R -- OPTOELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR MODE RESOLVED OPTICAL COMB CONTROL

The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) proposes to negotiate on a sole source basis contract under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) with Purdue University for an Optoelectronic system. The University will be responsible for the design, construction and testing of a high performance opto-electronic system for mode-resolved temporal/spectral control of individual modes of a femtosecond optical frequency comb. Hardware developed must be integrated with an existing Optical Frequency Synthesizer (OFS) referenced to a NIST optical atomic frequency standard in the NIST, Boulder laboratory. The tasks are as follows:1. Design optical system that can resolve and control individual modes of a femtosecond-optical-frequency-comb (FOFC) based on a high-repetition rate mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser with the following characteristics a. Self-referenced laser parameters i. Pulse repetition rate 1 GHz ii. Offset frequency phase-locked using the 1f-2f or 2f-3f method b. Optical interferometer i. Central wavelength band of primary interest is near 650 nm ii. Produce output display as 2-dimensional optical array that spatially and spectrally resolves individual modes in manor that would allow temporal and spatial control of the amplitude and phase of individual modes. 2. Construct the optical interferometer designed in task 1 in the NIST-OFMG Boulder laboratory with input optical beam provided by NIST broadband optical frequency comb. 3. Construct optical detection system capable of resolving and displaying individual comb modes as two-dimensional image and demonstrate with NIST FOFC. 4. Evaluate the performance of the optical interferometer constructed in task 2 in terms of the following critical parameters. a. Spectral/spatial resolving power b. Frequency domain spectral resolving power c. Detection system performance relative to fundamental limits (shot noise, thermal noise, optical power) i. Detection sensitivity ii. Background noise levels (optical and electronic) iii. Temporal bandwidth 5. Demonstrate the performance of such a mode-resolved comb by application to high resolution spectroscopy of an atomic/molecular system. 6. Design modulation system for use with this spatially/spectrally resolved comb a. Ability to phase modulate individual comb modes b. Ability to amplitude modulate individual comb modes c. Evaluate constraints on performance including: temporal bandwidth, optical power limits, amplitude and phase fidelity, and feasibility for fabrication into an array structure. Deliverables for these items will be a combination of written documents, verbal presentations, assembled hardware as described above and integrated with NIST-OFMG optical frequency comb, and test reports. Components and instrumentation will be provided by the NIST-OFMG. Work must be completed prior to July 2007. Purdue University is the only group in the world that has developed a method and demonstrated its feasibility for resolving individual comb modes of a femtosecond mode-locked laser and is therefore the only qualified source to complete this work. This procurement is being conducted per FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures (NTE $100K). This synopsis is issued for information only. No competitive solicitation is planned. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether or not use of competitive procedures to fulfill this requirement would be in the Government's best interest and must address qualifications pertinent to this requirement. Any questions regarding this notice shall be submitted in writing to Ms. Rima (e-mail preferred). Anticipated award date is June 14, 2006.