Notice_of_Intent_ESR_Spectrometer.pdf

FEDBIZOPPS.GOV ANNOUNCEMENT: Notice of Intent

CLASSIFICATION CODE: 66 - Instruments and Laboratory Equipment

SUBJECT: Procurement of an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (ESR) Spectrometer

SOLICITATION NUMBER: 1333ND19QNB680339

CONTACT POINTS: Robert Cowins, Contracting Officer (301) 975-8335

DESCRIPTION: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR Part 13.106-1(b) with Bruker Corporation for the acquisition of one (1) Continuous Wave X-Band EPR spectrometer with variable temperature capabilities. This equipment will used by the NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML), in Gaithersburg, MD.

***** Sole source determination is based on the need to acquire an ESR spectrometer with the following specifications:

Spectrometer components shall be seamlessly integrated and turn key.

1. The magnet component shall:

a. Be of a double yoke design.

b. Have ten-inch pole faces.

c. Support L, S, X, and Q band EPR measurements by having a maximum magnetic field strength of at least 14.5 kG with a pole gap greater than 70 mm.

d. Have a magnetic field uniformity of at least 10 mG over the sample area (approximately 1 cm x

1 cm x 2 cm).

e. Be fully compatible with the below described microwave resonators, variable temperature equipment, and other accessories.

f. Be water cooled.

g. Have a suitable water-cooled matched power supply to allow for the above specifications.

2. The microwave excitation/detection component shall:

a. Be an x-band continuous wave microwave bridge with a matched reference arm design with variable attenuation and variable phase.

b. Be seamlessly integrated with other spectrometer components and controllers for frequency, attenuation, reference phase and attenuation settings. All bridge parameters will be software controlled.

c. Permit manual bridge tuning/matching as well as automatic bridge tuning/matching via software and iris motor compatibility.

d. Have an absolute sensitivity of at least 1 x 109 spins per 1 G linewidth.

e. Produce a signal to noise ratio of at least 3000:1 for a weak pitch spin standard.

f. Have a Gunn diode microwave source.

g. Have a working frequency of at least 9.2 GHz to 9.9 GHz.

h. Have a maximum power output of at least 200 mW in a leveled mode.

i. Contain a built-in frequency counter with 1 kHz resolution.

j. Contain a built-in power meter.

k. Contain a microwave attenuator with a range of at least 0 to 60 dB in 1 dB increments with automatic phase correction over the entire range.

l. Include an automatic frequency control system with a stability of at least 10-8, a dynamic range of at least +/- 6 MHz, and automatic gain control.

m. Include a high sensitivity continuous wave x-band EPR microwave resonator/cavity compatible with all other mentioned specifications.

i. The cavity itself shall have an unloaded resonance frequency of about 9.85 GHz, an unloaded Q factor of at least 15000, sample tube access holes of at least 1 cm in diameter, integrated modulation coils supporting modulated magnetic field strengths of at least 20 G, contain a window to support optical illumination of the sample, and be compatible with the variable sample temperature systems described herein.

n. Support spin counting without a reference sample.

o. Include an automatic and programmable goniometer system for performing EPR measurements as a function of sample orientation in the magnetic field. Angular resolution shall be at least 1 degree.

3. The hardware console control component shall:

a. Be a self-contained unit which serves to integrate the spectrometer components.

b. Contain a magnetic field controller suitable to achieve the above described magnet specifications. Additionally, the magnetic field controller shall:

i. Support magnetic field sweeps over the entire magnet range with resolution up to

256K points.

ii. Be capable of sweep times of at least 400 us to 5 s per point.

iii. Have long term field stability at least +/- 10 mG per hour at a constant room temperature.

c. Contain a signal processing unit with an available digital lock-in mode supporting:

i. Detection bandwidth of at least 30 MHz.

ii. External trigger in/out connections.

iii. Modulation reference signal out connection.

iv. Modulation frequency of at least 80 Hz to 200 kHz in digital lock in mode or 500 Hz to 120 kHz in hardware lock in mode.

v. Ability to single or double modulate.

vi. Simultaneous harmonic EPR signal detection up to 5th order.

vii. Simultaneous in and out of phase detection.

viii. User definable digital filters.

d. Support a rapid scan magnetic field mode which permits:

i. Triangle and saw tooth ramp shapes.

ii. Scan rate up to 200 Hz.

iii. Scan width up to at least 200 G per scan.

iv. Supports both phase sensitive and direct detection.

4. The software component of the spectrometer shall:

a. Seamlessly control all spectrometer operation.

b. Be of a graphical user interface

c. Support all applicable data acquisition modes and experiment parameters of the spectrometer including but not limited to 1D sweeps of field, 1D time monitoring, 2D sweeps of field, delay, power, temperature, and sample angle via the programmable goniometer.

d. Include a data manipulation and analysis package which includes but is not limited to:

i. Integration/differentiation, peak locating, spectrum math, spectrum fitting, baseline corrections, and filtering.

ii. Simulation and fitting of EPR spectra.

iii. The ability to determine spin concentration without a reference sample.

5. The variable temperature component of the spectrometer shall:

a. Support sample temperatures in the range of 5 K to 600 K. This can be accomplished with separate helium-based and nitrogen-based components that must be switched out depending on the desired temperature.

i. The helium-based system is expected to be utilized in the temperature range of 5 K to about 100 K while the nitrogen system is expected to be utilized in the temperature range of about 100 K to 600 K.

b. Be of a “in cavity” design in which a quartz dewar is inserted into a standard microwave resonate cavity.

c. Include a digital temperature controller for setting and controlling the sample temperature.

d. Be compatible with the x-band microwave resonators described above.

e. Be compatible with and include hardware to interface/mount with the magnet system described above.

f. The helium system must be cryogen-free and include all components (compressors, pumps, transfer lines, and associated controls) required to recirculate/recycle/store the helium used to cool the sample.

g. The nitrogen-based system is to be supplied by liquid nitrogen and includes:

i. A liquid nitrogen storage dewar.

ii. A heater and transfer assembly which supplies the liquid or gaseous nitrogen to the sample within the cavity.

6. The heat exchanger component of the spectrometer shall be of sufficient capacity to support the heat load of all other spectrometer systems. It shall contain two loops; the first is a closed loop containing all spectrometer components. The second loop will connect to NIST supplied facility process chilled water.

7. The entire spectrometer must be upgradable to support various other measurement frequencies and modes of operation that can be purchased at a later date including but not limited to:

a. Bridges and resonators to support multiple microwave bands (L, S, and Q band) and pulsed modes of operation.

b. Equipment to support electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) measurements.

c. Equipment to support in situ ultraviolet irradiation of the sample.

Bruker Corporation is the only company identified in the market that can provide the equipment that meet NIST’s specific requirements.

***** The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 1000 employees.

****** A determination by the Government whether to compete the proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.

*****No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for quotations.

Interested parties that believe they can satisfy the requirements listed above must identify their capability in writing before the response date of this notice. Only responses received by June 28, 2019, 12:00 p.m., EST will be considered by the government. Responses shall be submitted via email to robert.cowins@nist.gov.

mailto:robert.cowins@nist.gov

Contracting Office Address:

100 Bureau Drive Bldg. 301, Mail Stop 1640 Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-0001