Electronics for Muon Tomography

Trade Agreement: Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited to bid
Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Exclusive Rights
Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No
Vendor Name and Address: 
Vertilon Corporation
66 Tadmuck Rd
Westford Massachusetts
United States
01886
Nature of Requirements: 

Electronics for Muon Tomography
W7714-176236/A

Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)
An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award.

Requirement
Department of National Defence (for Defence Research and Development Canada) has a requirement for the procurement of supply of Electronics for Muon Tomography with a requested delivery date of 2017-03-31.

Background
Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) Ottawa Research Centre’s Radiological Analysis and Defence (RAD) Group have been involved in muon scattering tomography (MST) research and development since 2008. The RAD Group collaborated on the successful Cosmic Ray Inspection and Passive Tomography (CRIPT) project which produced Canada’s first (and currently only) MST system. The RAD Group is now developing a smaller, mobile MST system called Muon Passive Inspection for Counter-terrorism (MuPIC). MuPIC employs plastic scintillators and wavelength shifting (WLS) plastic optical fibres (POFs) to detect and track muons produced by cosmic-ray-atmosphere interactions. A critical part of MuPIC is the read-out electronics and light detectors which detect the photons from the WLS POFs. This statement of requirements (SOR) describes the read-out electronics and light detectors that a contractor will produce for MuPIC.

GSIN: N5975.

Acronyms

CRIPT   Cosmic Ray Inspection and Passive Tomography 
DRDC  Defence Research and Development Canada
MST   muon scattering tomography 
MuPIC  Muon Passive Inspection for Counter-terrorism
POFs   plastic optical fibres 
RAD   Radiological Analysis and Defence 
SOR  Statement of Requirements
TA  Technical Authority
WLS   wavelength shifting 
SIPm  Silicon Photomultiplier

 
Technical Requirements
The electronic system for all submitted statements of capabilities must meet the following technical requirements:

1. ELECTRONICS FOR PORTABLE MUON TOMOGRAPHY SYSTEM

Required quantity: One complete electronics system for reading out muon tomography system.

In order to confirm compliance, Contractors interested in submitting a statement of compliance must clearly demonstrate that their product meets each of the criteria in Table 1.1 Requirements.

Table 1.1 Requirements
Specification 1.1.1 : Detector Module Boards (DMBs); dimensions.
Value 1.1.1 : Each of the 56 DMBs must be 250 mm wide and no more than 200 mm long.
Specification 1.1.2 : Number of light detectors and electronics channels per DMB
Value 1.1.2 : Each DMB must include 16 surface-mounted light detectors to read out the light produced by the scintillator bars. Must be able to perform pre-amplification, charge integration and 14-bit digitization of each SiPM signal.  There must also be a 50 ns delay on the signal before it is charge integrated.
Specification 1.1.3 : Light detectors
Value 1.1.3 : Light detectors must be SensL MicroFJ-30035-TSV-TA 3mm x3mm silicon multipliers (SiPMs).
Specification 1.1.4 : Discriminator
Value 1.1.4 : Each DMB must include a discriminator for the summed SiPM signals with a programmable threshold between 1% of 50% of the maximum possible signal voltage.
Specification1.1.5 : Read-out architecture
Value 1.1.5 : The DMBs must be daisy-chained via serial interfaces to minimize the total length of cables used to connect the DMBs to the DAU
Specification 1.1.6 : System throughput
Value 1.1.6 : The system must handle event rates, without loss, of up to 10kHz (i.e. the inter-event time must be <100 micro-seconds).
Specification 1.1.7 : Power supply
Value 1.1.7 : Must have a power supply capable of delivering the required voltages and currents to the 56 DMBs (including the SiPMs).
Specification 1.1.8 : Light detector bias voltage
Value 1.1.8 : The light detectors (SiPMs) on each DMB must have a nominal bias voltage of 27.5 V with a trim bias range of +/- 2.5 V
Specification 1.1.9 : Digital Acquisition Unit
Value 1.1.9 : Must have a digital acquisition unit (DAU) which is derived from the Vertilon  IQSP482 digital acquisition unit and can handle 896 input channels from the 56 DMBs. This unit must handle complex coincidence logic for arbitrary combinations of the 56 DMB trigger input signals. The logic be programmable via a software GUI (specification 1.1.10, below) for system configuration, and provide diagnostic information to the GUI.This unit must have a USB 2.0 (or later) connection to an external computer.
Specification 1.1.10 : Software
Value 1.1.10 : Must provide Microsoft Windows 7 PC-compatible software with GUI which will output a binary data file with information that is equivalent to the information provided by the IQSP482 unit.
 
1.2 ACCESSORIES

In order to confirm compliance, Contractors interested in submitting a statement of compliance must clearly demonstrate that their product meets each of the criteria in Table 1.2: Accessories.

Table 1.2 Accessories
Description       Required quantity
Data cables to connect DMBs in serial (20 cm)     56
Trigger cables (20 cm)       56
Connecting cable (300 cm) from each set of DMBs to the digital acquisition unit 8
Manual for GUI operation       1

2. DELIVERABLES
Number Description of the Deliverables  Quantity and Format
2.1 Detector module boards (DMBs)   56
2.2 Light detectors (16 per DMB)    896
2.3 Discriminators (1 per DMB)    56
2.4 Complete electronics system (includes 56 DMBs, 1 DAU, 
 and all cables listed in Table  1.2) 1
2.5 Data acquisition units (DAU) with integrated power supply 1
2.6 Software to control system and write output data files 1

Applicable Trade Agreements and Obligations
This requirement is subject to the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and the Bilateral Trade Agreements.
Government Contract Regulations (GCR) Exception and Limited Tendering Reasoning
Government Contract Regulations applies as only one person is capable of performing the work (Supply Manual Chapter 3 - 3.15).
Limited tendering procedures in accordance with AIT and the Supply Manual (SM), Chapter 3, Annex 3.2 where: 

- for works of art, or for reasons connected with the protection of patents, copyrights or other exclusive rights, or proprietary information or where thereis an absence of competition for technical reasons, the goods or services can be supplied only by a particular supplier and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists; (CAP Code 71)

Required Delivery
Delivery is requested to be completed by March 31, 2017.

Intellectual Property:
Contractor to own Intellectual Property Rights in Foreground Information.

Estimated Cost : $ 328,830.00
It is the Government of Canada's understanding that Vertilon Corporation is the only firm capable of performing the work.  As such, it is the Government of Canada's intent to issue a sole source contract to Vertilon Corporation.

Proposed Contractor
Vertilon Corporation 
66 Tadmuck Rd.
Westford MA
United States 01886

Suppliers who consider themselvesfully qualified and available to provide the goods at time of ACAN closing, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contracting officer identified below, on or before the closing date and time of this notice. As it is intended to proceed in a timely manner, responses received after the closing date will not be considered. The statement of capabilities must definitively demonstrate on a line by line basis, as per Table 1.1 Requirements and Table 1.2 Accessories how the product meets or exceeds each criteria.  All technical information must be provided at ACAN closing.

Responses received on or before the closing date will be considered solely for the purpose of deciding whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement. Informationprovided will be used by the Crown for technical evaluation purposes only and will not be construed as a proposal. The submitted written response must provide sufficient evidence (e.g. specifications, technical data, drawings or any other proof) that clearly demonstrates that the proposed product is capable of fulfilling all aspects of this requirement.  Suppliers that have submitted a response will be notified in writing of PWGSC’s decision whether to continue with the aforementioned procurement or tocompete the requirement.

Inquiries and Submission of Statement of Capabilities
Alexandra Nadeau
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Acquisitions Branch
Logistics, Electrical, Fuel and Transportation Directorate - HN Division
7B3, Place du Portage, Phase III, 11 Laurier Street, Gatineau (QC) K1A 0S5
Telephone :  (819) 420-2859
Facsimile :  (819) 953-4944
E-mail address:  Alexandra.Nadeau@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

All responses or inquiries are to be submitted to the Procurement officer identified above. The PWGSC file number, the procurement officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement. Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.

CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR WRITTEN SUPPLIER RESPONSES CHALLENGING THIS REQUIREMENT IS NOVEMBER 24, 2016, 2:00 PM EST.

Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above.

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award.  However, should a Statement of Capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the contracting authority will proceed to a full tendering process.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, 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.

The PWGSC file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.