This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY. Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response.

This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for conducting a follow-on acquisition. NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested. No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper.

NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME.

Background:

The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking vendors that can provide a multichannel potentiostat/galvanostat for battery research. This device will be used to perform electrochemical experiments on batteries and other electrochemical systems while simultaneously performing X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) measurements at NIST's Beamline for Materials Measurements at the National Synchrotron Light Source II. The device has two main features: (1) adequate control of the electrochemical environment suitable for a diverse range of electrochemical systems, (2) ability to be integrated into the controls environment in use at the facility

Requirement:

NIST is seeking information on contractors who can provide the following general services:

- Multiple I/O channels for simultaneous control of multiple samples

- Voltage range of at least 10V with resolution of at least 1 uV

- Current output above 1 mA with at least 10 fA resolution

- An option for Electrochemical Impedence Spectroscopy on at least
one channel with a broad frequency range covering at least 10 uHz
to 1 MHz

- Remote control via network or USB connection

- Control system must be available for integration into the EPICS-based controls system in use at NIST's Beamline for Materials Measurements at the National Synchrotron Light Source II located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY.

Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the services described above. NIST anticipates issuing a Request for Quotation in the third quarter of FY2019, and awarding a contract no later than the fourth quarter of FY2019.

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses. The small business size standard associated with the NAICS code for this effort, 334516, is 1000 employees. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice.

After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. Companies that can provide such services are requested to email a written response describing their abilities to [email protected] no later than the response date for this sources sought notice.

The following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice:
1. Name, Address, DUNS number, CAGE code, and point of contact information of your company.
2. Any information on the company's small business certifications, if applicable.
3. Description of your company's capabilities as they relate to the services described in this notice.
4. A description of your company's previous experience providing the services described in this notice.
5. Indication of whether the services described in this notice are currently offered via your company's GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), or other existing Government-wide contract vehicles; and, if so, the contract number(s) for those vehicles.
6. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research.

Responses are limited to a total of twelve (12) pages. The responses must be in MS Word format. Pages shall be 8½-inch x 11-inch, using Times New Roman 11 Point Font. Each page shall have adequate margins on each side (at least one inch) of the page. Header/footer information (which does not include any information to be analyzed) may be included in the 1" margin space