SOURCES SOUGHT: Spatial Light Modulator
Commerce (all) · DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST
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.
Where this opportunity stands
Every notice posted under solicitation NB672020-26-02299 in this department, oldest first.
- Jul 14, 2026 · this noticeSources Sought
- Aug 4, 2026Combined Synopsis/SolicitationOpen
Next steps for this stage
Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.
- Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
- Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
- Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.
What the notice says
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division Sources Sought for Commercial Product Purchase THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATION. It is a market research tool being used to determine potential and eligible business firms that can provide the product described herein prior to determining the method of acquisition. The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) seeks information on vendors that can provide one (1) Spatial Light Modulator System (modulator and benchtop thermoelectric liquid chiller) per the Specifications attached he… (show all)
rein. This announcement is not a Request for Quotation (RFQ) and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. No solicitation is currently available. Additionally, The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources because of this Sources Sought announcement. The results of this Sources Sought will be utilized to determine if any Small Business Set-aside opportunities exist. All Small Business Set-aside categories will be considered. In addition, this market research tool is being used to identify potential and eligible firms, of all sizes, prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a solicitation. Based on this Sources Sought announcement, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement on the System for Award Management (sam.gov) website and subsequently award a contract. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage that can fulfil the requirement, in accordance with the Specifications, then this acquisition shall be solicited as a small business set aside. However, NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses (SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB and VOSB). This requirement is assigned NAICS 334516 � Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 1000 employees. Interested business organizations that believe they can meet the requirement should submit electronic copies of their capability statement. Please limit responses to five (5) pages or less. Responses should include the following information: 1. Company Profile to include number of employees, office location(s), Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and Cage Code. 2. Name of company that will provide the product. 3. Name of company that will manufacture and country of origin of the product. 4. Specification sheets and examples of products that meet the Specifications attached herein. 5. Typical lead time to deliver the product after receipt of award to include installation time and any necessary training that is provided. 6. Identification and verification of the company�s small business status. 7. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing our requirement and finalizing our market research. (Company sales brochures or marketing packages will not be considered). REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW: See the attached draft Specifications Document.
Who won similar work
3 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same office (DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST), same product/service code (PSC) 6650 and NAICS 334516.
Single-winner award sizes (3): middle half $125K to $1.1M, median $144K; range $107K to $2.1M.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC | 2 | $2.3M | Sep 24, 2026 |
| ZYGO CORPORATION · $AME · $6.6B | 1 | $107K | Sep 22, 2026 |
Value counts single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling; that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's last annual revenue from its 10-K.
- $AME reported $6.6B revenue in FY2025. The median single-winner award in these 3 past awards, $144K, is under 0.1% of that. 10-K
One award's total value against one year of revenue; many awards are paid over several years.
- Sep 24, 2026Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC$2.1MX-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) Microscope
- Sep 22, 2026ZYGO CORPORATION$107KCamera-based Fizeau Interferometer
- Sep 15, 2026Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC$144KAward Notice for Automated Inverted Microscope
Competitive landscape
For the 2 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.
- 0 of these past winners lobbied Commerce, Dept of (DOC) since 2024 (0 filings)
- 0 of their lobbyists list a past Commerce, Dept of (DOC) job
- No corporate PAC money from them to the overseeing committees since 2024
- 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
Policy around it
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.
- 0 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
- 372 rules from the department in the last 12 months
- 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
Market
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.
- 1 of the past winners are listed companies
- 1 insider buys and 1 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
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 only. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.