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Commerce (all) · DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST
Commerce is planning to buy "Multi-Channel Laser Interferometer for UHV Optomechanical Sensing". This is an early notice: it is not taking bids yet. The work is in Gaithersburg, MD, USA. The original due date (Jul 23, 2026) has passed; check the latest amendment for the current one. In the last 2 years, similar work went to 10 or more companies, usually for about $81K per award. An award could come any day: the usual time to award has passed.
Put together from the facts on this page; the details and sources are below.
Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.
Every notice posted under solicitation NIST-SS26-156 in this department, oldest first.
Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.
equirement: The Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division at NIST is developing an optomechanical sensor to characterize the fundamental mechanisms of photo-charging on metal surfaces in ultra-high vacuum, enabling the control and mitigation of light-induced perturbations to trapped ions in quantum computing chips and to neutral atoms in optical clocks and Rydberg-based quantum processors. A compact, ultra-high-vacuum-compatible, multi-channel laser interferometer equipped with miniature in-situ measurement heads and providing picometer resolution is required to detect the three-axis displacements of the constituent cantilever transducer induced by charge accumulation and work-function shifts. NIST seeks a fiber-coupled laser interferometer system consisting of a three-channel Michelson interferometer controller, a breakout box for analog and digital signal access, and three (3) ultra-high-vacuum-compatible focusing sensor heads. The system must provide picometer-class displacement resolution with measurement bandwidth of at least 2.5 MHz across all three channels simultaneously, miniature all-optical (electronics-free) sensor heads rated to a base pressure of 1�10�11 mbar, and a stabilized, NIST-traceable laser source operating in the 1510�1560 nm range. These specifications are necessary to resolve sub-picometer cantilever motion at mechanical resonance frequencies in ultra-high vacuum, while minimizing thermal and electrical perturbations to the metal surfaces under study. NIST has not yet determined its acquisition strategy for this requirement and encourages interested sources to respond to this Notice. If NIST�s market research indicates there are alternative sources that are capable and interested in competing to fill this requirement, separate and apart from [SmarAct Inc LFAVHCE9K2X3] then NIST will consider conducting a competitive acquisition in accordance with law and regulation. To be clear, NIST�s identification of [SmarAct Inc] in this Notice does not constitute a binding commitment or obligation for it to conduct a sole source procurement with [SmarAct Inc ] for this requirement. Instructions for Responding to Respond to This Notice Parties that respond to this Notice are requested to voluntarily submit the requested information via email in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and/or Microsoft Excel format to the designated point(s) of contact whose name and email address appears at the bottom of this notice. Please provide only the information requested by this Notice, and do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in a response to this Notice. Information Requested in Response to This Notice: To help NIST with its market research, NIST is requesting that industry sources carefully review this notice and any attachments to it and voluntarily provide the following information: Company Summary Notice Identification: Notice ID and Title of this posting. Corporate Details: Company name, physical address, website address, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Point of Contact (POC): Name, phone number, and email address. Company Size Standard: Your company�s size status relative to the NAICS code provided in this Notice. (Refer to the SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards). System for Award Management (SAM) Registration: Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in SAM.gov. Feedback for Draft Requirements Review the potential requirements/minimum specifications included with this Notice. Then, please provide suggestions to (a) improve clarity of it; (b) to make it more competitive; (c) to indicate whether there anything in it that may inadvertently exclude domestic involvement; and (d) to indicate how the requirements could potentially be revised to improve the ability for domestic (�Made in America�) end products to be considered. Information Regarding Your Company�s Products and Services Provide specifications, company name of the original equipment manufacturer, and the country of manufacture for products and services that your company is legally authorized to sell and that may meet NIST�s minimum requirements. Indicate whether, in your opinion, the product(s) meet the definition of (a) commercial product or (b) commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item or COTS item as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2 and, if so, which definition applies ((a) or (b)). Indicate whether, in your opinion, the service(s) meet the definition of commercial service as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2. Standard Commercial Pricing: Provide your company�s standard commercial pricing information for the identified products and services and explain what is included in those standard prices. Estimated Price Range: You may provide an estimated price or price range for the requirements, including a brief explanation of how the price estimate was developed. Standard Commercial Terms and Conditions: Provide a copy of the standard commercial terms and conditions for the commercial products and commercial services identified in the response to this notice, including nature and duration of standard commercial warranty. Regulatory and Supply Chain Compliance Indicate whether your company could comply with FAR Clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (OCT 2022) if this acquisition were to be set aside for small businesses. Provide a brief supporting explanation. Existing Governmentwide Contract Vehicles Indicate whether your company has its own GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract or other federal contract vehicles under which NIST could award an order and, if so, provide the contract details (contract number, Contracting Officer name/contact, SOW, terms and conditions, and price lists). We truly appreciate your company�s willingness to provide the above-mentioned information which NIST will be valuable in helping NIST complete its market research. Important Notes This Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay respondents to this notice for information provided in response to this Notice. Following a review of the responses and market research, NIST may publish a solicitation on an authorized site, depending on the chosen acquisition strategy. Responses received after the closing date for this Notice may not be considered. There is no solicitation available at this time. The Government reserves the right to use information that it receives in response to this Notice as it deems appropriate to establish final requirements or for other legally appropriate purposes. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization�s capability. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA�s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s). QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS NOTICE For additional information, please contact the primary con
89 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same office (DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST), same product/service code (PSC) 6640 and NAICS 334516.
Single-winner award sizes (89): middle half $45K to $199K, median $81K; range $8K to $5.7M.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOPTICA PHOTONICS INC | 5 | $550K | Oct 7, 2026 |
| TECHNICAL COMMUNITIES, INC. | 4 | $1.0M | Oct 7, 2026 |
| BRISTOL INSTRUMENTS INC | 3 | $91K | Sep 24, 2025 |
| Montana Instruments Corporation | 2 | $440K | Sep 8, 2026 |
| STABLE LASER SYSTEMS INC | 2 | $277K | Sep 15, 2026 |
| SPINNER ICT INC | 2 | $196K | Oct 7, 2026 |
| LIQUID INSTRUMENTS INC | 2 | $176K | Sep 15, 2026 |
| GOVERNMENT SCIENTIFIC SOURCE INC | 2 | $97K | Sep 22, 2026 |
| NKT PHOTONICS INC. | 2 | $48K | Sep 30, 2025 |
| CAMECA INSTRUMENTS, INC | 1 | $5.7M | Feb 25, 2025 |
Value counts new single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling (same contract, or the same office, day and amount); that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Contract modifications are not new awards and are not added in either. Notices whose amount is a placeholder such as $999,999,999 are not added in. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings.
Materiality: one award's value as a share of the winner's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings (or its last fiscal year, as noted when you point at it). Low under 1%, Medium 1 to 5%, High 5% or more. Many awards are paid over several years, so this overstates a single year's share.
For the 8 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.
Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.
For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.
Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.
Companies are matched to tickers by exact name, including the subsidiaries a company lists in its SEC filings. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.