NIST_Requirements(final).docx

NIST Requirements Document Interferometric Microscope

I. Background/ Scope The Surface and Interface Metrology Group (SIMG) of the Sensor Science Division (SSD), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), provides calibrations, measurement services and research in the field of surface texture or surface topography.

NIST requires the purchase of an interferometric microscope, also known as an optical surface profiler, for the purpose of measurement/calibration of surface roughness and step height standards. The instrument will be used as a primary source for calibration of artifacts that are then in turn used to calibrate other instruments for surface measurements. Therefore, simplifying the measurement traceability chain or directly linking it to the SI unit of Length is of significant importance.

The instrument will incorporate a minimum of two operational modes: Phase-Shift Interferometry (PSI), and Coherence Scanning Interferometry (CSI). The instrument will include a laser interferometer or capacitance gauge in the Z (vertical) axis for monitoring the Z motion of the objective(s) relative to the sample during measurement scans.

II. Minimum Requirements The system shall meet or exceed the technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental or prototype items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the proposer is not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software.

Line Item 0001: Quantity of one (1) Interferometric Microscope which meets or exceeds the technical specifications identified below:

1. The interferometric microscope shall include at a minimum two modes of operation:

a. Phase Shift Interferometry (PSI) mode.

b. Coherence Scanning Interferometry (CSI) mode using visible light.

2. Shall include, at a minimum, the following objectives: 5X (+/- 15%), 10X, 20X, 50X, and 100X (+/- 15%).

3. Shall include a motorized encoded objective turret system with a minimum capacity of 4 objectives.

4. Lateral optical resolution shall be less than or equal to 0.5 µm using the Sparrow criterion using a 100X objective.

5. Maximum Z measurement scan range shall be 5 mm or greater.

6. Shall include 0.5X (+/- 15%), 1.0X, and 2.0X (+/- 15%) zoom (relay) lenses.

7. Instrument vertical noise level, as defined by ISO WD25178-700, shall be 0.15 nm or lower in PSI mode and 0.3 nm or lower in CSI mode. The acquisition procedure specifies the measurement of two images of an optical flat. The instrument noise level is reported as the RMS roughness of the difference of the two images divided by the square root of 2. Each image acquisition shall take five seconds or less, using full FOV of a 10X objective. Image averaging within the acquisition time is allowed. Any low pass filter applied to the data shall have a size not to exceed 3x3 pixels. Stronger consideration shall be given to an instrument that can offer a noise level lower than 0.15 nm or lower in PSI mode and 0.3 nm or lower in CSI mode.

8. Traceability to the SI unit of length for the vertical scan direction shall not rely on the measurement of calibrated step height artifacts. Instead, it shall be achieved by using one of the two following methods for both PSI and CSI modes of operation:

a. Integrated displacement measuring laser interferometer; OR

b. Integrated calibrated capacitance gauge. In this case, the vendor shall include the procedure and software components necessary for NIST to perform the calibration procedure.

c. Vendor shall provide documentation on the method of traceability for PSI and CSI modes in the official quotation.

9. Shall include a XY translation stage, capable of sample positioning and measurement stitching over a range of at least 150 mm in the X direction, and 150 mm in the Y direction. XY Stage shall have a bidirectional repeatability of 2 µm or better (lower), and a bidirectional linear accuracy of 10 µm or better (lower).

10. The digital capturing device (CCD detector) shall have a minimum resolution of 1,000 x 1,000 pixels.

11. System shall incorporate a “live view” that allows viewing of samples in real time and manipulation of the optical fringes.

12. Microscope shall incorporate a motorized tip/tilt system that allows the user to level a sample relative to the optical axis, also aiding in nulling the fringes.

13. Microscope shall be delivered configurable as a “tabletop unit”, such that it can be placed on a pre-existing vibration isolation air table. Footprint of microscope (not including controller boxes, PC and related hardware) shall be no more than 1 meter x 1 meter. Space for computer and controller boxes will be provided next to the air table.

14. Microscope shall include a joystick controller that controls at least the X,Y,Z stage translations.

15. Shall operate on 120V for all components.

16. Shall include all necessary power supplies, cables, adapters, etc. for normal operation.

17. Computer control system:

a. Shall include a modern PC running Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit.

b. Shall include an Intel i7 (or equivalent) level processor.

c. Minimum 16 GB system memory.

d. Minimum 1 TB Hard drive.

e. Processor and video card shall be capable of handling surface datasets including stitched images (at least 5x5 stitches).

18. Software functions:

a. Software shall fully operate microscope as intended.

b. Shall have necessary calibration routines built into the software. This shall include a reference flat subtraction routine.

c. Software shall include automated stitching for large samples with user adjustable image overlap percentage.

d. Shall include basic analysis including plane fitting, trimming, filtering and calculation of surface roughness parameters (ASME B46 or ISO compliant).

e. Shall have the capability to store data to the hard drive, including ability to export into general purpose, nonproprietary formats, such as .txt, .SUR.

19. Shall include a reference flat calibration artifact.

20. Shall include a lateral calibration artifact (reference grid).

III. Delivery Delivery shall be FOB Destination (or equivalent terms, such as INCOTERMS Delivered Duties Paid) are required and shall occur not later than (NLT) twelve (12) weeks after receipt of an order (ARO).

FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. All shipping costs shall be included in the total firm-fixed price. The contractor shall deliver all Line Items to:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640 IV. Inspection/Acceptance In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense. EQUIPMENT SHALL INLCUDE AN INSTALLATION AND USER MANUAL WHICH FULLY DESCRIBES PROPER SET-UP, INSTALLATION AND USAGE.

The equipment will be visually inspected upon receipt by the technical point of contact (TPOC) for observable damages and flaws. If damages and/or flaws are observed, the equipment will be returned to the vendor at the vendor’s sole expense. The TPOC will notify the vendor via email, within five (5) business days of observing the damage that the equipment is being returned. If damages and/or flaws are not observed, the equipment will be installed by the vendor. The vendor and TPOC will ensure the equipment is fully operational and demonstrates operation to the minimum specifications set forth in this document. If the equipment fails to be fully operational and/or does not demonstrate operation to the minimum specifications, the equipment will be returned to the vendor at the vendor’s sole expense. If no observable damage and/or flaws are observed, the following tests will be performed prior to acceptance within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of instrument, installation, and training:

1. Visual Inspection

a. General inspection of the microscope and components to ensure everything has been included and there is no damage.

b. The interferometric microscope will be operated using manufacturer recommended procedures

2. Calibration of instrument shall be performed using vendor developed methods. TPOC shall observe calibration process.

3. Confirmation of selected quoted specifications will be verified by measurement of NIST supplied standards. These shall be measured as indicated below. Relevant parameters shall be calculated, and the results will be compared to the known values of the NIST supplied standards (Tests 3b – 3e).

a. Optical glass or mirror flat included with instrument. Will be used to check instrument noise level in PSI and CSI modes. Noise levels, as defined by ISO WD25178-700, shall be 0.15 nm or lower in PSI mode and 0.3 nm or lower in CSI mode. The acquisition procedure specifies the measurement of two images of an optical flat. The instrument noise level is reported as the RMS roughness of the difference of the two images divided by the square root of 2. Each image acquisition shall take five seconds or less, using full FOV of a 10X objective. Image averaging within the acquisition time is allowed. Any low pass filter applied to the data shall have a size not to exceed 3x3 pixels.

b. NIST supplied SRM 2073 Type C sinusoidal roughness standard (https://www-s.nist.gov/srmors/certificates/archives/2073.pdf). Ra and RSm parameters shall be calculated and used to verify lateral & vertical calibration in CSI mode. Measurements shall be performed using a 20X objective with a minimum measurement length of 5.6 mm, and using a short cutoff (λs) of 2.5 µm and a long cutoff (λc) of 0.8 mm. The maximum error for Ra relative to the certified value shall be no more than +/- 4%. (NOTE: The certified value for Ra of the standard has an uncertainty of +/- 1.2% (k=2)). The maximum error for RSm relative to the certified value shall be no more than +/- 1.0%. (NOTE: The certified value for RSm of the standard has an uncertainty of +/- 0.1% (k=2)).

c. NIST supplied 4.5 µm Step Height standard. This is a check of CSI mode vertical calibration. Maximum error relative to the certified value shall be no more than +/- 1%. (NOTE: The certified value of the standard has an uncertainty of +/- 0.27% (k=2)).

d. NIST supplied 44 nm Step Height standard. This is a check of PSI mode vertical calibration. Maximum error relative to the certified value shall be no more than +/- 2%. (NOTE: The certified value of the standard has an uncertainty of +/- 1% (k=2)).

e. NIST supplied SRM 2461 forensic surface topography standard (https://www-s.nist.gov/srmors/certificates/2461.pdf). This is a check of measurement stitching errors in CSI mode. A stitched measurement of the “breechface impression” feature of the standard shall be performed using the 10X objective. A second stitched measurement of the same “breechface impression” shall be performed by shifting the starting location by one half of the FOV diagonally. Data trimming will be performed to isolate the breechface impression from surrounding surface features, according to the procedures located in the NIST SRM 2461 certificate (see link above). The surface will be filtered using a digital Gaussian filter with a short cutoff (λs) of 25 µm and a long cutoff (λc) of 0.4 mm. The two resulting topography maps will be correlated to each other using the ACCF (normalized areal cross correlation coefficient) parameter. The ACCF value shall be 90% or higher.

V. Installation The system shall be installed by the Contractor and meet contract specifications no later than eight (8) weeks after delivery. Installation, at a minimum, shall include uncrating/unpackaging of all equipment, rigging, set-up and hook-up of the system, calibration of the system for all modes of operation, demonstration of all specifications, and removal of trash. Onsite installation and demonstration shall be done at NIST, (Gaithersburg, MD- Building 218.)

VI. Training The contractor shall conduct one (1) to two (2) days of training for up to four (4) users at NIST. The training shall provide a thorough demonstration of all system/solution functions, maintenance, data administration, calibration routines, and basic troubleshooting. The training may be completed at NIST immediately after installation/set-up and on-site measurements demonstrating that no damage or misalignment issues arose during transportation and installation, but shall be completed no later than five (5) business days after installation.

VII. Warranty The contractor shall warrant the entire system for a period of at least one (1) year. The warranty must include unlimited telephone/e-mail support for questions regarding operation. All costs including parts, labor, travel, and other expenses necessary to repair the system will be borne solely by the contractor at no additional cost to the U.S. Government. Warranty shall commence upon acceptance by the Government.

VIII. Payment Schedule The Contractor shall be paid, in accordance with Net 30-day payment terms, upon receipt and acceptance of a proper invoice for the entire purchase order, in accordance with the following schedule.

1. 100% after receipt and acceptance by the TPOC/COR of fully installed system; and

2. After all inspection and acceptance requirements set forth in this document have been met

NOTE: Partial shipments and partial invoices will not be accepted, unless other-wise requested and accepted by the Contracting Officer prior to award offer.