ContractSources Sought

Sources Sought - Distribution Switches

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE• NB676020-26-01839
Response Deadline
Jun 10, 2026
13 days left
Days Remaining
13
Until deadline
Set-Aside
Full & Open
Notice Type
Sources Sought

Contract Opportunity Analysis

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is conducting a sources sought market research action for a commercial product purchase of Safran Trusted 4D, Inc. White Rabbit distribution switches and related instruments and licenses. The requirement covers two White Rabbit Z16 low-jitter switches and one Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit with a High-Accuracy Timing IP Core license to support programmable control systems and time synchronization capabilities. The equipment must interoperate with existing White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol infrastructure for sub-nanosecond synchronization across NIST Gaithersburg, the University of Maryland JQI, and other DC-QNet partners, and NIST will consider other responsible vendors only if they can document capability to meet the requirement. Interested firms are asked to submit an electronic capability statement of five pages or less, including company profile information, product and manufacturer details, specification sheets, lead time, small business status, and other relevant information; deliveries are to be FOB Destination within 12 weeks after award and include installation, a minimum five-year warranty, and training for up to five users at NIST Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Classification Codes

NAICS Code
335313
Switchgear and Switchboard Apparatus Manufacturing
PSC Code
5930
SWITCHES

Solicitation Documents

2 Files
Attachment 1 - Requirements Document Draft.pdf
PDF•649 KB•May 29, 2026
AI Summary
The Communication Technology Laboratory is requesting two White Rabbit Z16 (WR-Z16) low-jitter switches and one Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit (QICK) with a High-Accuracy Timing IP (HATI) Core license. These acquisitions aim to enable programmable control systems that can interoperate with the existing White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol (WR-PTP) for sub-nanosecond absolute time synchronization across remote sites, including NIST Gaithersburg, the University of Maryland JQI, and other DC-QNet partners. The contractor must deliver new equipment, including two WR-Z16-LJ-01 switches (version 5.0 or greater) supporting various time protocols, one QICK based on an AMD Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC ZCU216 with sub-10 ps jitter rms, and one permanent HATI Core license for QICK integration. All deliveries must be FOB Destination within 12 weeks ARO, include installation, a minimum five-year warranty, and training for up to five users at NIST Gaithersburg, MD.
Attachment 2 - Brand Name Justification Draft.pdf
PDF•644 KB•May 29, 2026
AI Summary
NIST has issued a brand name justification for Safran White Rabbit distribution switches, supporting instruments, and licenses under requirement NB676020-26-01839. These components are essential for enabling sub-nanosecond absolute time synchronization between NIST Gaithersburg laboratories, the University of Maryland Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), and other DC-QNet partners as part of the Washington DC-Quantum Network Research Consortium. The justification emphasizes the critical need for Safran-compatible systems to ensure interoperability with existing WR-PTP time distribution infrastructure and compatibility with Fermilab's Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit (QICK) open-source platform. Utilizing non-compatible components would incur significant time and monetary costs for NIST to replace current systems.

Related Contract Opportunities

Project Timeline

postedOriginal Solicitation PostedMay 29, 2026
deadlineResponse DeadlineJun 10, 2026
expiryArchive DateJun 25, 2026

Agency Information

Department
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Sub-Tier
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Office
DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST

Point of Contact

Name
Daniel Kent

Place of Performance

Boulder, Colorado, UNITED STATES

Official Sources

View on SAM.gov