BrandName_Keithley_Redacted.pdf

DEFENSE MICROELECTRONICS ACTIVITY

4234 54TH STREET

McClellan Park, CA 95652-2100

MEMORANDUM FOR MEE Date: 17 June 2015

FROM: Office of Secretary of Defense/ Defense Microelectronics Activity, MEBD

SUBJECT: Brand-Name/Sole Source Letter Justification Letter

1. My office is requesting a limited source award for the Keithley 4200 Semiconductor Characterization System (SCS).

2. A brief non-technical description of the supplies/services to be acquired:

The Keithley 4200 SCS is a measurement system that is used to perform electrical characterization including, but not limited to: I-V measurements, waveform capture, transient measurements, and C- V measurements, of a wide variety of materials including semiconductor devices and packaged integrated circuits (ICs). This procurement is for an additional SCS for DMEA lab 1. The Keithley 4200 SCS increases DMEA’s device test group capabilities for semiconductor device level test structures, and expands existing reliability test capabilities necessary for process installation.

In addition to the equipment being purchased, DMEA will require the equipment be calibrated on a yearly basis to ensure compliance with the ISO-9000 standard.

3 This justification is for a brand-name award to a particular manufacture.

The test equipment must be an integrated test solution system capable of precise I-V measurements and be able to measure a variety of ranges. For example, for current ranges, the measurement system must be able to measure on the order of femto-amps to tens of amps. The voltage range, the measurement system must be able to measure on the order of 10’s of microvolts to 10’s of volts. The test system must also be able to make CV measurements with a frequency range of 1kHz to 100 MHz and measure capacitances as low as pico-farads and as high as micro-farads.

The test system must be capable of waveform capture of transient responses, and must support custom test program creation through programming languages such as C to support flexible and varying test needs that may not be part of standard test libraries.

Based on market research, two companies manufacture equipment that meet these basic SCS requirements. However, the test system DMEA needs must be compatible with existing DMEA test programs and equipment currently available at DMEA, including the Cascade Summit 12000. The Keithley 4200 SCS is the only test system compatible with existing setups at DMEA.

Acquiring a SCS from a different manufacturer would require DMEA personnel to redevelop existing test programs to be compatible with the new system. Future test program development would require dual development tracks to support existing 4200 test systems and new non-4200 test systems.

Due to DMEA’s flexible foundry nature and limited man-power capabilities, test programs must be able to run on any test bench. Test engineers must be able to use any available test bench to perform work. Test programs designed to function on the 4200 would not be compatible with non-4200 systems and vice versa due to Keithley proprietary controlling software systems.

The equipment must also be calibrated on a yearly basis to ensure compliance with the ISO-9000 standard. While a number of companies may verify the current calibration of the 4200 system, only Keithley can adjust the calibration of the system due to the proprietary nature of the system.

4. The anticipated dollar value of this procurement is: $107,662

5. If this item has been purchased previously, provide a brief description of purchases of this item:

PR# 3RJ3E701

6. Market research consisted of:

Searches for equipment that fulfill mission requirements was performed in June, 2105 via test equipment rental service catalogs, and manufacturer’s catalogs, including Keithley, Keysight, Agilent, BK Precisions, and Tektronix. The results are as follows: There are two primary manufacturers of semiconductor characterization systems or semiconductor parameter analyzers:

KeithleyTektronix and Keysight Technologies (previously Agilent).

Based upon internet research, the only other test equipment that might meet DMEA’s needs is the Keysight B1500A Semiconductor Device Analyzer. However, the Keysight B1500A Semiconductor Device Analyzer is not compatible with DMEA’s existing test programs and new drivers would need to be developed to interact with wafer-probing equipment such as the Cascade Summit 12000 if the Keysight system were purchased.

7. I am aware that the contracting officer, and not the requiring activity, is the final authority for determining the adequacy of any sole source or brand name justification before contract placement.

8. If you have any further questions regarding this letter, please feel free to contact the undersigned at

9. This action has been coordinated with the PCO on date 6/17/2015.

Form Updated 5/12/2014