SATPC0042847 Tab 06 RDSS..pdf

Page 1 V2.0 3-15-2017

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER

RECOMMENDATION AND DETERMINATION TO SOLICIT FROM ONE SOURCE

OR BRAND NAME

PICK ONE

Sole Source:

☒I recommend that NASA, NASA Shared Services Center negotiate with Oxford Instruments America, Inc. only for Oxford EDS and EBSD Upgrade and Installation Service. The total estimated cost of this effort is and the estimated period of performance or lead-time for delivery is 30 days ARO.

OR

Brand Name Justification:

☐I recommend that NASA, NASA Shared Services Center negotiate only with vendors who can provide the subject brand name from Manufacture Name for Product being purchased. The total estimated cost of this effort is $Dollar Amount and the estimated period of performance or lead-time for delivery is Date .

This recommendation is for the acquisition of supplies or services determined to be reasonably available from only one source/only one manufacture. Competition is impractical for the following reasons (please answer the questions below):

1. What are the reasons for soliciting only the suggested source/suggested brand name? Please provide the unique characteristics of the items or services along with the supporting rationale and the market research performed to substantiate your reason for the suggested source/brand name.

The Oxford EDS and EBSD hardware and software suite is the only solution fully compatible with

NASA’s existing Hitachi S 4700 scanning electron microscope. The S 4700’s detector interfaces, control electronics, mounting geometry, and software integration were originally designed to support Oxford instruments, and Oxford remains the sole manufacturer whose systems can be installed on this SEM without loss of functionality or the need for custom engineering. Market research confirms that other vendors’ detectors cannot be integrated into the S 4700 without significant modification to the microscope column, signal processing electronics, vacuum feedthroughs, and control software. These modifications would not only void existing service support but would also compromise instrument stability and performance.Oxford’s upgrade package provides seamless integration with the S 4700’s existing control architecture, enabling synchronized SEM EDS EBSD operation, automated stage control, and coordinated data acquisition. The Oxford AZtec software platform is uniquely capable of running on the S 4700 without disabling native SEM functions, and it supports advanced analytical workflows, including high speed EDS mapping, EBSD pattern acquisition, phase identification, and correlative analysis, within a single interface. Because the S 4700 is an older but still mission critical instrument, maintaining compatibility is essential to preserve its full analytical capability. Oxford is the only vendor that offers a turnkey upgrade path specifically engineered for this SEM model.For these reasons, the Oxford EDS/EBSD system is the only product that meets NASA’s technical, operational, and compatibility requirements for upgrading the Hitachi S 4700 without compromising performance or requiring extensive redesign.

2. What is the impact to the government if another vendor/brand is used? Include any dollar, schedule, or compatibility impacts if possible.

Using a different vendor would result in substantial technical, schedule, and cost impacts. Non Oxford detectors are not designed to interface with the S 4700’s electronics, vacuum system, or control software, and attempting to integrate them would require custom mechanical adapters, rewiring of detector power and signal lines, and modification of the SEM column. These changes would disable existing

Page 2 V2.0 3-15-2017 functionality, void service support, and introduce significant risk to the stability and reliability of the microscope.Alternative systems would also require separate software platforms for EDS and EBSD, forcing operators to switch between multiple interfaces and preventing synchronized acquisition. This would reduce data quality, increase operator burden, and slow analysis workflows. In many cases, EBSD systems from other vendors cannot be physically mounted on the S 4700 without altering the chamber geometry, which would require downtime, engineering labor, and requalification of the instrument.Financially, integrating a non compatible system would incur additional engineering costs, extended installation time, and potential damage to the SEM if modifications fail or destabilize the column. Schedule delays would affect ongoing materials characterization campaigns, including microstructural analysis, phase identification, and dust related degradation studies. The risk of incomplete or unusable data would increase, leading to repeated measurements and wasted effort.In summary, selecting another vendor would compromise instrument functionality, increase cost, extend downtime, and reduce the reliability of critical microstructural analysis. The Oxford upgrade avoids these risks by providing the only fully compatible, fully integrated EDS/EBSD solution for the Hitachi S 4700

SEM.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

9/9/2026

Technical User Name Date

Title

Office