58 -- SAPPHIRE LASER

Notice Date

August 23, 2001

Contracting Office

NASA/Glenn Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH 44135

ZIP Code

44135

Solicitation Number

182751

Response Due

August 27, 2001

Point of Contact

Deborah L. Volan, Contract Specialist, Phone (216) 433-5420, Fax (216) 544-2480, Email Deborah.L.Volan@grc.nasa.gov

E-Mail Address

Deborah L. Volan (Deborah.L.Volan@grc.nasa.gov)

Description

This notice is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This procurement is being conducted under the Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP). DESCRIPTION: ULTRAFAST TITANIUM: SAPPHIRE LASER WITH DUAL FEMTO/PICOSECOND CAPABILITY. INCLUDES X-WAVE BROADBAND OPTICS AND OPTIMA ON-BOARD DIAGNOSTICS. SEE BELOW FOR FULL SPECIFICATIONS. QUANTITY: (1) EACH; Manufacturer: COHERENT, INC.; MODEL NO: MIRA OPT 900-D Specifications for a Solid State Pump Laser- 5W and Mira 900 femtosecond/Optima. Performance Specifications: A. The laser must produce up to 5-Watts Continuous Wave (CW) output power at 532 nm, B. The laser output power must be continuously variable from 0.5 (or lower) to 5.0 Watts with 0.05 W or better resolution, (Laser must maintain a mode quality M2 <1.1 from 10.0 -- 0.5 Watts) C. Emission must be single frequency: Linewidth must be less than 5 MHz Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) for at least 50 msec duration. D. The laser must have less than 0.04% rms amplitude noise (10 Hz to 1 GHz bandwidth), E. Output power stability shall be better than +/- 1%, measured over a minimum two-hour duration, F. Output beam must maintain a gaussian, TEM00 spatial intensity distribution, G. Output beam diameter must be nominally 2 +/- 0.5 mm, H. Output beam divergence must be nominally 0.5 mrad (full angle, measured at FWHM), I. Output beam must be linearly polarized having at least a 100:1 polarization ratio, J. Pointing stability shall be less than 5 microradians per degree Celsius, K. System warm-up time to achieve optimal lasing conditions shall not exceed 10 minutes for day-to-day operation, L. The LBO frequency doubling crystal must be automatically temperature tuned as the system ages. M. Optimum diode temperature must be automatically maintained to peak system efficiency as the diode ages. System Specifications: A. The laser head must be hermetically sealed to prevent dust/debris from entering the optical cavity. This specification is required for safety and protection of the laser optics. The laser will be used to pump a Ti:Sapphire laser for MPE. ( see below) B. The laser system should not require time consuming or service engineer adjustment of optical components in laser cavity. C. The diode bars pumping the laser Nd:YVO4 gain media must be aluminum free to ensure maximized laser lifetime and optimal emission properties. Manufacture must be able to show actual diode lifetime data (on request) that demonstrates diode lifetime of 10K hours or better. D. The diode bars pumping the laser Nd:YVO4 gain media must be field replaceable, at the user level, with out the need to access the laser head. The installation requirements will not permit access to the laser head without disturbing sensitive microscope alignment. The time and expense of service involvement to re-align the microscope and re-optimize microscope performance would not be acceptable. It is a requirement that the diode bar assembly be replaced with out disturbing the experiment E. The laser power supply must be rack mountable on a standard 19-inch laboratory rack, F. All variable laser operating parameters must be adjustable via power supply front panel controls, G. The laser power supply must have a back-lit display panel for displaying/setting laser operating conditions in dark environments H. The laser power supply must be RS-232 computer controllable, such that all laser operating parameters can be read/set using a PC-compatible computer, I. The laser head must be connected to the power supply with an umbilical cord at least 10 feet in length, J. The laser system must operate on 110 VAC line power only, so it can be operated from a normal wall plug, K. The laser head and power supply must include any need external cooling component required for operation -- the optical cavity and the diode power supply must be cooled by the same unit. L. The laser system shall have a switch closure safety interlock independent of the 110 VAC line power required by the laser power supply. M. The laser system shall be delivered with operating manuals and all cabling required for normal operation. Specifications for a Femtosecond Modelocked Ti:S oscillator to be used with a solid state pump source: Ti:S Oscillator Optical configuration -- TiS laser will be manufactured on two-dimensional baseplate for ease of installation/re-installation, training, and end user productivity. The optical path will be planar and laid out horizontally to minimize dust contamination. The system must have a starter mechanism that reproducibly initiates mode-locked operation and shuts off automatically once mode-locking has started. Variable group velocity dispersion compensation should be provided with a simple 2-prism configuration within the laser cavity. A two prism design minimizes the effect of beam walk and alignment with the MPE system when tuning. 4 prism systems are unacceptable due to the alignment requirements. Tuning method -- TiS laser will implement tuning through use of a BRF to minimize beam walk on changing wavelengths and minimize contamination of optical surfaces. Single optic set tuning -tuning of the oscillator from a nominal 700 to 980 nm region to gain access to appropriate colors for exciting samples. System must operate with a Loss differential or as a Passive modelocked system. Ti:S lasers can operate in either Modelocked or CW lasing action. The CW action potentially damages biological samples and contributes amplitude noise to the experiment. System must include both loss and gain differential mechanisms of mode-locking to provide stable mode-locking over the tuning range. System must include slit to provide a loss differential. A system that requires the adjustment of the power of pump laser is unacceptable and adds an unwanted complication. Ti:S CW operation: System must include a separate cavity for CW broad band emission. The laser must have a separate CW cavity that can be easily selected to permit the operation in this mode. The ability to operate as broadband CW Ti:S laser is a requirement for both potential experiments and as an aide to alignment. Ti:S Picosecond: System must include a separate cavity for future picosecond operation. Diagnostics (included with base femtosecond system) for picosecond include, a microprocessor controlled feedback mechanism which automatically adjusts GTI spacing as the wavelength is tuned. GTI optimization provides continuously tunable picosecond output over the entire Ti:S wave length range with a breaks. System must not require extensive modification to change from femtosecond to picosecond operation i.e. removal or replacement of major components such as GTI, BRF. The system MUST provide continuous tuning, future picosecond experiments will not tolerate breaks in tuning. Diagnostics and integrated detectors -- The following detectors and monitoring systems are required to be integrated with the oscillator. The detectors are included in the system price detectors include feedback and integration into the system, they will be serviced and supported by a single vendor. Only the Coherent Mira 900 femtosecond laser system offers this capability. 1. Humidity detector: Wavelengths in the 910 -980 region, have a further requirement that mandates the system include a humidity detector to monitor water vapor, measured as a percent, to insure the system is ready to be used in this wavelength region from 910 -1000 2. Intracavity continuous wave and modelocked power indication: To quickly acquire lazing from a coarse alignment condition, a fluorescence detection system capable of optimizing cavity alignment below lazing threshold is essential to alignment and operation. The detector shall be autoranging, autoswitching, and with optical components integrated into laser head to prevent misalignment by external users of our facility 3. CW detector and monitor: System must include the ability to monitor the femtosecond pulse structure for CW breakthrough. First generation Ti:S oscillators without integrated detectors for CW and ML laser pulses require external diagnostics costing about $20,000 (see report of Xu and Webb, JOPSA B 13(3) 481 (1996) ). CW break through may cause one or all of the following, unwanted heating of the sample, biological sample damage, back ground fluorescence that interferes with experimental results. Only the Coherent laser system offers a system that includes continuous monitoring for CW emission. 4. Microprocessor controlled GTI spacing for continuous tuning (option must be available) for future upgrade to picosecond capability. Low noise specification -- Measuring small NLO signals requires low amplitude noise from the system. The oscillator noise specification must be less than 0.1% rms measured across 10Hz-1000MHz bandwidth. The provisions and clauses in the RFQ are those in effect through FAC 97-30. The NAICS Code and the small business size standard for this procurement are 334413 and 500, respectively. The quoter shall state in their quotation their size status for this procurement. All qualified responsible business sources may submit a quotation which shall be considered by the agency. Delivery to NASA Glenn Research Center is required within 90 days ARO. Delivery of FOB Destination is preferred. The DPAS rating for this procurement is DO-C9. Quotations for the items(s) described above are due by close of business on August 27, 2001, and may be mailed or faxed to NASA Glenn Research Center, Attn: Debbie Volan, MS: 500-315, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH 44135, FAX Number: (216) 433-2480. Include, solicitation number, FOB destination to this Center, proposed delivery schedule, discount/payment terms, warranty duration (if applicable), taxpayer identification number (TIN), identification of any special commercial terms, and be signed by an authorized company representative. If the end product(s) quoted is other than domestic end product(s) as defined in the clause entitled "Buy American Act -- Supplies," the quoter shall so state and shall list the country of origin. The Representations and Certifications required by FAR 52.2l2-3 may be obtained via the internet at URL: http://ec.msfc.nasa.gov/msfc/pub/reps_certs/sats/ The FAR may be obtained via the Internet at URL: http://www.arnet.gov/far/ The NFS may be obtained via the Internet at URL: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/nfstoc.htm Award will be based upon overall best value to the Government, with consideration given to the factors of proposed technical merits, price and past performance; other critical requirements (i.e., delivery) if so stated in the RFQ will also be considered. Unless otherwise stated in the solicitation, for selection purposes, technical, price and past performance are essentially equal in importance. It is critical that offerors provide adequate detail to allow evaluation of their offer (see FAR 52.212-1(b). Quoters must provide copies of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representation and Certifications -- Commercial Items with their quote. See above for where to obtain copies of the form via the Internet. An ombudsman has been appointed -- See NASA Specific Note "B". It is the quoter's responsibility to monitor the following Internet site for the release of amendments (if any): http://nais.msfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/EPS/bizops.cgi?gr=C&pin=22 Potential quoters will be responsible for downloading their own copy of this combination synopsis/solicitation and amendments (if any).

Web Link

Click here for the latest information about this notice (http://nais.msfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/EPS/bizops.cgi?gr=D&pin=22#182751)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010827/58SOL013.HTM (D-235 SN50V847)