CAN - Optical Frequency Comb

Official notice

Authority: National Physical Laboratory

GoodsAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competitionSME suitable

Sectors: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) (38) Delivery: UK

Awarded value£510,158published contract · exc. VAT

Awarded 31 Jan 2024no call for competition

Awarded to Menlo Systems GmbH2 awards

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Comparison of optical frequency standards is essential for verifying that the clocks both locally and remotely at other national metrological institutes all agree to within their quoted uncertainties. These quoted uncertainties can be as low as ~1e-18, and so agreement between multiple clocks all operating at this level is required to verify that uncertainty. Remote clock comparisons at NPL, or between NPL and other European NMIs, are only possible at this uncertainty using optical frequency combs and telecoms optical fibre links to compare and transmit frequencies over long distances.

By using an optical frequency comb with the full flexibility to cover the 500 nm to 2000 nm wavelength range, the infrastructure will be in place to enable any of the likely candidates for an optical representation of the SI second to be compared over a short cross-site fibre link. The optical frequency comb will also require dedicated branches to link with the optical clocks and oscillators already available at NPL, these include the Sr+ at 674 nm, the Sr lattice at 698 nm, the Yb+ clocks at both 871 nm and 934 nm, and an ultrastable laser at 1064 nm.

CPV: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1An optical frequency comb for comparison of optical clocks over a short fibre linkAwarded

An optical frequency comb for comparison of optical clocks over a short fibre link

Qty: 1

Delivery: UK · NPL Management Ltd Hampton Road Teddington TW11 0LW

Extensions: 12. OPTIONAL ITEM: The supplier should quote separately for any frequency counters used to achieve the mandatory requirements. Any frequency counters required to monitor the stability of the comb itself should be labelled as such and offered separately to those which are used for monitoring other signals, e.g. beat notes with external CW lasers. 13. OPTIONAL ITEM: In relation to the mandatory requirement 19 above, an optional extension to shift the ultrastable microwave output to the Cs primary standard frequency near to 9.2 GHz should be quoted for separately.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Legal basis: CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category: Goods
Notice status: Awarded without competition
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Direct award (no call for competition)
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 19 Jan 2024, 12:13 GMT
Last source update: 9 Feb 2024, 10:36 GMT
FTS notice number: 2024/S 000-004372
Classification (CPV): Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
Delivery area: UK
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-042e73 Find a Tender

Why no open competition: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
Published justification: Proposed procurement was very similar to the competitive tender purchase of Frequency Combs previously conducted by T&F/OFM earlier in 2021 and again in 2023, which were purchased to equip state-of-the-art test and evaluation laboratories both in Teddington and in Glasgow.
Because of this, OFM have now installed and commissioned several of these systems and invested a substantial amount of time in developing a full understanding of the system. At the time of the previous procurements, the Menlo system was evaluated to provide the most appropriate solution to the T&F needs by far. By purchasing a similar system from the same supplier, the embedded expertise in this system can be exploited, and subsequently interoperability of systems can be developed.
Based on the specification from the previous tender processes, the systems from other two bidders were found to be the only ones capable of demonstrably meeting the repetition rate tunability and the required flexibility in a turn-key system. None of the alternative suppliers could guarantee or demonstrate the specification at the required level. Menlo systems scored high on demonstrated performance systems integration and service.
Since we have tested the market twice in the past few years with the same outcome, we are confident that Menlo Systems is the only provider that can meet the expected requirements for our purposes.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 2

Awarded value £510,1581 contract exc. VAT

Bids received 11 from SMEs

Contracts signed 2latest 31 Jan 2024

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Menlo Systems GmbHSubcontracting: declared	€588,100 †	—	Awarded
Menlo Systems GmbH	£510,158 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

An optical frequency comb for comparison of optical clocks over a short fibre link · Menlo Systems GmbH
Signed
31 Jan 2024
Value
£510,158
Status
active
Contract 001905-2024-1 · Menlo Systems GmbH
Signed
15 Dec 2023
Value
€588,100
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
1bids · 1 electronic · 1 from abroad	1	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

National Physical Laboratory

Contracting authorityBody governed by public lawScientific Research Hampton Road, Teddington, UK, TW11 0LWContact name, email

Dispute resolution & review bodies

NPL Management LtdMediation bodyReview body Teddington

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Menlo Systems GmbHAwarded supplier Am Klopferspitz 19a, Bayern, Martinsried, DE, 82152

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.