SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- OPTICAL DEVICE DEVELPMENT SUPPORT
- Notice Date
- 8/3/2010
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541330
— Engineering Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- SB1341-10-RQ-0657
- Archive Date
- 8/23/2010
- Point of Contact
- Maria M. Gray, Phone: (301)975-5577, Mario A. Checchia, Phone: 301-975-8407
- E-Mail Address
-
maria.gray@nist.gov, mario.checchia@nist.gov
(maria.gray@nist.gov, mario.checchia@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for non-commercial services prepared in accordance With the format in FAR Parts 12 and 13, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation Number SB1341-10-RQ-0657 is issued as a request for quotation. This solicitation is set aside exclusively for small business concerns. The North American Industry Classification Code (NAICS) is 541330 Standard Size $4.5M. I. BACKGROUND The Engineering Metrology Group (EMG) of the Precision Engineering Division (PED) in the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) has long been involved in research in length metrology. NIST owns a very large number of laser interferometers that form the traceable scale for nearly every measurement. While lasers continue to improve, the equations used to correct the laser wavelength for the air in the beam path has not been improved in the last decade, and has become the largest component of uncertainty in most laser based measurements. As an outgrowth of our laser studies, we believe that considerable reduction in this uncertainty can be made using our latest progress in laser studies to develop an absolute refractometer that will be much more accurate and robust than the current correction equations. II. SCOPE OF WORK The contractor will perform instrumentation development efforts that require competence in the conception, design, fabrication, and assembly of advanced optical devices and the marrying of these devices to existing precision staging and coordinate positioning equipment. The contractor is expected to perform research in optical methods supporting coordinate metrology, working with NIST personnel to develop new measurement techniques, design and carry out diagnostic experiments, analyze data, and publish scholarly papers. A particular focus of this research will be to further existing NIST efforts in the realm of length metrology. The contractor shall design and develop techniques and equipment to support the development of an absolute laser refractometer. The goals of this project are as follows: • Document parameters affecting locking accuracy • Measure refractive index of gasses. • Document performance of system in air. • Develop improved methods of operation. III. SPECIFIC TASKS The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, equipment, administration and technical execution of this contract. The Contractor is responsible for maintaining accurate records of project activities. The contractor shall: 1. Study offsets of lock point from cavity transmission line center, to understand which optical parameters control the offset. This should be done for both on-axis and off-axis modes. 2. Verify system performance for refractive index measurement by (a) comparing two ULE cavities to each other, and comparing one ULE cavity to a zerodur cavity, as pressure and humidity vary (b) comparing results to Edlen equation (c) Verifying long-term stability of the ULE cavity and repeatability of mounting process. 3. Measure refractive index of gasses such as nitrogen and argon. 4. Improve methods of operation, including better control of locking process, and locking to off-axis modes. IV. DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERABLE DUE DATES All quarterly reports will be in Microsoft Word 2003, 12 point font delivered via email. All data will be in either Excel 2003 or ASC II format, delivered via email. Progress Report Outputs will include: 1. Well-documented laboratory notebooks recording all detail that would be needed to reproduce an experiment. Due by the completion of this requirement. 2. The monthly reports: will include descriptions of monthly progress and planned work in sufficient detail for the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) to understand what has happened during the month. Due no later than fifth day of the next month. 3. Quarterly reports: Detailed summaries of results of the research, in a form and of sufficient quality that they can serve as segments of future publications. This would include graphs and tables of data and careful descriptions of the methods of analysis, and recommendations on subsequent required steps. This shall include a list of hardware and materials required to produce any hardware, and detailed drawings of fixtures, schematics and other hardware and submit them to the NIST Fabrication Technology Division for manufacturing and assembly. Due no later than the fifth day of the next quarter. 4. At least one scholarly paper accepted for publication in a journal, consistent with the requirements of NIST Special Publication 811 ("Guide to the Use of the international Systems of Units (SI)" and NIST Technical Note 1297, 1994 Edition ("Guidelines for Evaluating and Expressing the Uncertainty of NIST Measurement Results") and of such quality that independent reviewers from a recognized journal deem it suitable for publication. The publication will describe results of measurements and the methods that have been developed to achieve these results. Due by the completion of this requirement. Non-data outputs are due no later than the completion of this requirement and include: 1. Documented excel or MATLAB programs for analysis of results 2. Documented control programs for data capture 3. Written procedures for calibrations, consistent with the PED quality manual Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables: The Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) will provide comments on each deliverable within 5 calendars days from receipt of a given deliverable. The contractor shall make any needed changes to the deliverables within 5 calendar days from receipt of electronic or written comments from the COTR. V. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall be from October 1 2010 to September 30, 2011. Contractor work shall be performed on site at NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland (Metrology building 220 or in the Advanced Measurement Laboratory 219). The hours of work shall be 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM with allocations for scheduling interactions with NIST personnel and equipment as required. Facility/Building/Campus Closures: During anticipated closure of the NIST Campus due to declared training holidays, administrative leave granted to the entire government staff, or other closure, contract employees may not be required to perform services, unless specifically scheduled. In the event of unplanned closure of the facility due to natural disasters, emergency, or severe weather, contract workers who are scheduled to work, shall not report to work unless notified differently by the COTR. Federal Holidays: The contract employee will not be paid on federal holidays unless contract employee is scheduled to work on a holiday and will be paid for hours worked at the hourly rate established in the contract. Holidays: The following is a list of legal federal holidays as referred to elsewhere in the contract. Contract employees may be required to work on legal holidays as determined by the COTR or OU Division Chief. • New Year's Day, January 1st • Martin Luther King's Birthday, 3rd Monday in January • President's Day, 3rd Monday in February • Memorial Day, Last Monday in May • Independence Day, July 4th • Labor Day, 1st Monday in September • Columbus Day, 2nd Monday in October • Veteran's Day, November 11th • Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November • Christmas Day, December 25th VI. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY, DATA AND/OR INFORMATION All property, data and information provided by the Government in the performance of this task remains the property of the Government and shall be surrendered to the government upon completion or termination of this requirement. Likewise, all deliverables generated under this requirement remain the property of the Government. The Precision Engineering Division equipment and facilities needed for the required calibrations, including the optical frequency comb and AML facilities will be made available. NIST coordinate measuring machines (CMM's) and laser calibration systems will also be available to the contractor during the period of the contract. The contractor will not have access to existing measurement services processes that are currently documented and covered under the PED Quality System. VII. EXHIBITS AND REFERENCE DOCUMENTS • "Using helium as a standard of refractive index: correcting errors in a gas refractometer" Metrologia 41, p. 189-197, 2004. • VIII. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT SUMMARY Desired Output Required Service Performance Standard Monitoring Method Published papers and conference presentations See section IV NIST SP811 and NIST Tec Note 1297 COTR will verify editorial review board approval Quarterly Reports See section IV Must meet specifications of "Progress Report Outputs" COTR will monitor reports Monthly reports and Laboratory Notebooks See section IV Must meet specifications of "Progress Report Outputs" COTR will monitor reports Locking offset from cavity line center See section III.1 Must include items of section 3.1 and scientifically sound test data to justify conclusions. Group leader or principal investigator will monitor and make recommendations to COTR Performance verification See section III.2 Must satisfy the requirements of section 3.2 as demonstrated by experimental data Group leader or principal investigator will monitor and make recommendations to COTR Refractive index of gasses See section III.3 Must satisfy requirements of section 3.3 as demonstrated by experimental data. Group leader or principal investigator will monitor and make recommendations to COTR Improved/simplified operation See section III.4 Must include items of section 3.4 and scientifically sound test data to justify conclusions. Group leader or principal investigator will monitor and make recommendations to COTR IX. CONTRACTOR'S MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS The contractor must have at least 4 years of experience with optical systems, including at least 1.5 years experience with laser frequency metrology and frequency stabilization techniques (including servo systems based on Pound-Drever-Hall and dither-lock for servolocking to an optical cavity). Some experience designing hardware to fixture optical components for high precision length measurements, and good working knowledge of programs for finite element analysis of mechanical systems, is required. The contractor must also have at least three years experience in data capture and analysis using Labview and Matlab. If further information is required about the facilities, please refer to the NIST website, www.nist.gov. Deliverables: As described in the PWS above. A delivery schedule will be established based upon the deliverables and inspection and acceptance as described in FAR clause 52.212-4. TIC : The Technical Information Contact is : to be determined, National Institute of Standards and Technology. Place of Performance: NIST Precision Engineering Division, Metrology, Room B118, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8211 Price Quote - The contractor shall submit the best potential fixed fully-loaded hourly rate to provide the services of the PWS for comparison purposes. The estimated labor hour effort is 2,000.00 per base period. The resulting purchase order shall be negotiated on a firm fixed price basis. The award shall be made on a best value basis. The best value evaluation factors are Technical Capability, Experience, Past Performance and Price. The offeror shall submit: (a) Technical Capability Understanding and Approach - The Offeror shall demonstrate its understanding of each type of work identified in the statement of work and describe in detail its approach to successfully completing each type of work in the timeframes required. (b) Experience Corporate Experience - The offeror shall describe its experience performing similar services. The offeror's description of its experience shall include, but not be limited to, the cumulative management and corporate experience in the areas of expertise highlighted in the Statement of Work. Key Personnel Experience - The offeror shall demonstrate the education, qualifications, capabilities, and experience of its Project Manager by submitting a resume. The Offeror shall also include a letter of commitment for the Project Manager covering the period of time he or she will be supporting this requirement. The offeror shall also address how it would replace the Project Manager with a similarly qualified and experienced individual in a timely manner. (c) Past Performance Information The offeror shall provide past performance information regarding all relevant contracts for the PAST 4 YEARS with federal, state or local governments and commercial customers. The information should describe contracts of a similar type and scope as the current requirement. If the offer intends to use another firm for part of this requirement, that firm's past performance information shall also be provided. If the offeror has no relevant past performance it should include a statement to that effect in its proposal. The government reserves the right to consider data obtained from sources other than those described by the offeror in its proposal. The description of each contract described in this section shall not exceed a half page. For each of the above listed contracts, the offeror shall provide the following information: • Contract Number; • Description and relevance to solicitation requirements; • Period of Performance - Indicate by month and year the start and completion (or "ongoing") dates for the contract; • Name and address of the client with current telephone number and email address of a point of contact of the client responsible for this contract. • Contracting Office - If a Government contract (federal or state), identify the Procuring Contracting Officer, Administrative Contracting Officer, and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), and their names and current telephone numbers and email address; • Contract Performance - A brief summary of performance provided; The offeror shall include information regarding any problems encountered on the contracts described above and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems. The factors, Technical Capability, Experience and Past Performance when combined are significantly more important than price. The evaluation factors are : (1) Technical Capability Technical Understanding and Approach - The offeror's technical understanding and approach will be evaluated to determine the offeror's ability to successfully complete the requirements. NIST's evaluation of the offeror's technical understanding and approach will include an assessment of: (a) the offeror understands of the requirements of the SOW; (b) whether the offeror's approach will ensure timely performance of the requirements; (2) Corporate Experience and Key Personnel The offeror's corporate experience will be evaluated to determine the nature and extent of the offeror's experience successfully executing similar projects. NIST will also consider the extent to which any awards or certifications, letters of appreciation, commendations, or industry recognitions of excellence indicate that the offeror has successfully completed similar contracts. The offeror's Key Personnel experience will be evaluated to determine whether they have the appropriate education, qualifications, capabilities, and experience to successfully supervise and implement the performance of the requirements and that the offeror's plan for replacing key personnel as necessary will facilitate seamless performance of the requirements (3) Past Performance NIST will evaluate the offeror's and, if appropriate, its subcontractors' past performance information to determine its relevance to the current requirements and the extent to which it demonstrates that the offeror has successfully completed relevant contracts in the past three years. In assessing the offeror's past performance, NIST will evaluate the quality, timeliness, and the ability to control cost and schedule of the past work. (4) Price The proposed price will be evaluated but not scored. The price/cost evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are realistic, complete, and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Proposed price/costs must be entirely compatible with the technical proposal. Although price is the least important evaluation factor, it will not be ignored. The degree of importance of the proposed price will increase with the degree of equality of the proposals in relation to the other factors on which selection is to be based. The solicitation document and incorporated clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular Number 2005-43. The provisions and clauses may be downloaded at http://www.acqnet.gov.far. The following provisions and clauses shall apply to this solicitation and are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (FEB 1998) and FAR 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998). This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electrically at the/these addresses: http://www.arnet.gov/far/ and http://oam.ocs.doc.gov/CAPPS_car.html. FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial, applies to this acquisition and there is no addenda to this provision; FAR 52,212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items. The Government shall award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: (i) Technical (ii) Experience, (iii) past performance, (iv ) price; FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and there is no addenda to this provision; FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and there is no addenda to this provision; FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition; FAR 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel; FAR 52.217-8 Option to extend services; FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data - General; Contracting Officer's Authority (MAR 2000) ; CAR 1352.208-70, Printing (MAR 2000) ; CAR 1352.209-73, Compliance With The Laws (MAR 2000) ; Use the FAR version of the Harmless From Liability and CAR 1352.252-71, Regulatory Notice (MAR 2000) and other appropriate clauses as appropriate. All interested contractors must be actively registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) at the CCR website www.ccr.gov and must provide a completed copy of the Offeror Representations and Certifications. Interested contractors are invited to review the above Performance Work Statement "Optical Device Development Support" an electronic response to be received no later than 5:00 pm August 20, 2010 NIST Gaithersburg, Maryland time addressed to Maria Gray, Contract Specialist, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1640 Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-1640, email: mario.checchia@nist.gov. Contractors must submit a complete response. Responses that are not substantially complete will be returned. Offers of partial performance shall be rejected. An original and four copies shall be submitted as well as an electronic version in MS Word or Adobe Acrobat. The electronic version shall be in the form of an email with attachments. A one page letter shall transmit the quotation signed by an individual authorized to commit the organization. Each response shall be on 8 1/2-inch x 11-inch paper, in a commercially standard font, not smaller than a size 12 font. The response shall be secured by simple stapling and shall not contain elaborate binding. Each page in the response shall be separately numbered. A page of paper printed on both sides is considered two pages. The quote shall include the letter of transmittal, shall be limited to twenty-five (25) single sided pages. Submit quotes arranged in three sections as follows: Section I - Technical, Section II - Experience, Section III Past Performance, and Section IV - Price, firm fixed price for the required services. Each firm fixed price shall include sufficient data to allow the Government to determine the amount, realism and consistency of the fixed price. Award shall be made to the responsible contractor that offers the best value to the Government. The Government shall not be liable for any costs incurred in response to this request. The Government reserves the right to make a single award, multiple awards, or no award as a result of this RFQ. It is the responsibility of the contractor to confirm NIST's receipt of quote. Any questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted in writing to maria.gray@nist.gov by August 12, 2010, no later than 4:00pm EDT, The Government will only respond to written questions. Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm.
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- Place of Performance
- Address: 100 BUREAU DRIVE, GAITHERSBURG, Maryland, 20899, United States
- Zip Code: 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN02226856-W 20100805/100803235342-38e66f8ee5054d0d93c83165bbcd0bfb (fbodaily.com)
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