NIST Questions and Answers Soliciation 1333ND24QNB030369.docx

NIST Questions and Answers Soliciation 1333ND24QNB030369 Question 1: Is a 3-year warranty required on the following CLINs which as consumables? Or will 90 day warranty be acceptable? CLINs 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, 0006.

NIST Answer: Yes

Question 2: The following delivery is unachievable:

Would the following be acceptable?

NIST Answer: The above table is acceptable.

Question 3: The period of performance/ lead time table in the SOW is unachievable, the lead time from order receipt to tool shipment from factory to NIST is 16 weeks. Also, will NIST be providing documentation on what the factory acceptance is to consist of? Will NIST be providing an individual to be on-site at factory to witness factory acceptance?

NIST Answer: Factory acceptance can be changed to 4 weeks prior to shipment. NIST defines factory acceptance as the vendor accepting that the tool meets specifications. No. NIST will not provide an individual to witness acceptance. Factory acceptance is the vendor accepting the tool and demonstrating internally that the tool meets internal metrics for acceptance.

Question 4: Payment schedule totals 110%- this needs to be corrected.

NIST Answer: See the below updated payment schedule:

Question 5: CLIN 0001,The technical requirements A, B, D, E & F are RF signal requirements, not DC please have these reviewed.

NIST Answer: This requirement has been updated. See Amended SOW for updated requirements.

Question 6: CLIN 0012, This technical requirement does not fit in the north location. It will collide with the microscope optics, _____ recommendation is for either a south or east/east orientation, will this be acceptable?

NIST Answer: NIST prefers NORTH arm. South arm location or East arm location is acceptable. South arm is preferred as technical application is for photodiodes with a two port cal.

Question 7: CLIN 0013-0014, These items are the same product- there is not a differentiation by signal frequency of the storage boxes. They are designed to support all versions of RF probe arms.

NIST Answer: This requirement has been updated. See Amended SOW for updated requirements.

Question 8: Regarding DC probing requirement, the SOW lacks any mention for DC probe arms, cables or DC interface panel needed to support this requirement. Is this an oversight?

NIST Answer: Yes, this was an oversight in the preparation of the SOW. NIST requires dc probe arm, cables, and dc panel interface. See Amended SOW for updated requirements.

Question 9: Is CLIN 0001 item for DC or RF? If RF, what is the configuration? GSG, GS, SG or Diff? why does it call for 100 um and then line A says 50 um? Unless it’s a DC wedge? Please clarify what is required.

NIST Answer: This requirement includes a typo. See Amended SOW for updated requirements.

Question 10: For CLIN 0002 E and F requirements, why is there a requirement for Rhodium tips and 250V voltage? What is the voltage requirement for the application?

NIST Answer: This requirement has been updated with voltage being required for the application and Rhodium tips or equivalent. See Amended SOW for updated requirements.

Question 11: For CLIN 0003 E and F requirements, why is there a requirement for Rhodium tips and 250V voltage? What is the voltage requirement for the application?

NIST Answer: This requirement has been updated with voltage being required for the application and Rhodium tips or equivalent. See Amended SOW for updated requirements.

Question 12: For CLIN 0008, is EMI shielding necessary for this application? Also, do you need -60 deg to 300 deg C capability? MPI offers both -60 – 300 deg C or -60 – 200 deg C or -40 – 200 deg C , -40 – 300 deg C.

NIST Answer: The requirement is -60C to 300C for the application. Open system could work this application.

Question 13: For CLIN 0009, What are the 20x and 50X objective lens for?

NIST Answer: Our application requires 20x objective. 50x objectives are desired if available. See Amended SOW for updated requirements.

Question 14: Are optical and RF application mutually exclusive from each other? The reason is line item 11 calls for programmable positioners from the North (Keysight 110GHz). If different, then we suspect the PI Hexapod should have a direct East or West arm. Also, is this single fiber, fiber array, surface or edge coupling of wafer? How many channels, etc.

NIST Answer: Application requires both optical access and microwave access at the same time. Application is for photodiodes, photoconductive switches, and optical applications. Hexapod north arm and optical positioner are not mutually exclusive to RF measurements in general but are mutually exclusive in a given setup. In our application, the south arm would still have 67 GHz or dc capabilities. North arm is optical an hexapod with an optical probe. East and West arm are 110 GHz for Keysight VNA.

Question 15: Regarding lead-time it says 10 weeks ARO. Is this a hard requirement?

NIST Answer: 16 weeks would be the most NIST could tolerate for our deliverable schedule.

This solicitation response date will be extended to August 8, 2024 @ 11:00am