CSS_SOW_HSM Signal Generator.docx

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS & TECHNOLOGY

High Speed Metrology Signal Generator

CHIPS SOLICITATION

RFQ NUMBER 1333ND24QNB030301

325 BROADWAY

BOULDER, CO 80305

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION E: Statement of Work Page, 7-10

SECTION A: COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION

A.1 COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION

a. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items 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 document will not be issued. This solicitation is being issued under the authority of FAR Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures. This solicitation is a Request for Quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2024-04 published April 01, 2024, and effective May 01,2024.

b. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing which has a small business size standard of 1,000 employees, is the best fit for this acquisition. This acquisition is being competed full and open competition. All responsible, qualified business concerns can respond to this notice.

c. 1352.215-72 Inquiries (APR 2010); Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to ranae.armstrong@nist.gov . Mailed and/or faxed questions will not be accepted. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation. Amendments to this solicitation (if applicable) will be posted on the SAM.GOV website under the solicitation. Inquires must be received no later than three (3) days after the RFQ is posted for Government response.

A.2 Solicitation Posting

a. This solicitation is only posted on the System for Award Management (SAM) website, www.sam.gov.

b. Attachments, amendments and other associated documents as applicable will be posted to the SAM.GOV website, under the solicitation.

A.3 Contract Type

a. This is a firm fixed-price contract type.

END OF SECTION A

SECTION B: SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT

B.1 SAM Registration

a. An Offeror is required to be active and registered in the System for Award Management when submitting an offer or quotation and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation, in order to comply with the annual representations and certification requirements. If an offeror is not active and registered in SAM, their submission will not be considered for award offer and will not be reviewed the Government. The Government will review the Offeror’s SAM registration and affirm the determination of responsibility. In addition, the Government will review the currently available credit/assessment/performance reports. The Government will also review an Offeror’s SAM exclusions record. A non-responsible determination may be made if an Offeror lacks adequate financial resources or has demonstrated poor past performance.

END OF SECTION B

SECTION C: QUOTATION SUBMISSION. LATE SUBMISSIONS, & RESPONSE DEADLINE

C.1 General Instructions Quotations are expected to conform to solicitation provisions and be prepared in accordance with this section. To aid in evaluation, the quotation shall be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate) and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the name of the offeror, the date, and the solicitation number.

C.2 Electronic Submission Only The offeror shall submit their quotation electronically to ranae.armstrong@nist.gov with a cc to Donald.collie@nist.gov, with the RFQ number referenced in the subject of the email communication, not later than 07/09/24, at 4:00pm Eastern Time. FAXED AND/OR MAILED QUOTATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Quotations must be received in the email inbox on or before the due date and time specified above. Only information received on or before the due date and time shall be considered for award. Any quotation, or part thereof, received after the due date and time, shall be deemed late and not considered for award. Offeror’s quotations shall not be deemed received by the Government until the quotation is entered in the e-mail inbox provided above.

C.3 All Offerors Shall Submit the Following:

a. For the purpose of evaluation of technical acceptability, the offeror must submit documentation that demonstrates the offered equipment/services meet the technical specifications and requirements as detailed in the Statement of Work.

b. Offerors shall provide a firm fixed-price offer for the following line items.

Line Item 0001:

Description: High Frequency Source >65 GHz Microwave Signal Generator Quantity: One (1)

c. A completed version of all required solicitation provisions (see attached provisions/clauses document – required submissions highlighted in blue). THE BUY AMERICAN ACT PORTION OF THE RFQ MUST BE COMPLETED AND RETURNED WITH THE QUOTATION.

d. Any award resulting from this solicitation will contain the following statement: “The Government’s terms and conditions, identified herein, shall be the prevailing terms and conditions governing this award. In the event of a conflict between the Government’s and contractor’s terms and conditions, the Government’s terms and conditions take precedence.” 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. If the contractor does not include such a statement, the submission of a quotation in response to this solicitation will be regarded as the Contractor’s acceptance of the Government’s terms and conditions for inclusion into the resultant purchase order as prevailing.

e. Offeror shall provide an active UEI # for the System for Award Management (SAM) registration.

f. Please note that this procurement IS NOT being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If a contractor submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the contractor’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation.

C.4 Due Date for Quotations

a. All quotations must be submitted via e-mail to Contract Specialist Ranae Armstrong at RANAE.ARMSTRONG@NIST.GOV. Submission must be received not later than 07/09/24, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A quotation shall be considered received when it is received in the electronic inbox of Ranae Armstrong not later than the date and time identified herein.

b. The clauses and provisions applicable to this solicitation can be found under Applicable Clauses & Provisions. The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at or www.acquisition.gov/far. The full text of a CAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at or https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-48/chapter-13

C.5 Late Submissions and Withdrawals of Quotes

a. Any quote received in the inbox of ranae.armstrong@nist.gov after the date and time specified for receipt of Quotes may not be considered unless it is determined by the Contracting Officer that the submitted quotation is advantageous to the Government and/or is received before a purchase order is issued.

b. Quotes can only be submitted electronically. This is also applicable to any modified quotes. The request to withdraw a quote must be submitted electronically to the contract specialist and contracting officer.

Quantity: One (1)

END OF SECTION C

SECTION D: EVALUATION CRITERIA

D.1 Basis of Award (Trade-Off) 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.

1. Technical Capability and Past Performance when combined are more important than price. If all non-price factors are rated equal among the offerors, price would be the determining factor.

2. An Offeror's failure to address any factor may be considered indicative of the Offeror's lack of understanding of the Government's requirements and may result in the offer being determined unacceptable.

D.2 Evaluation Criteria 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 based on the information provided in the quotation. NIST will evaluate whether the offeror has demonstrated that its proposed equipment meets or exceeds all minimum requirements. Quotations that do not demonstrate the proposed equipment meets all requirements will not be considered further for award. If an offerors 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 requirements.

Stronger consideration will be given to the following specifications: CLIN 0001 specifications under section 1.i.i.

Factor 2- Past Performance: The Government will evaluate the Offeror's experience information and, if appropriate, its proposed subcontractors' experience to determine its relevance to the current requirement and the extent to which it (a) demonstrates that the offeror has successfully completed relevant contracts in the past three (3) years.

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 technical portion of the proposal, 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. A price realism analysis will not be conducted. Prices must be proportionate with the technical portion of the quotation.

END OF SECTION D

SECTION E: STATEMENT OF WORK

STATEMENT OF WORK

Title: High Speed Metrology Signal Generator Requesting Lab: National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Spin Electronics Group (SEG)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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. As part of the CHIPS program, NIST is addressing the critical industry need for precise measurement of magnetic material and device parameters by expanding measurement methods first developed at NIST. These measurements and methods will enable industry to improve models to significantly accelerate the magnetic device development process.

As a crucial part of validating these new measurements, NIST requires the purchase of a high-frequency microwave source for electrical probing the normal modes of MRAM devices. This instrument will be used in a custom wafer prober being developed at NIST, located in the Boulder Microfabrication Facility. This instrument will enable measurement of the magnetic resonances of MRAM bits, the values of which can be correlated with the film-level measurements. These validated measurement methods will be shared with industry and used to develop improved device models with US industry as part of the CHIPS act.

Objective: Develop improved device models with U.S. industry as part of the CHIPS Mission.

SCOPE

The Contractor shall deliver a quantity of one (1) high frequency source >65 GHz microwave signal generator, inclusive of FOB Destination delivery terms and 3-year commercial warranty.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall submit a firm fixed price quotation (for each line item) offering a a high frequency >65 GHz microwave signal generator that meets all technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components that are not authorized for sale in the U.S. are not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

Line Item 0001:

Description: High frequency source >65 GHz microwave signal generator Quantity: 1

1. Technical Specifications

a. Operating frequency tunable from 10 kHz to >65 GHz

b. Output power:

i. Must be programmable from -100 dBm to 3 dBm at frequencies of 60 GHz or higher.

c. Modulation:

i. Programmable amplitude modulation required.

1. Must have modulation of waveform type.

2. Must have modulation of waveform depth from 10-100% full signal amplitude.

3. Must have modulation frequency 1 kHz to > 100 kHz.

ii. Must have programmable phase and frequency modulation as options.

d. Pulse capabilities:

i. Must have internal and external pulse triggering capability.

e. Noise characteristics:

i. Measured performance of phase noise away from carrier must be provided with instrument.

f. Inputs & outputs:

i. 10 MHz or other stable reference (input and output)

ii. AM/FM/PM modulation waveform input

iii. Pulse triggering input

iv. Sync pulse output

v. Interface ports:

1. GPIB

2. USB

3. TCP/IP

g. Programming:

i. System must be fully controllable remotely, with programming interface guide provided with instrument.

h. Form factor:

i. Must have standard rack mount.

i. The following technical specifications will be given stronger consideration in accordance with the evaluation factors provided above:

i. Options must be included to provide pulse rise/fall times <= 10 ns across entire output band. Units permitting shorter pulse widths will be evaluated as technically superior to units with longer pulse widths.

ii. Must have total harmonic noise < -55 dBc. Units with a lower total harmonic noise will be evaluated as technically superior to units with higher total harmonic noise.

2. Warranty

a. Three (3) year extended, standard commercial warranty.

DELIVERABLES

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE/LEAD TIME

See “Deliverables” table above.

DELIVERY TERMS

Delivery shall be F.O.B Destination (or equivalent INCOTERM for international deliveries).

FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The contractor shall deliver all Line Items to:

DOC/NIST

Shipping & Receiving 325 Broadway C/O/ TBD Building 81- 1D127 Boulder, CO 80305

INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense.

Performance Tests:

1. Basic functionality; powering on, screen active, all inputs & outputs functional as appropriate for the Front panel setting of:

a. power

b. modulation

c. Frequency

d. pulse width

2. The system will be powered on and tested for the following Remote programming specifications: of:

a. output on/off

b. power

c. modulation

d. frequency

e. pulse width

A visual inspection of the equipment will be performed by the NIST OU Representative to identify surface defects or any form of indication that any equipment was damaged during transport to NIST. The Government shall have sole discretion to require repair or replacement of damaged and/or nonconforming supplies at no cost to the Government. The Government at any time prior to acceptance shall reject the equipment due to defects and/or nonconformance. The vendor is responsible for latent defects discovered any time after final inspection. However, the extent of its liability shall be prorated over the useful life of the equipment.

Ownership of the equipment shall transfer to NIST upon acceptance by the Government.

The Government will test, inspect, and accept or reject the equipment within 7 (seven) days of the receipt of the equipment unless otherwise indicated above. The Government reserves the right to conduct quality assurance testing to confirm that a given instrument(s) meets the manufacturer’s and/or the Government’s performance specifications. It is anticipated that the equipment will meet all manufacturer’s specifications and/or the Government’s performance specifications identified in the most recent operations and maintenance manual for each piece of equipment and/or in this document.

WARRANTY

The contractor shall warranty the entire system for a period of a minimum of 3 years after receipt of the equipment and shall be in accordance with terms in FAR 52.212-4. Warranty shall commence upon acceptance of the system by the Government.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Advance payment is not authorized. The Contractor must invoice in arrears according to the payment schedule. The Contractor shall be paid, in accordance with Net 30-day payment terms, upon receipt and acceptance of a proper invoice. An invoice will not be accepted if submitted prior the Government’s acceptance of the generator.

NOTE: Partial shipments and partial invoices will not be accepted, unless otherwise requested and accepted by the Contracting Officer prior to award offer. Proposed payment schedules shall be submitted with vendor’s response to the RFQ for consideration.

END OF SECTION E

SECTION F: SOLICITATION ADMINISTRATION

F.1 Amendments and Modifications

a. Changes in terms and conditions of this solicitation shall be accomplished by written amendment only.

b. Changes in terms and conditions of any resulting contract shall be accomplished only by written modification signed by the Contracting Officer.

END OF SECTION F

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