Digital Measurement and Control System

This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY. Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response. 

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 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’s 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 provided in the response. 

NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME.

Summary of Requirements:

The Physical Measurement Laboratory at NIST conducts research in precision measurement and control. As part of that work a digital measurement and control system is required that can perform data acquisition, real-time control, plot results, centrally store data over a network, is usable from a mobile touch screen interface, be controlled using the python programming language, and is programmable in a hardware description language.

We require a multi-Instrument source and data acquisition module for general purpose lab use. It must have four input and four output channels and provide multiple functions, including PID controller, digital filter, oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, phasemeter, lock-in amplifier, arbitrary waveform generator, data logger, and laser lock box.

The equipment shall meet or exceed the minimum requirements identified below. All items must be new.  Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered.  The use of “gray market” components not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor is not acceptable.   All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

The Contractor shall provide the following One (1) digital measurement and control system that meet the following minimum specifications:

1.         4 analog inputs, 300 MHz bandwidth each channel, > 1 G samples/sec each channel, 10- bit resolution at maximum bandwidth,18-bits resolution at lower bandwidth, BNC connectors, selectable input coupling AC/DC and 50 Ohm/high impedance.

2.         4 analog outputs, at least 500 MHz bandwidth, >1 G samples/sec each channel, 16-bit  resolution, BNC connectors

3.         External trigger

4.         Usable with internal and external clocks

5.         Internal clock stability < 300 ppb

6.         Ethernet, WiFi, and USB interfaces

7.         Fully operable using a computer and a touch screen mobile device

8.         Includes software instruments modules for PID controller, digital filter, phasemeter, laser lock box, oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, lock-in amplifier, swept sine measurement,  arbitrary waveform generator, PID controller and data logger. Software instruments must   be operable from iPad.

9.         Instrument should be portable with weight less than 15 lbs and fit in a standard  equipment rack.

10.       Shall include rack mount brackets.

11.       Instrument shall be operable using the Python computing language.

12.       Instrument shall be configurable so that multiple functionalities (e.g. waveform generator, lock-in amplifier and PID controller) can be connected together to operate simultaneously.

13.       Instrument shall be capable of internally loading user-generated programs that interoperate with the included software instrument modules.

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible business sources to include small businesses AND U.S. manufactured items.

Small businesses are defined under the size standard of 1000 employees associated with the applicable NAICS code, 334516– Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing.

Please include company’s size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the requirements described herein. 

Businesses able to provide the requested equipment are directed to email a detailed response describing their capabilities to joni.laster@nist.gov no later than the response date for this source sought notice. The report shall include any information relevant to the organization’s capabilities to meet the requirements detailed in Summary of Requirements. Also, the following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice:

1. Name of company/companies that are authorized provide product, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address).

3. Number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of product.

4. Indication of whether the product is currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts or any other government-wide contracts. If so, please provide the applicable contract number(s).

5. Indication of whether the product proposed is a commercial item, currently offered in the market place. 

6. Interested vendors shall address their capability of providing Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts.

7. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum performance requirements.

Responses are limited to a total of twelve (12) pages in MS Word or PDF format. NIST invites all interested vendors to submit any questions or comments regarding the Draft Summary of Requirements via email to joni.laster@nist.gov within 3 calendar days of the posting of this notice. NIST intends to then post an amendment providing responses to any questions received. Official responses to the Sources Sought Notice must be submitted by due date/time established in this notice.