Streaming Time-to-digital Converter

This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action under FAR Part 12 Acquisition of Commercial Items and FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. 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 334515 (Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals) with a small business size standard of 750 employees.The Government requires procurement of a Streaming Time-to-digital Converter, and intends to negotiate a sole-source award for this requirement with Swabian Instruments USA, Inc., 37R Juniper Street, Roxbury, MA 02119, for their Time Tagger X product.The unique features of the Swabian Time Tagger X product that fulfill the Government’s needs are as follows:Specification Required valueRMS jitter (standard deviation/sqrt(2)) ≤ 2

picosecondsDigital timing resolution ≤ 1 picosecondsAvailable data interfaces USB 3.0 and SFP+Data transfer rate over USB ≥ 70 Million tags/secondData transfer rate over SFP/FPGA link ≥ 300 Million tags/secondExternal FPGA design support Provides designs and recommended FPGA evaluation boards for additional post-processing of output signalsNumber of input channels ≥ 4Additional input channels Can be enabled over-the-air, up to 18 totalOutput channels ≥ 1 SFP output channelDead time/recovery time ≤ 1.5 nanosecondsBurst memory 512 Million tagsExternal clock input frequency 10 MHzMaximum input frequency ≥ 700 MHzEquipment size and dimensions Compatible with standard 19” rack mountSoftware provided Free perpetual licenseSoftware user interface Windows-compatible GUI providedSoftware programming language compatibility Compatible with PythonWhite Rabbit compatibility Has a PPS in channel and demonstrated compatibility with White Rabbit network nodesTechnical support Free expert technical support availableWarranty Minimum three-year warranty against defects in equipment and workmanship includedThe required equipment must be able to record detection events with picosecond (ps) precision, i.e. an RMS timing jitter of a few picoseconds or below, and must be integrable with a 10 MHz clock source, 1 pulse-per-second (PPS) synchronization inputs, and industry-leading White Rabbit timing synchronization equipment. The equipment must also have an FPGA-compatible output, typically an SFP+ output connection, ideally with low-latency, for additional data processing.The Government has determined that other companies’ products and services do not meet or cannot be modified to meet the Government’s needs. Swabian Instruments USA, Inc is the only known vendor that provides a Streaming Time-to-digital Converter which satisfies the needs of the Government as outlined above. The Time Tagger X product is developed and sold exclusively by Swabian Instruments.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 leenawattie.budhu.1@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 31 May 2023.A Sole Source Justification will be attached to the subsequent Notice of Award in accordance with applicable regulation.