Purpose This is a combined sources sought notice and notice of intent to sole source, not a request for a quotation. NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the essential requirements included in the “Description” section below. If no alternate sources are identified, the Government intends to negotiate a firm-fixed price purchase order on a sole source basis with PicoQuant Photonics North America, Inc. (UEI: V23CHJYP3J55) located at 54 Kane St, Springfield, MA 01119. PicoQuant Photonics North America, Inc. is a domestic subsidiary of PicoQuant, GmbH. PicoQuant Photonics North America, Inc. distributes the HydraHarp 500S, which is manufactured by PicoQuant GmbH, located in Germany, a non-domestic origin. This action will be conducted under the authority of FAR RFO Part 12.102(a) and 41 USC 1901, allowing the Contracting Officer (CO) to solicit from one source. The system shall be delivered to NIST in Gaithersburg, MD, FOB Destination, within 20 weeks after receipt of an order, fully meeting the minimum requirements identified below. Description The Contractor shall provide one PicoQuant HydraHarp 500S time tagger, 5 channel streaming time tagging system with less than 4 ps timing precision (rms jitter) including a full software package, manufactured by PicoQuant, GmbH, located in Germany, for use with an existing HydraHarp at NIST used in the development of a measurement test suite for quantum network component and protocol testing, verification, and characterization. Line Item 0001: Description: HydraHarp500S, Stand Alone USB interface, 1-Sync + 4-Detector channels Time tagging unit, (PN: 931060) & Software. Quantity: One (1) The PicoQuant HydraHarp 500S & Software time tagger for single photon counting shall consist of the following specifications: • 1-sync channel and 4-detector channels (5 channels total) • Direct White Rabbit synchronization capability through integrated White Rabbit interface • Channel deadtime < 680 ps for edge trigger • Channel deadtime < 6.8 ns with constant fraction discrimination • Total sustained count rate, sum over all input channels at least 80 Mcps • Upgradable to 8-detector channels • 1ps time resolution • Constant fraction discriminator per channel • Full software package, to include development kit with programming examples for implementation into Matlab, Python, Labview and C++, and lifetime software and firmware updates. • Warranty: The contractor shall warrant the entire system in accordance with the Original Equipment Manufacturer's commercial item warranty terms and conditions, to include at minimum parts and labor for 12 months. Background The NIST Quantum Information Theory group applies expertise in mathematical subdisciplines such as combinatorics, graph theory, network science, operations research, optimization, discrete nonlinear dynamics, computational geometry, quantum mechanics, and information theor…