20-01608 CD492 wJOFOC_Redacted.pdf

DatePhone No.

ting - Not exceeding $ 0,000:

Title

APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

Date

Advocate - Over $ ,000 but not exceeding $ million:

Title gnature Phone No.

Date

- Over $ million:

Title Signature

NOTE: Use the total cost estimate specified on the front of this document in determining the necessary approvals. Each review must be preceded by lower level approval(s), e.g., over $ million all approvals are required.

DatePhone No.

MEELONDRELL T. LUMPKIN 303-497-5270 6-30-2020

JO-LYNN DAVIS, Senior Bureau Procurement Official

MEELONDRELL

LUMPKIN

Digitally signed by

MEELONDRELL LUMPKIN

Date: 2020.06.30 15:45:56 -06'00'

JO LYNN DAVIS

Digitally signed by JO LYNN

DAVIS

Date: 2020.07.01 11:22:31 -04'00'

NB686010-20-01608 12 Point JOFOC 2

5. A demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

Aota-Vac, LLC is uniquely qualified to meet three key technical requirements as follows:

Provide combinatorial masking shutters to selectively expose rows and columns with or without a shadow mask, while rotating the substrate for film uniformity. This is a critical capability because this allows rapid screening and development of optimal thin film thermistors. Being able to vary deposition parameters arbitrarily in two dimensions across multiple devices on a single wafer will reduce the risk involved with developing these novel detectors for LASP. Base on our market research, Aota-Vac, LLC, uses this unique combinatorial masking shutter to selectively expose rows and columns with a shadow mask assembly while rotating.

Aota-Vac, LLC, provides a multi-wafer cassette and automatic loader for both substrates and shadow masks. In addition to being able to rapidly screen for optimal parameters, automated deposition on multiple wafers will allow for redundant devices critical for a mission of this scale. This is critical to support the combinatorial masking shutter but also for producing multiple wafers with similar thin film properties for redundancy. Subsequent capabilities provide for automated loading of wafers and/or masks, which will allow NIST researchers to fabricate radiometers quickly and redundantly.

Finally, Aota-Vac, LLC, capabilities offer automatic control of reactive sputtering parameters to automatically map out the parameter space between a metallic and a poisoned target. The user can then select an operating voltage, which the software then automatically tunes to for subsequent reactive sputter depositions. This automated mapping and tuning are only available with Aota-Vac, LLC software.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice will be publicized as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 5.2.

On April 6, 2020, a Sources Sought was published through the Government point-of-entry beta.SAM.gov closing on April 10, 2020, to gain additional small business competition with no resulting vendors expressed interest in this requirement before the closing.

On June 8, 2020, a Notice of Intent (NOI) was published through the Government point-of-entry beta.SAM.gov to negotiate a sole source procurement with Aota-Vac, LLC providing any vendor(s) an opportunity to challenge the NOI before the closing on June 10, 2020. No challenge(s) recorded by Contracting Officer at the time/date closing for this requirement.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable and the basis for that determination.

The anticipated price is considered fair and reasonable based on a comparison to similar purchases that have occurred with compatible BMF tools and other Government and federal agencies in the recent past.

8. Description of the market research conducted and the results.

As a result of the market results, the Program Office concluded that two other vendors did not provide features enabling to the research, such as combinatorial rotating masking shutter, automated substrate/mask loader, and reactive sputtering-specific software. Therefore, determined unable to meet the needs of the technical requirements.

NB686010-20-01608 12 Point JOFOC 3

Based on this current market research, Aota-Vac, LLC, is shown to be the only source that meets and exceeds all NIST's requirements.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

a. A specification/statement of work suitable for the full and open competition is not available, nor will a suitable specification/statement of work be developed, for the reasons discussed in Section V above. However, the solicitation for this requirement will include a statement of work that fully describes the entirety of NIST's requirements.

b. The contemplated efforts are not a follow-on acquisition.

c. Any other supporting facts: N/A

10. A listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

N/A

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the same supplies or services.

NIST continues to use solicitation methods to promote commercial firms for the development of new technologies. NIST attempts to increase the competition base for its unique requirements using market research and public announcements. As requirements continue, NIST will continue to research GSA vendors, as well as open market vendors that can fill the agency's needs.

12. Contracting Officer certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer's knowledge and belief.