Single-Photon avalanche diode Camera

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
o The Department of National Research Council of Canada has a requirement for
the supply of quantity 1 Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) camera, to
support advanced research in 3D imaging under extreme lighting conditions,
including very low-light environments and scenes with high dynamic range
illumination. Conventional imaging sensors are inadequate for these applications
due to their limited sensitivity, susceptibility to readout noise, and inherent tradeoffs between frame rate, dynamic range, and spatial resolution.
3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential
Requirements)
o Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities
that its product/equipment/system (as appropriate) meets the following
requirements:
∙ must have at least 320 pixels in a linear arrangement.
∙ must operate in the visible spectrum or in the wavelength range of 400nm
to 900nm. nm: nanometer
∙ must have a peak photon detection probability of 50% or better.
∙ must have the following operating modes: time-gating, time-tagging.
∙ must have a timing resolution of 20ps or less in tagging mode. ps:
picosecond
∙ must have a Gate width 5ns or less, a gate shift of 20ps or less, and a
death time 10ns or less. ns: nanosecond
∙ must have a median dark count rate of less than 250cps. cps: count per
second
∙ must allow external triggering with laser clocks.
∙ must at least used UBS3 connectivity and be compatible with Windows 1
∙ must be equipped with a C/CS-mount
∙ must allow integration into LabVIEW, Matlab, Python, and C++
4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s)
o Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier
The pre-identified supplier is the only manufacturer we are aware of who produce this
type of sensor and can supply the specifications required for the Single-Photon
Avalanche Diode camera.
6. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for
this procurement under subsection subsection 6(d) - "only one person is capable of
performing the work"
7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons
The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
a. Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Article 513 (1) (b) (iii): due to an
absence of competition for technical reasons;
8. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date
o The product/system/equipment (as appropriate) is to be delivered on or before
March 31 2026.
9. Cost estimate of the proposed contract
The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $ 38,250.00 USD (GST/HST
extra).
10. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
Axiom Optics Inc
1035 Cambridge Street, Unit 19
Cambridge, MA, 02141
United States
11. 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 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 the advertised requirements.
12. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is January 29 2026 @
2:00 PM EST
13. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities
Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
Kelsie Trafford
Senior Procurement Officer
Telephone: 343-990-7031
E-mail: Kelsie.Trafford@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca