Statement of Requirement (Revised 8.2.21).pdf

STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENTS - (Revised 8/2/21)

TITLE: High-vacuum combination metal sputter/carbon evaporation system

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division (MSED) is responsible for electron microscopy imaging of a variety of materials. Many of these samples are non-conductive and require very thin coatings of conductive materials to allow analytical electron microscopy to be performed. Coating samples with a uniform film less than 10 nm thick of either metal, typically gold (Au), or carbon (C) is common practice when performing microanalysis of non-conductive samples. MSED requires a new coating system capable of performing both metal sputtering using Argon plasma as well as carbon evaporation. The sputter coated films must be fine grained and appropriate for high resolution imaging, which typically requires high-vacuum coating systems.

II. SCOPE OF WORK

The contractor will deliver and warranty one high vacuum combination gold sputter/carbon evaporation coating instrument. Additionally, the contractor must provide line item option for (1) remote training.

III. SPECIFICATIONS

One high-vacuum combination metal sputtering and carbon evaporation system:

1. Vacuum System

1.1. Base pumping pressure below 6 × 10−3 Pa

1.2. Oil-free pumping including backing pumps

2. Vacuum specimen chamber

2.1. Glass door or glass chamber for observing deposition processes

2.2. specimen chamber minimum diameter 120 mm

2.3. Spare glass vacuum chamber or glass door included

3. Sample capacity

3.1. Stage holders capable of carrying 1/8” pin stubs, 12.2 mm cylinders, and 32 mm metallurgical mount cylinders.

3.2. Must be able to coat a single sample as large as 50 mm diameter and 50 mm tall

3.3. Must be able to coat at least six 1/8” pin stubs at once

4. Stages must be capable of the following coating conditions

4.1. 360° continuous rotation during deposition

4.2. Tilt, either 30° fixed, 45° fixed, or user adjustable

4.3. Planetary rotation: simultaneous rotation about two axes

5. Film thickness monitor (Quartz Crystal Monitor)

5.1. Thickness resolution of 0.1 nm for Au films

5.2. Configurable for tooling factor, acoustic impedance, and density

5.3. Spare quartz crystal provided

6. Automatic shutter to protect sample from deposition except when commanded

7. Sputtering sub-system

7.1. Argon plasma sputtering

7.2. Deposition rate must exceed 1 nm/min for Au

7.3. Au target (99.9% purity or better) included

8. Carbon evaporation sub-system

8.1. Carbon fiber thread source

8.2. Deposition rate must exceed 3 nm/min

9. Touchscreen user interface/control system capable of

9.1. Displaying operating status including:

9.1.1. Plasma power

9.1.2. Evaporator current

9.1.3. Film thickness

9.1.4. Vacuum pressure

9.2. Control of automatic shutter:

9.2.1. Opening and closing of shutter when film thickness target is reached

9.2.2. Manual override to control shutter state

9.3. Creating, saving, and recalling of recipes for sputtering and evaporation:

9.3.1. Plasma power or evaporation current

9.3.2. Film thickness target

10. Facility requirements

10.1. Benchtop form factor

10.1.1. Less than 100 kg

10.1.2. Less than 1 m wide and 800 mm deep

10.2. Runs on 110VAC 15 A from a NEMA 5-15R (US standard power outlet)

10.3. NIST will supply low pressure Argon from a dual stage regulator

Training:

Two two-hour training session via teleconferencing service must be provided to show the NIST staff how to operate, maintain and troubleshoot the new high-vacuum combination metal sputter/carbon evaporation system.

Warranty:

The Contractor shall provide, at minimum, a one (1) year warranty for the equipment. The warranty shall cover all parts, labor, travel, return shipping and software upgrades. The warranty shall commence upon the acceptance of the high-vacuum combination gold sputter/carbon evaporation coating instrument by the Government TPOC.

Installation:

The Contractor shall complete installation at NIST Gaithersburg, MD within 14 calendar days of receipt of all components.

IV. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for the warranty will begin upon the acceptance date.

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V. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

All manufacturing and assembly work shall be completed at the Contractor’s facility.

Installation of the instrument shall be accomplished at NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Training shall be accomplished remotely online during normal duty hours; Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except on Federal holidays.

VI. DELIVERY

Delivery shall be FOB Destination and shall take place within 90 calendar days after award. Delivery shall be accomplished at NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland during normal duty hours, which are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the exception of Federal holidays.

VII. DELIVERABLES

Description Quantity Due Date Oil-free, high vacuum, combination gold sputter/carbon evaporation coating instrument

One System (1)

90 calendar days after award of this requirement.

Applications Training (remote or on-site)

Up to 4 hours

Within 14 calendar days of acceptance

VIII. ACCEPTANCE

NIST will evaluate the instrument to determine if it meets specifications within 7 calendar days after installation. Acceptance testing will include depositing gold on a non-conductive scanning electron microscope (SEM) sample and depositing carbon on a different non-conductive (SEM) sample. Evaluation of the two samples with be done using a NIST owned high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-

SEM).