CRYOGENIC DETECTOR SYSTEM

Trade Agreement: WTO-AGP/NAFTA/AIT/Canada FTAs with Peru/Colombia/Panama
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: 
Photon Spot Inc
142 W Olive Ave
Monrovia California
United States
91016
Nature of Requirements: 

CRYOGENIC DETECTOR SYSTEM

31184-168665/A
Shannahan, Cassandra
Telephone No. - (819) 420-1068
E-mail: cassandra.shannahan@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

1. 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 

The National Research Council (NRC) requires three superconducting single photon detectors (SSPDs), or two WSi Single-Element Nanowire Detectors and Cryospot 4 with Freeze4 Sorption Fridge from the company Photon Spot to allow >70% detection efficiency of single photons throughout the spectral range from 900nm to 1600nm.

3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements) 

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its SSPDs meet the following requirements: 

a) The SSPDs must have a broad spectral response, with greater than 70% efficiency over the 900nm-1600nm spectral range and peak detection efficiency of 90% or greater. 

b) The timing jitter must be less than 100ps or less, with a detector dead time of 50ns or less.

c) The cryostat must be able to accommodate 8 detectors or similar devices.

d) The cryostat temperature must be below 1K.

e) The company must provide on-site training.

4. Applicability of the trade agreements to the procurement 

This procurement is subject to the following trade agreements: 
- Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT)
- World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier 

The WSi Single-Element Nanowire Detectors and Cryospot 4 with Freeze4 Sorption Fridge from Photon Spot have the following unique technical features not available through other vendors, and which are required by the NRC. 

a) The SSPDs must have a broad spectral response, with greater than 70% efficiency over the 900nm-1600nm spectral range and peak detection efficiency of 90% or greater. 

The SSPDs will be sharedbetween two research groups, the Molecular Photonics (MP) group and the Quantum Physics (QP) group. In the MP group, broad-band femtosecond-picosecond laser pulses are used to generate broad-band single photons which can be tuned from ~900nm to ~1600nm;greater than 70% detection efficiency is required to allow probabilistic photon coincidence experiments to be carried out promptly, and with high confidence bounds. In the QP group, quantum dots emit photons throughout the near- to mid-infrared spectralrange; efficient, broad-band detection is necessary to allow accurate characterization of these sources.
 
b) The timing jitter must be less than 100ps, with a detector dead time of 50ns or less.

Frequently, the MP group wishes to distinguish temporally between femtosecond/picosecond-duration photons emitted from materials with short (sub-nanosecond) coherence times (e.g. photons emitted from a quantum memory); the group is currently lacking this capability. A timing jitter of less than 100ps willenable resolution of multiple “time-bins” within the coherence lifetime of the materials that the group studies. A detector dead time of less than 50ns will allow the MP group to operate experiments at MHz repetition rates, which is important to enable probabilistic photon coincidence experiments.

c) The cryostat must be able to accommodate 8 detectors or similar devices. 

Initially, the MP group wishes to do probabilistic photon coincidence experiments involving two detectors; however, as the sophistication of the group’s experiments increases, the ability to upgrade the system with additional detectors (possibly operating in different spectral ranges) is critical. The QP group design and build quantum dot photon sources which must be operated in cryogenic conditions; there must be room in the purchased cryostat for both the SSPDs, and for the quantum dot devices.

d) The cryostat temperature must be below 1K. 

The QP group design and build fiber-coupled quantum dot single photon sources (QDSPSs) which must be operated below 1K. Thus, in order to house the QDSPSs along with the SSPDs, the cryostat must maintain sub-1K temperatures.

e) The company must provide on-site training. 

SSPDs must be housed in a compatible cryostat, which can be user-maintained and packaged for transfer between the sites where the groups are based. Several of the planned users do not yet have the requisite skills and will require detailed, on-site training.

6. Government Contracts Regulations Exception 

The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) - “only one company is capable of performing the work”. 

7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons 

The following exclusions and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
- Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) - Article 506.12(a)
- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Article 1016.2(b)
- World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) - Article XV.1(b)

8. Delivery date 

The equipment must be delivered on or before March 31, 2017.

9. Cost estimate of the proposed contract 

The estimated value of the contract, including options, is $ 402,732.00 USD.

10. Name and addressof the pre-identified supplier 

Photon Spot Inc,
142 W Olive Ave
Monrovia, CA 91016

11. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities 

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, servicesor 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 thesupplier 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 November 3, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. 

13. Inquiries and submissionof statements of capabilities 

Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:

Cassandra Shannahan
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Acquisitions Branch
Commercial and Consumer Products Directorate
11 Laurier Street, 6A2, Phase III
Place du Portage, Gatineau, Québec, K1A 0S5

Telephone: (819) 420-1068
Facsimile:   (819) 956-3814
E-mail address: cassandra.shannahan@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

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.