Coherent Discovery NX Laser

Notice ID:

NICHD-22-042

Department/Ind. Agency:

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF

Sub-tier:

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF

Sub Command:

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NICHD

Office:

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NICHD

All Dates/Times are:

(utc-05:00) eastern standard time, new york, usa

Updated Published Date:

(utc-05:00) eastern standard time, new york, usa

Original Published Date:

0000-00-00 00:00:00

Original Response Date:

feb 10, 2022 09:00 am est

Inactive Policy:

15 days after response date

Initiative:

• None***--***

Product Service Code:

6640 - laboratory equipment and supplies

NAICS Code:

334516 - analytical laboratory instrument manufacturing

Original Set Aside:

INTRODUCTION THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). The National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA) on behalf of the on behalf of the National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases intends to award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (Including brand-name) to COHERENT NA, INC. for the Coherent Discovery NX Laser. NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 334516 with a Size Standard of 1,000. REGULATORY AUTHORITY The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-04 Effective January 30, 2022. This acquisition is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in FAR subpart 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures at an amount not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000). STATUTORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c) under provisions of the statutory authority of FAR Subpart 6.302- FAR 6.302-1—Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1). PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE Within 120 Days of Award Place of Performance National Institutes of Health National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases 10 Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892 DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT The mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and to apply that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. As part of the NIH, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Intramural Research Program (IRP) conducts biomedical research and training related to diabetes mellitus; endocrine, bone, and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, including liver diseases and nutritional disorders; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. The Lutas Lab is part of the Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch (DEOB), which is one of NIDDK IRP’s 17 Laboratories and Branches. Obesity has become a serious health concern worldwide and is accompanied by metabolic diseases and higher cardiovascular risk due primarily to overeating. The Lutas Lab’s work requires advanced microscopy methods to resolve images of subcellular, molecular processes within specialized neurons in the mouse brain that control feeding. Multiphoton microscopy with fluorescence lifetime imaging capabilities is currently the sole technology that provides the speed, sensitivity, and quantitative measurements that is ideal for live neuron imaging in the intact brain, which is at the core of the Lutas Lab’s operations. To perform multiphoton microscopy, the Lutas Lab requires an ultra-fast femtosecond laser system. _________________________ PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The objective of this purchase request is to procure the Coherent Discovery NX laser system, which will provide the ability to understand the physiological, neural and network dynamics of brain cells modulating feeding behavior, which is imperative in the mission of NIDDK to combat obesity and diabetes. A major obstacle in our overall comprehension of these neural circuits is the inability to monitor neuromodulation and intracellular molecular signals in real time in a live animal. The purpose of this requirement is to acquire a femtosecond (fs) laser that would satisfy three needs for the Lutas Lab: 1) multiphoton excitation in the tuning range of 660-1320nm; 2) a secondary 1040nm fixed wavelength beam with <140 fs for two wavelength simultaneous excitation; and 3) sufficient excitation power to split laser beam for two microscopes The Coherent Discovery NX laser is the laser system that would allow these three needs to be met. SALIENT / REQUIRED FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS The new equipment must include the features below necessary to satisfy day-to-day operations of the Lutas Lab. Sealed Computer-controlled Integrated ultrafast laser system • Sealed, contamination free ultrafast cavity with no requirement for external course mirror adjustment from external ports. • Closed loop water cooling, with a Peltier-driven cooling engine for minimal acoustic noise. • Simple integration – the system must be user-controllable either via RS232 or via the vendor supplied GUI. • 80MHz Synchronization output built in for triggering detection systems. • Laser head footprint <0.4 m2 to optimize optical table space • Operating temperature range of 15-35°C • HALT designed, HASS tested for highest reliability and long lifetime • Access to power control via supplied GUI user interface and through external fast analog interface Tunable Beam • Average power o >2000 mW at 700nm o >3600 mW at 800nm o >3200 mW at 900nm o >2700 mW at 1000nm o >2300 mW at 1200nm o >1900 mW at 1300nm • Tuning speed >50 nm/s averaged across 660-1320nm • Beam quality to be specified as TEM00, Astigmatism < 20% and asymmetry 0.9-1.1 at 900nm, to ensure a tight focal volume, increasing excitation and enhancing resolution. • Highest level of output power stability +/-1% after 2 hour warm-up and <± 1°C ambient change • Pulse duration 100fs at 900nm (sech2 pulse shape) • Automated dispersion compensation on the tunable output of o 0-50000fs2 at 680nm o 0-27000fs2 at 800nm o 0-16000fs2 at 900nm o 0-3000fs2 at 1050nm o 0-2500fs2 at 1300nm o All precompensation values are negative • Noise < 0.5% RMS in a 10Hz – 10MHz band Fixed wavelength Beam • Average power >3500 mW at 1040nm • Beam quality to be specified as TEM00, astigmatism <25%, and asymmetry 0.8-1.2 • Pulse duration 140fs (sech2 pulse shape) • Power stability +/-1% • Noise <0.25% RMS in a 10Hz-10MHz band • Phase locked to the tunable beam Compact Pulse Compressor CPC 1040 • Stepwise, variable amount of GDD prechirp to compensation for group dispersion in the optical path TASKS AREAS Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the contractor shall perform all of the detailed Task Areas listed below: Task Area 1 – Delivery time will be no more than 3 months from when the Purchase Order has been sent to the vendor. Task Area 2 – Installation will be provided by factory-trained service engineers of the manufacturer, no later than 2 weeks after delivery, unless postponed by request of the government. Task Area 3 – Warranty will be provided by the manufacturer and serviced by their local service engineer(s), which will be no less than 1 year from completion of installation, covering all deliverables, labor and travel, minus consumables. Task Area 4 – Training will be provided to lab members on the use and capabilities on a scheduled (on appointment) basis only. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted as prescribed in FAR Part 10—Market Research. Only one source is available: Per FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) the Contracting Officer has determined COHERENT NA INC to be the only reasonable available source to provide the Coherent Discovery NX Laser. This acquisition was pursued on a sole source basis centered on the following. The Coherent Discovery NX system is the only femtosecond 80MHz pulsed laser from this vendor that is able to tune between 660nm and 1320nm, which is required for the work needed. It must also have >3.6W average power at 800nm on the tunable laser beam and >3.5W average power on the 1040nm fixed wavelength beam. Thus, COHERENT NA INC is the only vendor that can fulfill this requirement. Coherent is the vendor that is able to provide the Discovery NX laser with the required range of laser tuning (660nm – 1320nm) and with pulse widths of 100 femtoseconds on the tunable beam and 140 femtoseconds on the fixed wavelength beam. Competitor laser models such as the Spectra Physics X3 are unable to provide the wide of a tuning range with these narrow pulse widths, which is needed for the ability to perform the necessary brain imaging experiments. Furthermore, the Discovery NX has the most reliable laser power stability across a wide range of conditions because of the extra product testing before shipment. It also has the narrowest laser footprint, which is necessary as space is limited on the optical microscope table. CLOSING STATEMENT This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: descriptive literature, delivery timeframe, warranties and/or other information that demonstrates that the offer meets all the foregoing requirements, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.” A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. All responses to this notice shall be submitted electronically by 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time, on Thursday, February 10, 2022 to the Contract Specialist, Amber Harris, at amber.harris@nih.gov . Assessment of Capability Lowest Price Technically Acceptable

6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE ROOM 1120

BETHESDA , MD 20817

USA

Primary Point of Contacts:

Amber Harris