SAM #NB688000-26-02296

NIST Seeks Vendors for Hydrogen Maser Atomic Clock Refurbishment and Upgrades

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the Department of Commerce, is seeking information from vendors for hydrogen maser atomic clock refurbishment and upgrade services. - Government Buyer: - Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - OEMs and Vendors: - Microchip Technology Inc. is specifically mentioned as a potential OEM - NIST encourages responses from other qualified sources - Products/Services Requested: - Refurbishment of three hydrogen maser atomic clocks - Includes inspection and repair of hydrogen bulb, RF alignment, thermal control board, AC/DC power module, quartz oscillator, ion pumps, and physics package - Upgrade of three hydrogen masers to the MHM-2020 level - Involves replacement of cavity register control module, front panel control module, wiring harness modification, discharge source, and distribution amplifiers - Unique/Notable Requirements: - Detailed technical specifications for component inspection, repair, and replacement - NIST requests industry feedback on product specifications, commercial status, pricing, and compliance - The notice is for market research to determine if a competitive acquisition is feasible

Description

Combined Sources Sought Notice and Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract for Hydrogen Maser Repair/Refurbished

Notice ID: NB688000-26-02296

Contract Opportunity Type: Sources Sought/Notice of Intent

Response Date: August 3, 2026

Product Service Code (PSC): 6640

NAICS Code: 334515

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting market research to identify alternative sources that (a) are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements for the following commercial products and commercial services and (b) would be interested in competing for that requirement:

The NIST Time Realization and Distribution group operates an ensemble of atomic clocks (timescale) that realizes UTC(NIST), maintenance of which is one of NIST’s mission essential functions. Some of the constituent hydrogen maser atomic clocks are reaching end of life and exhibiting degradation of performance. To maintain continued accurate operation of the timescale these aging masers need to be addressed, either through refurbishment or replacement, Additionally, there are new revisions of various modules that will improve performance and extend the lifetime of these units – performing these upgrades will bring the performance of our aged units up to currently available maser atomic clocks. The services required as part of these refurbishments and upgrades are as follows:

Item 1: Hydrogen maser refurbishment

Quantity: 3

Specifications: 1.1: inspect hydrogen bulb, recoat if needed

1.2: check and adjust RF alignment

1.3: inspect thermal control board and components, repair if needed

1.4: test AC/DC power module, replace if malfunctioning or too old

1.5: inspect quartz oscillator, replace if not operating at spec

1.6: replace ion pumps

1.7: inspect physics package, replace and test if needed

Item 2: Hydrogen maser upgrade to MHM-2020 level

Quantity: 3

Specifications: 2.1: replace cavity register control module with newest revision

2.2: replace front panel control module with newest revision

2.3: wiring harness modification and replacement

2.4: replace discharge source with latest revision

2.5: replace distribution amplifiers and rf outputs with latest revision

NIST has not yet determined its acquisition strategy for this requirement and encourages interested sources to respond to this Notice.

If NIST’s market research indicates there are alternative sources that are capable and interested in competing to fill this requirement, separate and apart from Microchip Technology Inc. UEI: QSXSDASP8FT6, then NIST will consider conducting a competitive acquisition in accordance with law and regulation. To be clear, NIST’s identification of Microchip Technology Inc. in this Notice does not constitute a binding commitment or obligation for it to conduct a sole source procurement with Microchip Technology Inc. for this requirement.

Instructions for Responding to Respond to This Notice

Parties that respond to this Notice are requested to voluntarily submit the requested information via email in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and/or Microsoft Excel format to the designated point(s) of contact whose name and email address appears at the bottom of this notice. Please provide only the information requested by this Notice, and do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in a response to this Notice.

Information Requested in Response to This Notice: To help NIST with its market research, NIST is requesting that industry sources carefully review this notice and any attachments to it and voluntarily provide the following information: 

Company Summary

Notice Identification: Notice ID and Title of this posting.

Corporate Details: Company name, physical address, website address, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

Point of Contact (POC): Name, phone number, and email address.

Company Size Standard: Your company’s size status relative to the NAICS code provided in this Notice. (Refer to the SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards).

System for Award Management (SAM) Registration: Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in SAM.gov.

Feedback for Draft Requirements

Review the potential requirements/minimum specifications included with this Notice. Then, please provide suggestions to (a) improve clarity of it; (b) to make it more competitive; (c) to indicate whether there anything in it that may inadvertently exclude domestic involvement; and (d) to indicate how the requirements could potentially be revised to improve the ability for domestic (“Made in America”) end products to be considered.

Information Regarding Your Company’s Products and Services

Provide specifications, company name of the original equipment manufacturer, and the country of manufacture for products and services that your company is legally authorized to sell and that may meet NIST’s minimum requirements.

Indicate whether, in your opinion, the product(s) meet the definition of (a) commercial product or (b) commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item or COTS item as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2 and, if so, which definition applies ((a) or (b)).

Indicate whether, in your opinion, the service(s) meet the definition of commercial service as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2.

Standard Commercial Pricing: Provide your company’s standard commercial pricing information for the identified products and services and explain what is included in those standard prices.

Estimated Price Range: You may provide an estimated price or price range for the requirements, including a brief explanation of how the price estimate was developed.

Standard Commercial Terms and Conditions: Provide a copy of the standard commercial terms and conditions for the commercial products and commercial services identified in the response to this notice, including nature and duration of standard commercial warranty.

Regulatory and Supply Chain Compliance

Indicate whether your company could comply with FAR Clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (OCT 2022) if this acquisition were to be set aside for small businesses. Provide a brief supporting explanation.

Existing Governmentwide Contract Vehicles

Indicate whether your company has its own GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract or other federal contract vehicles under which NIST could award an order and, if so, provide the contract details (contract number, Contracting Officer name/contact, SOW, terms and conditions, and price lists).

We truly appreciate your company’s willingness to provide the above-mentioned information which NIST will be valuable in helping NIST complete its market research.

Important Notes

This Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay respondents to this notice for information provided in response to this Notice. Following a review of the responses and market research, NIST may publish a solicitation on an authorized site, depending on the chosen acquisition strategy. Responses received after the closing date for this Notice may not be considered.

There is no solicitation available at this time.

The Government reserves the right to use information that it receives in response to this Notice as it deems appropriate to establish final requirements or for other legally appropriate purposes.

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).

QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS NOTICE

For additional information, please contact the primary contact or, if named, secondary contact identified at the bottom of this notice.

THANK YOU

Thank you for taking the time to read this notice and for your interest in helping NIST with its efforts to maximize competition!

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