23-58106 - Femtosecond pulsed laser system

1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN):

An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

2. Definition of the requirement:

The National Research Council Canada (NRC) has a requirement for the supply of a femtosecond pulsed laser system operating in the wavelength range from 690nm to 1580nm to support expansion of fabrication activities and to align with NRC’s environmental stewardship objectives.

The contractor must provide all equipment, operator manuals, peripherals, accessories, and components necessary for the mode-locked femtosecond Ti:Sapphire lasers and a fully automated, synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator, to work in accordance with the Mandatory Technical Requirements specified herein. This must include, but is not limited to all of the following:

• Automated, mode-locked Ti:Sapphire lasers (2)
• Rack mountable power supplies and chillers (2)
• Infrared Optical Parametric Oscillator
• 12-month warranty


3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Mandatory Requirements):

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its system meets the following requirements:

I. Automated, mode-locked Ti:Sapphire lasers
a. Tuning range 690nm – 1040nm
b. Pulse duration 2.5W at 800nm
d. Average power > 500mW at 690nm
e. Average power > 1.35W at 710nm
f. Average power > 1.35W at 920nm
g. Average power > 300mW at 1040nm
h. Beam pointing stability < 50urad/100nm
i. On-board diagnostics for remote service capability

II. Infrared Optical Parametric Oscillator
a. Sealed unit, hands free operation
b. Automated, active cavity length stabilization
c. Tuning range 1000nm – 1580nm
d. Spatial mode TEM00, M2<1.1
e. Pulse width: 200fsec
f. Noise < 0.5% rms
g. Pump wavelength: 720nm – 810nm

4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement

Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
World Trade Organization – Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier:

The pre-identified supplier is the sole provider that meets all or the minimum essential requirements as described in Section 3 and owns the associated intellectual property (IP) for the system.

The supplier system is a proven application used in similar projects to the ones developed by the National Research Council, Security and Disruptive Technologies (SDT) Research Centre, with reliable results demonstrated by completed projects and/or peered review publications.

6. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons:

Only one vendor is able to meet the unique technical requirements listed herein.
The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6 (d) as only one supplier is capable of performing work.

7. Ownership of Intellectual Property:

MKS Spectra-Physics is the manufacturer (OEM) of the proposed system and owns the associated intellectual property (IP) for the system. MKS Spectra-Physics does not authorize value-added resellers or distributors for their equipment.

The Crown will have the right of use for normal business operations of the system once purchased. The design and system’s intellectual property are solely owned by the contractor.

All IP generated on this instrument during its use by the NRC SDT Research Centre would belong entirely to NRC and its Research partners.

8. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date:

The National Research Council expect the system to be delivered 6-9 months after the award of the contract.

9. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:

MKS Spectra-Physics
1791 Deere Avenue
Irvine, CA 92606 USA

10. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities:

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing, within 15 days, to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets each of the advertised requirements in Section 3.

11. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities:

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is March 15th, 2024 at 2:00PM EDT.

12. Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

Paul Hewitt
National Research Council Canada
Senior Contracting Officer
Email: Paul.Hewitt@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca