JA_FAR 13.5_RADIALTRANSFERCHAMBER_Redacted.pdf

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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY

4555 OVERLOOK AVE SW

WASHINGTON, DC 20375-5320

Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition Under

Simplified Procedures For Certain Commercial Items In

Accordance With Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5

PURCHASE REQUEST NO.

On the basis of the following, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve the use of a sole source proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of :

☒ 41 U.S.C. 1901 ☐ 41 U.S.C. 1903

1. The U.S. Department of Navy; Naval Research Laboratory Contracting Division proposes to enter into a sole source contract with SCIENTA OMICRON INC. (UEID: EQKJNHM96DP4/CAGE:&GG46), under simplified procedures for certain commercial items included in FAR subpart 13.5.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved, i.e., sole source under procedures for certain commercial items in accordance with FAR Subpart 13.5. The Electromagnetics Technology Branch of the Electronics Science and Technology Division, located at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in

Washington, DC, has the requirement to procure a commercial radial transfer vacuum chamber and support equipment for interfacing to existing molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems. This is for a new acquisition from SCIENTA OMICRON INC for a firm fixed price contract to acquire a radial transfer vacuum chamber for existing customized Scienta Omicron PRO-75/100 oxide and nitride MBE systems. This chamber will be used for the reliable 4” (100 mm) substrate handling and preparation for epitaxial growth of novel oxide and nitride thin films which are essential for our research programs.

3. A description of the supplies and/or services required, including the delivery schedule and/or the period of performance (inclusive of all option periods), and the estimated dollar value of the acquisition.

Acquire a SCIENTA OMICRON INC radial distribution ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber and support equipment, which will enable reuse of existing components (substrate manipulator, substrate mounting holders, effusion cells, oxygen plasma sources, electron beam evaporators, power supplies) which are customized for this particular system geometry. This reuse will reduce costs, speed climbing the learning curve for growing new materials, reduce upgrade time, and greatly improve the oxide MBE capacity utilization compared to

NRL’s existing, 1986-vintage, UHV transfer and chamber. The existing UHV transfer and preparation chamber is designed for 3” diameter substrates and cannot be upgraded to larger substrate sizes that meet our current research requirements. This procurement with Scienta Omicron includes the 4” UHV radial transfer chamber, high-capacity ultra-high vacuum pumping system (turbo-molecular vacuum pump, backing pump, and electro-pneumatic gate valve), a high-capacity load lock package with lamp degas and accessories, two high-temperature degas and preparation stage packages, two high-capacity wafer parking stage packages, a transfer robot for moving wafers between various stations inside the radial chamber and to-and-from the MBE growth chambers, a 4-inch wafer manipulator with SiC heating element and accessories, and a semi-automated software automation package. In addition, shipping and installation are included. The approximate dollar value for this action months after technical clarification and drawing approval.

4. The statutory authority permitting sole source.

☒ 41 U.S.C. 1901 ☐ 41 U.S.C. 1903

5. A statement demonstrating the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring use of the authority. SCIENTA OMICRON INC as the OEM has all the customized design drawings for all of the vacuum chamber and components hardware to ensure proper fit and function to meet our requirements to interface with our existing equipment and software. No other vendor can guarantee fit and function with our existing hardware and software and allow us to take advantage of existing Scienta Omicron hardware in a cost-effective manner. Scienta Omicron is the only commercial vendor able to supply a commercial UHV transfer and preparation chamber with the necessary design dimensions as a standard part.

Other MBE system vendors use different chamber geometries (transfer port location, substrate manipulator design, wafer mount design, effusion cell dimensions) which are incompatible with our existing components and hardware and functionality. The product offered by another potential vendors, as identified in paragraph 6, below, is not fully capable. That system currently offered cannot directly interface to existing NRL MBE equipment and cannot use existing manipulator and other components designed for the PRO-75/100 geometry

If another vendor’s system was acquired, extensive design costs and labor hours will be required to design interfaces and obtain new equipment to permit interfacing with existing UHV equipment, effectively re-designing the entire system including two MBE growth chambers in order to achieve NRL’s desired function of the system. The costs estimated for such a re-design would , which is not expected to be recovered through competition based on market research. Therefore, this action is necessary to meet NRL requirements for interoperability, functionality, and to avoid a substantial additional costs.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure offers/quotes are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized to the Government Point of Entry (as required by FAR Subpart 5.2) and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies. In accordance with FAR

5.2, an RFI/NOI (N00173-24-RFI-MB20) was posted to Contract Opportunities at www.SAM.gov (SAM) on

June 6, 2024 through June 14, 2024 and yielded no responses. The intent of this notice was to gauge industry interest and search for potential sources capable of fulfilling the requirement. The notice included the

Governments minimum technical requirements. The Technical POC conducted a market survey of potential vendors offering commercially available products. The Technical POC researched competing systems owned by other NRL personnel as well as discussed their specifications. A potential vendor was Veeco Process

Equipment, Inc., who did not respond to the RFI. However, as noted above, it was determined that the system they offer is incapable of direct interface with existing NRL MBE equipment and cannot use existing manipulator and other components designed for the PRO-75/100 geometry.

7. The anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition, including options if applicable, and a determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. . The Contracting Officer will determine price reasonableness in accordance with FAR 13.106-3(a)(2) through the use of market research to find comparable pricing for similar items and comparison to proposed prices to previous similar purchases.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results or the reason market research was not conducted. As noted above in section 6, market research and further discussions with NRL personnel and brochure research took place to ascertain if the potential sources identified had the capabilities to meet the minimum requirements outlined within the specifications. Code 6800 routinely monitors the commercial marketplace using the internet and publications such as IEEE and AIP journals, as well as product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers available online to stay informed on the most current signals equipment technology product offerings and how products could be used to further work at NRL. The marketplace was surveyed and it has been determined that a commercial UHV transfer chamber and accessories required for NRL programs is available. Several vendors of rotary transfer UHV chambers and systems exist, but only one meets our specific requirements for reuse of existing components, upgrading of the connected systems to 4” wafer capability, and interfacing with existing hardware and software. Similar types of equipment have been purchased in the past, and were determined to be commercial in nature.

The Technical end user reviewed catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers that were available on-line. A similar Market Research Report was completed in August 2023 for an oxide MBE chamber purchase from Scienta Omicron. That similar analysis applies here – only one vendor can satisfy all of our requirements.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of sole source. While this procurement for the radial transfer chamber and accessories is considered commercial in nature, it supports NRL by enabling 4” substrate handling and preparation for novel thin-film materials growth and in-situ characterization of semiconductor, metal, and oxide samples and heterostructures for use in Navy and DoD electronics research and development. The rapid acquisition and installation of this equipment suite will allow NRL to quickly and cost-effectively improve the research capabilities, reliability, and operational efficiency of thin-film oxide materials critical for advanced

Navy and DoD electronics.

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

SCIENTA OMICRON INC.

11. A statement of any actions the agency will take to remove or overcome any future barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required. NRL is not aware of any specific procedural barriers to competition. NRL has no plans at this time to procure future items for the type of supplies covered by this document. If another potential source emerges or new technology is developed which advances the state of the art and provides the capabilities NRL requires, NRL will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.