Combined Synopsis-Solicitation.pdf

CHIPS R&D: Superconducting Magnet / Request for Quote 1333ND24QNB030511

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OR

COMMERCIAL SERVICES PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR

SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION

FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY

SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A SEPARATE WRITTEN

SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING

SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR PART 13.5

SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-05 dated May 22, 2024.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is

334413– Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing with a small business size standard of 1,250 employees. This acquisition is being solicited as an unrestricted full and open competition.

Contractors must possess an ACTIVE registration in the System for Award Management system, www.SAM.gov, when submitting a quotation and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation. The Contracting Officer will confirm that quoters have an “active” registration at the www.sam.gov website upon receipt of the quotation. If the SAM.gov registration is not active, the quotation will not be considered for award.

BACKGROUND:

Ferromagnet-based microelectronic devices play an increasingly important role within the semiconductor ecosystem. Magnetic RAM (MRAM) is already replacing embedded Flash memory and is being considered for last-level cache in processors. We will address the critical chipmakers need for precise measurement of magnetic material and device parameters, in particular the Heisenberg exchange by expanding measurement methods first developed at NIST. This requires a superconducting magnet with a room temperature bore, which will be used in our laboratory, that produces a sufficiently large magnetic field to saturate high perpendicular anisotropy samples relevant to chipmakers in the sample plane. This allows for measurements of wavelike magnetic excitations by in-elastic light scattering. These measurements will enable NIST to determine the “Heisenberg exchange”. This will allow NIST together with Chipmakers to improve models to significantly accelerate the magnetic device development process.

All offerors shall provide a firm-fixed-price quotation for the following line item(s):

Contract Line Item Number

(CLIN)

QTY UNIT UNIT

PRICE

APPLICABLE

DISCOUNTS

TOTAL

CLIN 0001 – Superconducting

Magnet, inclusive of manuals/installation instructions, delivery, and initial warranty/maintenance, in accordance with the Statement of

Work.

1 Each

CLIN 0002 OPTION – Higher

Magnetic Field in accordance with the Statement of Work.

1 Each

CLIN 0003 OPTION – Option

Year 1 of Extended

1 Year

Warranty/Maintenance Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.

CLIN 0004 OPTION – Option

Year 2 of Extended

Warranty/Maintenance Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.

1 Year

CLIN 0005 OPTION – Option

Year 3 of Extended

Warranty/Maintenance Services in accordance with the Statement of Work.

1 Year

TOTAL:

The requirements for the line items to be acquired above are in the attached Statement of Work document.

Attachment #1: Statement of Work

The provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Products and Commercial

Services, applies to this acquisition.

DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS

Offerors shall submit their electronic quotations, via email, so that NIST receives them not later than 9:00 AM Eastern Time on September 3, 2024. E-mail quotations shall be submitted directly to the Contracting Officer, Sadaf Afkhami, at Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov.

Please reference the RFQ number in the subject line of email communications. Offerors quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation is entered in the e-mail inbox set forth above.

QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Each quotation shall consist of four (4) separate electronic files (in PDF format). In preparing the quotation, each electronic file shall stand on its own. For each given evaluation factor the

Government will only evaluate the information provided in the corresponding section of the quotation. The Contractor’s quotation shall be clearly divided into the following four (4) files:

1. Technical Quotation

2. Past Performance

3. Price Quotation

4. Completed Provisions and Clauses mailto:Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov.

1. Technical Quotation:

The Contractor shall submit one (1) copy of their technical quotation, electronically, via E-mail to the Contracting Officer identified above. The technical quotation shall address the following:

Technical Capability:

The quoter shall submit technical approach and capability documentation which may include a narrative, charts, graphs, tables, drawings, product / service literature, and as applicable, demonstrated authority to provide the necessary items and perform the required services identified in the statement of work (Attachment 1). The documentation shall clearly describe, in sufficient detail, the vendor's authority, proposed items, resources and methods to successfully fulfill the requirements including specifications, performance capability requirements, delivery schedules, warranties, and all service requirements. The submission shall clearly identify each line item above. The submission must demonstrate that the proposed system meets or exceeds each minimum requirement described within the attached statement of work document by providing a citation between the statement of work paragraph and the relevant section of the technical description or product literature. The quoter must not simply state they will meet or exceed the requirement; evidence must be provided. If applicable, evidence that the quoter is authorized by the manufacturer to provide the item(s) in the quotation shall be included.

2. Past Performance

The quoter shall provide past performance information regarding up to three (3) relevant contracts over the past three (3) years with Federal, state, or local governments, or commercial customers. If the offeror intends to subcontract with another firm(s) for part of this requirement, that firm’s past performance information shall also be provided. If the offeror has no relevant past performance, it may include a statement to that effect in its quotation. The government reserves the right to consider data obtained from sources other than those described by the offeror in its quotation.

The description of each contract/order described in this section shall not exceed one half page in length. For each contract/order, the offeror shall provide the following information:

1. Contract number;

2. Product Number or Service provided.

3. Description and relevance to solicitation requirements including dollar value; Ability to meet the desired technical exceedance and minimum specifications in the offered past performance.

4. Period of Performance – indicate by month and year the state and completion (or

“ongoing”) dates for the contract;

5. Reference Contact – If a non-Government contract, identify the name and address of the client with current telephone number and email address of a point of contact of the client responsible for the contract;

6. Contracting Office – If a Government contract (Federal or state), identify the

Contracting Officer (CO), and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and their names, current telephone numbers and email addresses.

7. Problems Encountered – include information regarding information regarding any problems encountered on the contracts described above and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems.

3. Price Quotation:

The quoter shall submit one (1) copy of their entire price quotation, electronically, via E-mail to the Contracting Officer. The price quotation shall be separate from any other portion of the quotation. The Contractor shall propose a firm-fixed-price quotation for each CLIN to include all shipping costs (FOB Destination). The price quotation shall include a cover page with the following information:

a) The solicitation number 1333ND24QNB030511;

b) The name and address, of the Contractor;

c) The name, phone number, and email address of the Contractor’s point of contact;

d) The Unique Entity ID # for Contractor’s active SAM.Gov registration.

e) Any applicable discount terms.

f) A statement that the Contractor agrees to all terms, conditions, and provisions included in the solicitation. If the Contractor objects to any of the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, the Contractor shall state “The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following:” [Contractor shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s)]. It is the sole responsibility of the

Contractor to identify in their quote any exceptions to the terms and conditions of the solicitation.

g) A statement that the quotation is valid for a minimum of 90 days from the response deadline of this solicitation.

4. Provisions and Clauses

The provisions and clauses applicable to this solicitation are identified in Attachment 2 titled

“Provisions and Clauses”. Quoters shall provide a completed copy of all provisions highlighted in blue in the attached Provisions and Clauses document (Attachment 2).

Note: This procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule

(FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an quoter submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the proposed price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant purchase order, not the terms and conditions of the quoter’s FSS or GWAC contract.

NAICS Code

If the Offeror’s representations and certifications do not reflect the NAICS code governing this solicitation, Offerors must submit documentation that they are a small business under the

NAICS code governing this solicitation.

Provision 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services applies to this procurement. The evaluation criteria included in paragraph (a) of the provision are as follows:

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Government intends to award a single firm fixed price purchase order (PO) from this solicitation utilizing simplified acquisitions procedures in accordance with FAR part 13.5.

The Government reserves the right not to award a PO and to make an award without discussions based solely upon initial quotes.

Basis for Award:

The Government will award a firm fixed price purchase order resulting from this solicitation once the Contractor is verified as responsible and the quotation conforming to the solicitation is found most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The

Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria factors:

1) Technical Capability 2) Past Performance and 3) Price.

Technical Capability and Past Performance when combined are more important than price.

Technical capability is more important than Past Performance. As non-price factors become more equal, price may become the determining factor.

A quoter’s failure to address any factor may be considered indicative of the quoter’s lack of understanding of the Government's requirements and may result in the quote being determined unacceptable.

Evaluation Factors:

Factor 1- Technical Capability:

This procurement is for commercial items. Therefore, prototypes or demonstration models will not be accepted. Additionally, used or refurbished instruments will not be considered.

Evaluation of technical capability shall be limited to the information provided in the quotation.

Evaluation of this factor is a subjective evaluation of the vendor's demonstrated resources, capability, and methods to meet all requirements. This may include the authority to provide the required items (i.e. authorized dealer/seller/reseller), authority to provide maintenance and repair services, and the capability and method to successfully meet all the requirements in the statement of work. Quotations that do not demonstrate that the proposed equipment meets or exceeds all requirements will not be considered further for award. If an offeror’s technical description and/or product literature does not indicate whether its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not meet the requirement.

The following specifications will provide additional value to the Government under the technical capability evaluation factor and will thus receive stronger consideration:

Specification Submission Requirement

CLIN 0001: A. Magnetic Field Characteristics

If a magnet with larger magnetic field either standard or optional is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include

a. Maximum magnetic field shall be equal to 5 Tesla or exceed 5 Tesla. Magnets with larger magnetic field either standard or optional will be given stronger consideration.

but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

d. Field uniformity over a 5 mm diameter spherical volume:

i. Total maximum magnetic field change within the spherical volume shall be smaller than 0.5 mT at any magnetic field between zero and 5 Tesla. Magnets with better field uniformity will be given stronger consideration.

If a magnet with better field uniformity is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

d. Field uniformity over a 5 mm diameter spherical volume:

iii. The location of the center of the spherical volume shall be radially less than plus/minus 3 mm away from the geometric center of the bore with 150 mm diameter, plus/minus 4 mm away from the geometric center of the bore with larger than 160 mm diameter and plus/minus 5 mm away from the geometric center of the bore with larger than 165 mm diameter. Magnets with the location of the center of the spherical volume closer to the geometrical center will be given stronger consideration.

If a magnet with the location of the center of the spherical volume closer to the geometrical center is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

e. The magnetic field compensation shall be such that the stray field at any field of the magnet between zero and 5

Tesla fulfills the requirements below:

i. The radial magnetic stray field shall be at 225 cm from the center of magnet bore less than 0.5 mT, while the maximum magnetic field inside the room temperature bore is between zero and 5 Tesla. Magnets, which meet the stray field requirement at a smaller distance will be given stronger consideration.

If a magnet with larger magnetic field either standard or optional is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

ii. The magnetic stray field shall be axially at 295 cm from the front face away from the magnet less than 0.5 mT, while the maximum magnetic field inside the room temperature bore is between zero and 5 Tesla. The front face of the magnet shall be the side without any possible cold head. Magnets, which meet the stray field requirement at a smaller distance will be given stronger consideration.

If you are offering a magnet which meets the stray field requirement at a smaller distance, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

iii. The magnetic stray field shall be axially at 315 cm from the front face through the magnet less than 0.5 mT while the maximum magnetic field inside the room temperature bore is between zero and 5 Tesla. Magnets, which meet the stray field requirement at a smaller distance will be given stronger consideration.

If you are offering a magnet which meets the stray field requirement at a smaller distance, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

B. Magnet Dimensions If a magnet with larger diameter room temperature bore is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not

a. Room temperature bore of the magnet shall have a diameter equal to or exceeding 150 mm. Magnets with larger diameter room temperature bore will be given stronger consideration.

limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

CLIN 0002: Higher Magnetic Field

a. Magnet shall produce a magnetic field exceeding 5

Tesla. Magnets with larger magnetic field, higher field uniformity at larger magnetic fields and smaller stray fields at larger magnetic fields will be given stronger consideration.

If a magnet with larger magnetic field either standard or optional is being offered, please provide sufficient information to indicate that the system meets this requirement to include but not limited to technical data sheets or other ways of demonstrating capability.

Factor 2- Past Performance

In assessing the offeror's past performance information, NIST will evaluate, as appropriate,

(b) successful performance of contract requirements, quality and timeliness of delivery of goods and services, (c) communications between contracting parties, (d) proactive management and customer satisfaction.

Evaluation of this factor will be based on information contained in the past performance portion of the quote, CPARS, and information provided by references. The Government will evaluate past performance information by contacting appropriate references, including NIST references, if applicable. The Government may also consider other available information in evaluating the Offeror’s past performance. The Government will assign a neutral rating if the offeror has no relevant past performance information.

Factor 3- Price: The proposed price will be evaluated. The evaluation will determine whether the proposed prices are reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements. Prices must be proportionate with the technical portion of the quotation.