurement of Zero Crossing Temperature of Notched Cavity Assembly

Item 4, qty. 1 each – Part #: N/A

• Temperature Controller Unit

Item 5, qty. 1 each – Part #: N/A

• Ion Pump Unit

The Government has determined that other companies' products do not meet or cannot be modified to meet the Government's needs.  Stable Laser Systems is the only known commercial vendor capable of offering a Stable Optical Cavity Absolute Reference System that meets the Government's following essential requirements:

Item 1 – Cylinder Cavity Assembly

• Spacer Specifications: 50 mm outer diameter x 100 mm length, FSR between 1.4-1.6 GHz, Premium grade ULE glass to stabilize a laser to drift less than 0.1 MHz/day

• Mirror Pair Specifications:

• ULE glass 1” diameter x 0.25” thick plano/plano,
• ULE glass 1” diameter x 0.25” thick concave/plano with 50 cm radius of curvature.
• Super polished finish on S1 and a surface quality of 10-5 or better, S2 will have a surface quality of 20-10 or better.

• Mirror coating specifications on side S1 of mirrors
  • Operational wavelength: 493 nm and 650 nm simultaneously
  • Finesse: between 750 - 2000
  • S2 AR percentage at normal incidence: less than 0.25%

 Item 2 – Vacuum Housing for Cylinder Cavity Assembly

• includes Zerodur mounting block with viton balls positioned (with recess).
• Vacuum can with notch for mounting block.
• Indium seal on the back flange and O-ring seal on the front flange.
• Thermal insulation and outer shell with heaters and thermistors.
• 1.33” Conflat tee is provided for coupling to vacuum components positioned on the back flange.
• Windows will be AR coated as in Line #1.
• The cavity is horizontal with equivalent optical access from either end of the vacuum housing.
• Vacuum housing pressure to be at least 10^-7 Torr or less
• Thermistor model to be used: MC65F103BTuning range: 1480 - 1640 nm or wider

Item 3 – Measurement of Zero Crossing Temperature of Notched Cavity Assembly

• A frequency vs temperature graph will be provided for optimal cavity temperature use. Optimal cavity temperature must be above dew point and below 150 C.

Item 4 – Temperature Controller Unit

• Temperature controller must be compatible with system and can tune vacuum housing to the zero-crossing temperature measured in Line #3.

Item 5 – Ion Pump Unit

• Ion pump, controller, HV cable to connect ion pump to ion pump controller, Valve to connect to 1.33” Conflat tee. Must pump system down to 10^-7 Torr or less as described in line #2

Market research yielded that the majority of standard optical suppliers do not offer these types of highly specialized systems.  One alternate vendor identified during market research offers optical reference cavities that meet the majority of the above-outlined specifications, but for the operational wavelength.  The required operational wavelengths, as stated above, are 493 nm and 650 nm simultaneously, whereas the alternate vendor’s optical reference cavity operates at a wavelength above 1500 nm.  Considering this, and also considering that Stable Laser Systems indicated that they are the sole manufacturer of the system and do not maintain an active network of resellers, a sole-source award to Stable Laser Systems is contemplated, as aforementioned.

This is a notice of proposed contract action and not a request for competitive proposals; however, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement or proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. All inquiries should be sent by email to Tabitha.Haggart@us.af.mil. Responses must be submitted by the date/time listed on the notice. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government in future procurements.

Responses received will be evaluated; however a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government anticipates an award on or before 30 September 2026.

A Sole Source Justification will be attached to the subsequent Notice of Award in accordance with applicable regulation.