Air Bearing Rotation Stage for Neutron Imaging

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Notice ID Number: NB682030-26-01620 Title: Sample Rotation System Department of Commerce Advanced Acquisition Planning Entry Number : NA PURPOSE The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs.   BACKGROUND The NIST neutron imaging team, in the Radiation Physics Division of the Physical Measurement Laboratory, is developing a far-field grating neutron interferometer to measure the projection of the pair correlation function, G(Z), of a sample of interest.  Samples to be interrogated by the phase imaging measurement system range in size, mass, and required environmental enclosures, so that the sample rotation stage to enable tomographic measurements must be capable of carrying loads in excess of 30 kg, have high rotation speed, and short move-settle time. As such, only air bearing rotation stages will be considered. This procurement is to obtain quantity one, air bearing rotation stage to perform tomography measurements, minimizing the deadtime between acquiring projections while ensuring minimum artifacts due to rotation stage wobble, and procure the required cabling, control hardware, and control software. NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a Sample Rotation System that will achieve the objectives identified in this notice.  The NAICS code is 334516-Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a size standard of 1,000 employees . ANTICIPATED REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall (1) Sample Rotational System to the NIST Gaithersburg campus.  All are inclusive of FOB Destination delivery. The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications identified below: Line Item 0001: Sample Rotation Stage (quantity 1) The sample rotation stage shall be an air bearing rotation stage with air consumption less than 40 SLPM and operate at a pressure of less than 600 kPa (lower flow and lower pressure is better). The rotation stage shall have a central clear aperture at least 20 mm in diameter (larger is better). The sample rotation stage shall have a mass less than 10 kg (less is better). The sample rotation stage shall be able to rotate a full 360 degrees (continuous rotation is better). The sample rotation stage shall have a maximum rotation speed of greater than 1000 rotations per minute. The sample rotation stage shall have an axial working load greater than 30 kg (more is better). The sample rotation stage shall have a position resolution of better than 2 arcsec (smaller is better). The sample rotation stage shall have a total tilt error of less than 0.5 arcsec and deviations along the axial and radial directions of less than 30 nm. Line Item 0002 Cabling, Control Hardware, and Control Software      Vendor to provide all required cables, sensors, control hardware and software to achieve requirements of task 1. Vendor to provide cables with lengths of 10 meters to allow the control box to be located outside a radiation area. The sample rotation stage and control hardware shall be integrated and tested as a system. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the information described below, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or Adobe .pdf format. Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice, July 15, 2026, at 10:00 AM ET.  Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response. “ID Assigned” is not acceptable. Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI). Identify the equipment that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice.  For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following: Manufacturer name Model number Technical specifications If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s) Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements.  Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response. Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your respons