NOTICE OF INTENT DIODE-PUMPED FREQUENCY-DOUBLED LASER

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division intends to negotiate with Coherent NA, Inc., located in Santa Clara, CA, on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR Subpart 6.302-1, soliciting from a single source, for a Diode-Pumped Frequency-Doubled Nd:YVO4-Laser.

Specific Requirements are as follows:

1. The solid-state, dual 40 Watt diode-array pumped Nd:Vanadate, intracavity doubled laser must deliver greater than 18 Watts (continuous) at 532 nm.  
2. Frequency doubling must be accomplished with temperature-stabilized LBO crystal.  Hermetically sealed laser head with no user-adjustable controls and fiber optic connection from supply to laser head.
3. Single longitudinal mode output required. TEMoo output beam, 2.25 mm diameter (at 1/e2) with less than 0.5 mrad divergence required.  M-squared <1.1 and ellipticity <10%.
4. Pointing stability must be < 3 microrad/degree Celsius.
5. Frequency stability must be <5 MHz over 50 msec. 
6. Amplitude noise must be <0.05% rms from 10 Hz to 1 GHz.
7. Power stability drift must be +/- 1% or less over a two- hour or longer period.
8. Polarization: Must have vertical orientation with >100:1 extinction ratio.
9. Warm-up time from turn on to stabilized full output or at user-specified power level should be 20 minutes or less, if laser is left in stand-by mode before turn on.
10. Power requirements: 110 VAC, 60 Hz, <20 Amp.
11. At least 1 year warranty.
12. Must be able to provide 10,000 hours of continuous use without diode bar replacement.
13. The size of the laser head should not exceed 18.3 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches to allow for space on our optical table for the Ti:Sapphire oscillator.
14. The size of the power supply should not exceed 18 x 20 x 12 inches so that it may be rack mounted or fit under our optical tables. 

NAICS Code is 334516 –Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a Size Standard of 1,000 employees. NIST anticipates negotiating and awarding a firm-fixed-price purchase order to Coherent NA, Inc. for this requirement.

Interested parties that can demonstrate they could satisfy the requirement listed above for NIST must clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing on or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether competitive procedures could be used for this acquisition. If competitive procedures are not used it is estimated that an award will be issued by September 26, 2026. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to angea.hitt@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted to angela.hitt@nist.gov no later than the date and time provided herein this posting.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AN OPEN COMPETITION:

NIST must replace a failed single‑frequency laser essential to multiple precision‑measurement research programs. Only Coherent Laser, Inc. manufactures a laser capable of pumping both a resonant cavity for 266 nm ultraviolet frequency doubling and a high‑power continuous‑wave Ti:Sapphire ring oscillator. No other vendor can meet these technical requirements or integrate with existing NIST systems. Without this procurement, critical NIST research activities would be forced to stop.