Amendment I.docx

Amendment I:

The purpose of this amendment is to respond to vendor inquiries for additional information in response to their questions, update the Governments requirements document and to extend the due date for quotes as follows:

I. Vendor questions and answers:

Requirements Document, Section II. Minimum Requirements Bullet 2 Q: What is meant by “custom transformer”? We intend to provide a standard pulse generator of ours for triggering the dispensing of droplets, and it supports dispensing rates up to the limit set by the pulse length.

A: If electrical wiring required for operation at deposition rate in bullet 1 is > 50 micrometers, vendor must include a transformer that is removable to prevent overheating of the electrical wiring during dispensing.

Bullet 4 Q: “Size of system must fit in a cube of 80x80x60 mm.” Is this a virtual volume or a real container? Is the specification WxDxH, i.e., will the height be 60 mm?

A: Size of system must fit in a cube of 80 mm in length x80 mm in width x60 mm in depth. System should have M3 threaded holes 1 cm apart on the top of the dispenser for attachment to a NIST provided adapter plate.

Bullet 4 Q: “System should accommodate being fastened by a bolt or clamp produced by NIST.” We will be happy to accommodate this but cannot do any design without any knowledge of the NIST system into which our equipment is to be integrated. We need detailed documentation of the geometry, including CAD drawings, of that system to begin work on the design of the requested subsystem.

A: Size of system must fit in a cube of 80 mm in length x80 mm in width x60 mm in depth. System shall have M3 threaded holes 1 cm apart on the top of the dispenser for attachment to a NIST provided adapter plate.

Bullet 5 Q: Pressure and/or vacuum will likely be needed for priming the dispensing device. Can this be accommodated on the NIST system or should that occur off the system, requiring mounting of the loaded and primed device after every loading of dispensing fluid?

A: System must not require external pressure during the dispensing operation. The system should be capable of dispensing at the rate in bullet 1 and 2 with back pressure from gravity only. The presence of gas lines to apply pressure to the dispenser will compromise the desired measurement during operation.

Bullet 5 Q: To clarify: We understand that during dispensing no pressure or vacuum should be active or even connected. Can pressure or vacuum be used before (not during/for) dispensing for priming with the dispenser installed on the NIST system?

A: System must not require external pressure during the dispensing operation. The system should be capable of dispensing at the rate in bullet 1 and 2 with back pressure from gravity only. The presence of gas lines to apply pressure to the dispenser will compromise the desired measurement during operation. Pressure may be used to load fluid into the dispenser reservoir prior to loading the reservoir for dispensing.

Bullet 7 Q: Is the 1 molar nitric acid going to be dispensed or is it only used for cleaning / flushing?

A: The dispenser may come into contact with hazardous substances which could persist after the dispensing operation. To minimize the possibility of contamination, and the requirements for storage of potentially contaminated components, any dispenser components that come into contact with the hazardous substances must be disposable. Disposable sample reservoir for dispenser is required to be compatible with 1 molar nitric acid which will be dispensed from the system.

Bullet 9 Q: What is going to be considered as a “custom disposable component”? Reservoirs? Fluid connectors? Dispensers?

A: The dispenser may come into contact with hazardous substances which could persist after the dispensing operation. To minimize the possibility of contamination, and the requirements for storage of potentially contaminated components, any dispenser components that come into contact with the hazardous substances must be disposable. Disposable sample reservoir for dispenser is required to be compatible with 1 molar nitric acid.

Bullet 10 Q: “Center of mass” – what is included in determining the center of mass? Just the device and reservoir? Does the/a mounting bracket holding them need to be taken into account?

We will need information on the overall geometry (see also bullet 4 above).

A: Mass distribution of solution in reservoir shall be symmetrical with respect to gravity to prevent changes in the location of the center of mass during deposition. If the center of mass of the fluid shifts in a direction perpendicular go gravity by a significant amount, this could disrupt the measurement. Any static components such as mechanical fasteners are not expected to change during any deposition process, and do not have to meet this requirement.

Bullet 11 Q: Is a “mostly reservoir system” to be understood as a “mostly closed reservoir system”?

How many “small” openings are allowed?

A: System shall offer a mostly closed reservoir system to prevent sample evaporation from the reservoir during deposition operations. 1 to 5 small (100 micrometer or less) openings for pressure equalization are acceptable.

Bullet 12 Q: “convenient sample loading” – does this refer to loading of the fluid sample into the reservoir or the target sample underneath the dispenser or both?

A: System must accommodate 1 cm underneath dispenser for loading of samples. Final deposition distance can be as small as 1 mm. NIST is creating a motion system for use positioning a surface underneath the dispenser onto which the sample will be deposited. This system requires at least 1 cm vertical clearance.

Bullet 13 Q: Who provides the mechanism and support for loading the target sample? If the dispenser shall be capable of moving vertically relative to the target sample, who provides the motion? NIST or we?

A: System must accommodate 1 cm underneath dispenser for loading of samples. Final deposition distance can be as small as 1 mm. NIST is creating a motion system for use positioning a surface underneath the dispenser onto which the sample will be deposited. This system requires at least 1 cm vertical clearance.

Bullet 14 Q: How much room is there for a droplet visualization system? Where in the NIST system can it be placed? How close to the dispenser tip?

A: Visualization system is required to image droplet generation and deposition process. Visualization system must accommodate approximate calibration of droplet size. The visualization system must include a camera and magnification system with a working distance of 40 mm or greater, and an LED strobed illumination system with a working distance of 70 mm or greater. Both of these components must fit through a hole that is 60 mm wide and 60 mm tall.

Bullet 17 Q: Vibration – with the weight and volume boundary condition (bullets 3, 4) there will most likely be no motion system that we would be responsible for. The camera in the visualization system will run on passive cooling. The pulse generator will have a cooling fan but can be placed at a large distance (a few meters away) from the dispensing and weighing setup.

A: When not in use, system shall not generate any mechanical vibration from any dispenser system components within 1 m of fluid dispenser, or offer an option to shut down the source of the vibration during other simultaneous measurement.

Bullet 18 Q: Who is supposed to provide the computer on which our software for controlling the dispenser and the droplet visualization will run? There is no problem with NIST using their computer that also controls the remainder of their setup.

A: Software must be provided to interface with all essential components of the deposition system including the electronic waveforms used to generate the droplets, the visualization system, and the droplet deposition time to control the amount of solution deposited on the surface. The computer system running the software will be provided by NIST.

Bullet 18 Q: There are a number of typos in the sub-items. E.g., FAR 4.13302 does not exist but FAR

4.1302 does and matches the topic. Also, the link “hhttp://www.anntd.nist.gov/usgv6/” is mistyped, and changing “hhttp” to “http” alone does not yield a valid link. We are not sure if we can reconstruct the correct link on our own.

A: See updated requirements Q: “Dispenser mass less than 100 g” means that the cartridge mass which carries the liquid is less than 100g, not the deposition system, doesn’t it?

A: Dispenser mass less than 100 g. This mass shall include the dispensing mechanism that creates the droplets and the reservoir. Electronics required for controlling the system, or applying electrical waveforms to the dispenser are not part of this mass requirement.

Q: In terms of “visualization system”, we could not install such system within 80mmx80mmx60mm dimension system. We can offer a separate visualization system in addition to liquid deposition system. Your requirement does not require “visualization system” in situ, does it?

A: Visualization system is required to image droplet generation and deposition process in situ. Visualization system must accommodate approximate calibration of droplet size. The visualization system must include a camera and magnification system with a working distance of 40 mm or greater, and an LED strobed illumination system with a working distance of 70 mm or greater. Both of these components must fit through a hole that is 60 mm wide and 60 mm tall.

Q: Regarding “Disposable sample reservoir for dispenser is required to be compatible with 1 molar nitric acid”, our question is how long the disposable sample reservoir for dispenser should last with 1 molar nitric acid. Our product can survive to certain time under that condition.

A: Disposable sample reservoir for dispenser is required to be compatible with 1 molar nitric acid which will be dispensed from the system. Reaction of the sample reservoir or dispenser with the acid will contaminate the sample being dispensed. Any portion of the reservoir or dispenser that comes into contact with the 1 M nitric acid must be mechanically and chemically stable over exposure time of 24 hours.

Q: Regarding “Hardware and software must meet the following IT security requirements”, can you summarize the requirement if we land a contract from NIST? Currently, we could not find all the document you listed in your requirement list. We assure the compliance with NIST if we get the contract.

A: See updated requirements II. See attached updated NIST Requirements Document for revised specifications III. The due date and time for quotes has been extended as follows:

From: June 8, 2022 @ 12 pm EST To: June 10, 2022 @ 12 pm EST All other terms and conditions remain unchanged