SAM #FA875126Q0925

Procurement of Indie Photonics Optical Filters and Components for AFRL Quantum Research

This procurement opportunity is for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) RIKO, seeking specialized optical filters and related components for quantum research. - Government Buyer: - Department of the Air Force - Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) RIKO - OEM and Vendor: - Indie Photonics (sole manufacturer and provider) - Products Requested: - Narrowband tunable optical filters (OF-TFN-80K) - 1 unit: TFN-1550.550-U600-IL2-30-C1S-C3 - 2 units: TFN-1351.000-U600-IL2-30-C1S-C3 - Phase masks (PHASE MASK-IL) - 2 units - Power/control units (TERA-PU-F) - 3 units - Unique Requirements: - Filters must provide high isolation performance for quantum research - Products are critical for connecting superconducting qubit systems and advancing quantum computing, sensing, and communications - Indie Photonics is identified as the only source capable of meeting these technical requirements - No other vendors or OEMs are mentioned; sole-source justification is based on technical necessity

Description

This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action under RFO Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services.  This notice is for information only; a solicitation will not be issued. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION. No contract will be awarded on the basis of offers received in response to this notice. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 333310 with a small business size standard of 1,000 employees.  

The Government requires the procurement of optical filters, and intends to negotiate a sole-source award for this requirement with Indie Photonics, 2716 Einstein Quebec G1P 4S8 Canada. Relevant Inie Photonics part numbers and product descriptions are as follows:

Item 1, qty. 1 each – Part #: OF-TFN-80K, Narrowband Tunable Optical Filter

TFN-1550.550-U600-IL2-30-C1S-C3 Specifications: OPP2031649 – 1.3

Item 2, qty. 2 each – Part #: OF-TFN-80K, Narrowband Tunable Optical Filter

TFN-1351.000-U600-IL2-30-C1S-C3 Specifications: OPP2031649 – 2.1

Item 3, qty. 2 each – Part #: PHASE MASK- IL

Design and production of a phase mask

Item 4, qty. 3 each – Part #: TERA-PU-F

Power and control unit for TFN T+R module. Includes all necessary cables. Software and PC drivers

The Government has determined that other companies' products and services do not meet or cannot be modified to meet the Government's needs.  The required filters require no PID locking and approach the quantum limit with 100 dB of isolation, a metric no other company can provide. High isolation filters are necessary specifically for operating quantum transducers. Without these filters, the Government would not be able to scale superconducting qubit systems to utility scale, or connect superconducting qubits to other qubit modalities. The high isolation filters are a critical component of AFRL’s progress on research on connecting different quantum systems together in order to advance quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum communications. Interchanges with Indie Photonics have yielded that they are the sole manufacturer of the required items and do not maintain a network of resellers for their products.  Accordingly, the Government has determined Indie Photonics to be the sole-source provider of the required optical filters as detailed above.

This is a notice of proposed contract action and not a request for competitive proposals; however, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement or proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. All inquiries should be sent by email to brooke.mcdonald@us.af.mil. Responses must be submitted by the date/time listed on the notice. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government in future procurements.

Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The Government anticipates an award date on or before 30 July 2026.

A Sole Source Justification will be attached to the subsequent Notice of Award in accordance with applicable regulation.

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