FBO_Posting-_A13_JOFOC_12_PT.docx

JOFOC, NB686010-18-01719, Wafer Bonding System

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

NB686010-18-01719 & NB686010-18-03197, Wafer Bonding System

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

Dept. of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

This is a justification for other than full and open competition (JOFOC) prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2. The JOFOC reflects an acquisition for commercial items. This justification is necessary to meet the requirements of the NIST Applied Physics Division (Div. 686) for a Wafer Bonding System.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the est. value).

Some of the most critical applications in the Quantum Nanophotonics Group’s ongoing research are high temperature, fusion bonding of group III-V to group III-V materials with high-quality and defect-free interfaces, integration of InGaAs LEDs with Si waveguides, and fabrication of nonlinear GaAs waveguides bonded on a Si-based substrate/deposited film. High quality, defect-free interfaces are required between bonded surfaces for low-loss optical propagation and low-resistance electrical current paths. To faithfully reproduce such interfaces a wafer bonding system is required to realize clean interfaces between different material platforms used in the fabrication process. This system will enable NIST to significantly facilitate the heterogeneous integration of different materials that will be used to make chip-scale nonlinear optical devices such as frequency combs and entangled photon pair sources.

The following technical specifications are required for this wafer bonding system:

Wafer bonder shall be capable of room-temperature (25°C), plasma activated direct bonding of Si-to-Si, Si-to-SiO2, SiO2-to-SiO2, SiN-to-SiN, SiO2-to-SiN, Si-to-GaAs, and GaAs-to-GaAs. The plasma activation of the wafers will be provided by a separate tool that is already in the NIST/Boulder cleanroom.

This tool shall be capable of high-temperature fusion bonding of group III-V to Group III-V materials at elevated temperatures of at least 600°C.

Shall be capable of aligned wafer bonding and shall come with a dedicated sample aligner with 3 alignment accuracy of 2 m. The wafer bonder shall ensure that the aligned wafers do not move more than 1 µm when transferred from the aligner to the bonder. The wafer stack fixtures and aligner shall be designed so that the wafer alignment doesn’t change by more than 1 µm during transfer from the aligner to the bonder and during bonding.

The wafer bonder shall come with all the required tooling, parts, and wafer fixtures to support various sample sizes of 1 cm x 1 cm pieces to 50.8 mm, 76.2 mm, 100 mm, and 150 mm wafer sizes.

Shall come with 4 gas input lines and mass flow controllers (MFCs) for process gasses. NIST required process gasses are Ar, N2, He, and N2+H2 Shall provide up to 20 kN force for bonding.

Wafer bonder shall have a spring-loaded center pin to provide a wafer bow to generate a bond wave for direct wafer bonding The wafer fixtures shall have spacer flags in between two wafers in the bond stack. These pins must be automatically removed from the stack upon the initial contact of the two wafers for successful, void free bond.

Shall include the power supply for anodic bonding, applying 2000 V at 5 mA current.

Shall operate in vacuum environment, achieving the chamber pressure of < 1x10-5 mbar.

Include any adapters (if necessary) to allow operation with wafer thicknesses between 250 - 1000 um.

The wafer bonder shall be controlled by a Windows 10 based computer and a graphical user interface. A Windows 7 PC is acceptable if the Vendor provides update for Windows 10, when it is available.

Shall be compatible with class 100 cleanroom environment Both the wafer bonder and the bond aligner shall come with full-service warranties of at least 12 months from the acceptance date.

Both the wafer bonder and bond aligner shall include installation at the NIST/Boulder cleanroom and include a minimum of 8 hours of training.

4. An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting this JOFOC is made pursuant to FAR 13.5, Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 and 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1).

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

The proposed vendor, EV Group, Inc., manufactures and sells a commercial system that meets the required specifications. EV Group, Inc., currently is the only manufacturer capable producing a wafer bonding system that can achieve a temperature of 600°C, which is required by NIST. EV Group, Inc., has been the primary developer of this new technology and as such is uniquely qualified in this area.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 5.2, and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

Market research was conducted to determine suppliers that may have the capability of meeting the requirement. Contract Specialist posted a Sources Sought (Solicitation# NB686010-18-01719: Wafer Bonding System) on FBO.gov on May 14, 2018 to close June 1, 2018. EV Group, Inc., was the only vendor who responded.

Contract Specialist posted a Notice of Intent (Solicitation# NB686010-18-01719: Wafer Bonding System) on FBO.gov on June 5, 2018 to close June 26, 2018. Osiris International was the only one who responded to the Notice of Intent; however, the technical point of contact determined this vendor to be technically unacceptable. The technical point of contact reviewed the literature from Osiris International, and concluded that none of their systems can meet all of NIST’s requirements. For example, they are all missing anodic bonding functionality, which is a key requirement. There are many other deficiencies as well, so NIST can safely rule them out.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable and the basis for that determination.

The Division 686 Technical Point of Contact developed an independent government cost estimate (IGCE) which will aid in determining fair and reasonableness for this procurement.

8. A description of the market research conducted (FAR part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.

The number of manufacturers of wafer bonding systems that have an anodic bonding functionality are limited.

The Program Office conducted market research via an internet search, visited company websites, talked to sales representatives that visited NIST, consulted other fabrication facilities, and studied product brochures to identify potential vendors with the capability to meet the specification and capability requirements of the wafer bonding system. In addition to the small business vendor of EVG Group, Inc., the Program Office identified two other manufacturers and sellers, Suss MicroTec and Applied Microengineering, LTD, which are large businesses. Suss MicroTec and Applied Microengineering LTD, however, does not sell a wafer bonding system with the necessary temperature required by NIST.

The Contract Specialist (CS) reviewed the Program Office’s market research and conducted addition market research for potential vendors. The CS did not find any additional companies.

A search on GSA Advantage did not result in any potential sources with the able to provide the required item.

A search conducted on the Small Business Dynamic website, using the NAICS code 333242 and description “wafer bonding system” did not result in any sources.

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

None.

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

The CS posted a Notice of Intent (NOI) on FBO.gov on June 5, 2018. Osiris International responded to the NOI posted on FBO.gov. The CS sent the company’s brochure and information to the technical point of contact for consideration along with extending the NOI to give the company time to respond. After reviewing the company’s brochure and information, the technical point of contact and his colleagues determined they were unable to meet the technical requirements. Osiris International cannot meet the following Wafer Bonding System Requirements:

1. Wafer bonder shall be capable of room-temperature (25°C), plasma activated direct bonding of Si-to-Si, Si-to-SiO2, SiO2-to-SiO2, SiN-to-SiN, SiO2-to-SiN, Si-to-GaAs, and GaAs-to-GaAs. The plasma activation of the wafers will be provided by a separate tool that is already in the NIST/Boulder cleanroom.

1. This tool shall be capable of high-temperature fusion bonding of group III-V to Group III-V materials at elevated temperatures of at least 600°C.

1. Shall be capable of aligned wafer bonding and must come with a dedicated sample aligner with 3 σ alignment accuracy of 2 µ m. The wafer bonder must ensure that the aligned wafers do not move more than 1 µm when transferred from the aligner to the bonder. The wafer stack fixtures and aligner should be designed so that the wafer alignment doesn’t change by more than 1 µm during transfer from the aligner to the bonder and during bonding.

1. The wafer bonder shall come with all the required tooling, parts, and wafer fixtures to support various sample sizes of 1 cm x 1 cm pieces to 50.8 mm, 76.2 mm, 100 mm, and 150 mm wafer sizes.

1. Shall come with 4 gas input lines and mass flow controllers (MFCs) for process gasses. Our required process gasses are Ar, N2, He, and N2+H2

1. Shall provide up to 20 kN force for bonding.

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 through the use of market research and public announcements. As requirements evolve, NIST will continue to search for GSA vendors as well as open-market vendors that can fill the agency’s needs. In an effort to identify and reach additional vendors, NIST posted sources sought and notice of intent on FBO.gov; however, this effort yielded no additional vendor results.

12. CERTIFICATIONS:

I hereby certify that this justification for other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.