---
title: "Infrared Femtosecond Laser System"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-c82ebd76-599c-4adb-9141-cdd118a60d71"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-c82ebd76-599c-4adb-9141-cdd118a60d71"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-c82ebd76-599c-4adb-9141-cdd118a60d71.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-c82ebd76-599c-4adb-9141-cdd118a60d71.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON"
published: "2024-10-17"
---

# Infrared Femtosecond Laser System

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-c82ebd76-599c-4adb-9141-cdd118a60d71

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## Summary

The University of Southampton has awarded a contract for an Infrared Femtosecond Laser System, part of the Water Window X-ray Microscope Project. This is a collaborative initiative involving the School of Chemistry, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Rosalind Franklin Institute, and the Central Laser Facility at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. The project aims to develop a soft X-ray microscope for biological imaging. This procurement falls under the industry category "Lasers" with the CPV code 38636100. The buying organisation is located in Southampton, England, and the contract period is from 29 September 2024 to 25 March 2029. The procurement stage is complete, and the awarded contract, valued at £759,330, was published on 17 October 2024. Key procurement dates include a tender period that ended on 2 August 2024, with the contract's actual work beginning on 26 August 2024.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses, particularly those specialising in high-intensity femtosecond pulse lasers and biological imaging systems. The substantial project budget and the role of esteemed research institutions make this an attractive venture. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will find this particularly advantageous due to the procurement process's suitability criteria, which support SME participation. The open procedure procurement method ensures transparency and equal opportunity for all qualified suppliers. Active Fiber Systems GmbH, a large-scale supplier, successfully secured the contract, demonstrating the high standards expected and met in the bidding process. This procurement can propel businesses forward by increasing their market presence and facilitating collaboration with prominent research entities.

## Notice

The Water Window X-ray Microscope Project is a new EPSRC-funded collaboration between the University of Southampton's School of Chemistry and Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC), the Rosalind Franklin Institute (RFI), and the Central Laser Facility (CLF) at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. The project will design and construct a lab-scale soft X-ray microscope for biological imaging using soft X-rays generated using ultrafast lasers and applying coherent diffractive imaging techniques. Suitable coherent X-ray radiation will be generated using high harmonic generation (HHG), requiring high intensity femtosecond pulses in the infrared spectral region. The signal requirements for imaging mean that a high repetition rate system is necessary. The intended end product will be a microscope that will be available to users for biological imaging. How to obtain Tender Documents and apply: Website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/universityofsouthampton/aspx/Home The Tender documents can be access when logged into In-Tend by selecting 'View Details' on the relevant tender advert and c licking the 'Express Interest' tab. Once in the tender there are five tabs - 'Tender', 'ITT', 'Correspondence', 'Clarifications' and 'History'. Select the 2nd tab ('ITT') where you will find useful information under 'Tender Details'. Continue to scroll down to the heading 'Tender Documents Received' where you will be able to view/download the documents. Please download all the documents and read very carefully. Note that the return documents Tenderers must submit with their tender response are: - File 6 - Compliance and Selection Requirements Workbook; - File 7 - Qualitative Response Requirements Workbook; - File 8 - Commercial Response Requirements Workbook; and - File 9 - Additional Response Requirements Workbook For clarification requests, please use the table provided in File 3 - Invitation to Tender Schedules and submit the document via the Correspondence function. Opting In and Opting Out Please note you are required to 'Opt In' before you can access the full tender document set The 'Opt Out' functionality will also be available throughout the duration of the tender process. Opting out will give you the option of declaring you no longer want to receive any further communication in relation to this tender. Further guidance on how to use In-Tend can be found on the portal under the 'Help' button.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/98960702-ae84-449a-abf4-19d712a8c527 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure (above threshold) |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 Oct 2024 |
| Submission deadline | 2 Aug 2024 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Sep 2024 |
| Contract period | 28 Sep 2024 - 25 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £920,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £759,330 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON |
| Locality | SOUTHAMPTON |
| Post town | Southampton |
| Postcode | SO17 1BJ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| ITL 3 | TLJ32 Southampton |
| Local authority | Southampton |
| Electoral ward | Portswood |
| Westminster constituency | Southampton Test |
| Delivery location | TLJ South East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ACTIVE FIBER SYSTEMS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 38636100 - Lasers

## Release History

- 17 Oct 2024 at 08:05 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/98960702-ae84-449a-abf4-19d712a8c527
- 8 Jul 2024 at 16:22 - TenderAmendment - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/00a08b27-6265-437b-ab3a-46dfb8e78d24
- 18 Jun 2024 at 09:44 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/00a08b27-6265-437b-ab3a-46dfb8e78d24

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/98960702-ae84-449a-abf4-19d712a8c527
  17th October 2024 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/00a08b27-6265-437b-ab3a-46dfb8e78d24
  8th July 2024 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder

## Notice URLs

- https://in-tendhost.co.uk/universityofsouthampton/aspx/Home

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-c82ebd76-599c-4adb-9141-cdd118a60d71. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-c82ebd76-599c-4adb-9141-cdd118a60d71.json.