NANOCALORIMETER_CHIPS_ _SRM_DEVELOPMENT_6-2013.doc

TITLE: NANOCALORIMETER CHIP AND STANDARD REFERENCE MATERIAL (SRM) DEVELOPMENT

SOLICITATION NO.: SB1341-13-RQ-0511

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL SERVICES 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. FAR PART 13 SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES ARE UTILIZED IN THIS PROCUREMENT. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-68.***

*** The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 541690 with a small business size standard of $14.0M. This acquisition is 100% set-aside for small business***

***The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is investigating the design of nanocalorimeter chips and the use of suitable techniques to synthesize and characterize a collection of solidification point SRMs based on coated nanoparticles that are related to the ITS-90 temperature scale.*** ***All interested small businesses may provide a firm fixed-price quotation for the following:

CLIN 0001: Contractor Performance of Requirements associated with Tasks 1-5 and Related Deliverable(s) outlined in the Statement of Work (SoW).

QTY: 1 JOB.

The following is the Statement of Work (SoW):

Nanocalorimeter Chip and Standard Reference Material Development

A. BACKGROUND:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Materials Measurement Science Division (MMSD) is currently developing sensor chips and reference materials for nanocalorimetry measurements. Advanced nanocalorimeters measure materials at the micrometer and nanometer length scales. In order to enable innovation and speed development of such measurements, new chip designs and reference materials are required to optimize materials measurements, materials selection based on thermodynamic properties, thermal performance related to manufacturing processes, and reliability predictions. Fundamental thermal properties underlying all aspects of nanoscale thermal behavior, such as melting points, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and the size dependence of these properties are required for the development of small-scale technologies such as thermally dependent micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS).

Nanocalorimetry is a method to measure the thermal and thermodynamic properties of nanomaterials and is currently the principal technique for the measurement of micro- to nano-scale thermal properties for a wide variety of materials and structures. Precision and accuracy in these measurements is dependent on the precision and accuracy of temperature measurements which, in turn, depend on the calibration of the temperature sensors on the nanocalorimeter chips. Despite efforts to develop new generations of nanocalorimeter chips, true accuracy, SI traceability and precision temperature measurement methods have not yet been developed and require new strategies for chip calibration to implement. In order to establish and improve the accuracy and precision of this technique, it is necessary to develop new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for chip calibration over the range from room temperature to 1000 °C.

The objective of this effort is to investigate the design of nanocalorimeter chips and the use of suitable techniques to synthesize and characterize a collection of solidification point (e.g. temperature) standard reference materials based on coated nanoparticles that are related to the ITS-90 temperature scale.

B. SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall design, fabricate and calibrate nanocalorimeter chips in addition to the synthesis and coating of possible SRMs for use with chip based nanocalorimeters and characterize these materials using electron microscopy, conventional Differential Scanning Calorimetry/Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (DSC/TGA) and nanocalorimetry. The Contractor shall use facilities and instruments located at the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus in Building 223, Rooms A310 and A328-A330 to calibrate chips and to measure the melting temperature and solidification temperature of coated and uncoated nanoparticles for use in an SRM. The Contractor shall use the cleanroom facility, in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), located on the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus, to fabricate nanocalorimeter chips. The number of experiments will be sufficient to derive reliable conclusions. For example, for correlation tests, values of R-squared greater than 0.8 or less than 0.2 will be expected to confirm or refute relationships. For temperature determinations, the coefficient of variation (standard deviation/mean) of less than 0.05 are required.

C. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

1. NIST Technical Note 1297, “Guidelines for Evaluating and Expressing Uncertainty of NIST Measurement Results” (http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/guidelines/contents.html)

2. NIST Special Publication 811, “Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)” (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf)

D. SPECIFIC TASKS AND PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide all support for project oversight, administration and technical execution of this project.

The Contractor shall maintain accurate records of project activities.

The Contractor shall conduct the following tasks:

Task 1

Design and Evaluate Nanocalorimeter Chips: Use available Solidworks computer aided design software and Comsol Multiphysics finite element software to design and evaluate nanocalorimeter chips

Task 2

Microfabricate Nanocalorimeter Chips: Use available CNST cleanroom facilities to produce masks, grow nitride layers, deposit and pattern metallization, perform deep etching of the silicon wafers and other process steps as needed to fabricate nanocalorimeter chips.

Task 3

Calibrate Nanocalorimeter Chips: Use available MML instrumentation to evaluate calibration strategies and calibrate nanocalorimeter chips as needed.

Task 4

Characterize samples and nanoparticles: Use nanocalorimetry, electron microscopy, DSC, TGA, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) (if needed) and particle sizing instruments to measure the melting and solidification temperatures of samples and nanoparticles (provided by NIST) and compare with published values in the technical literature. Bare metal nanoparticles may be synthesized (if required) or commercially purchased (NIST will provide).

Task 5

Measurements: Perform nanocalorimeter measurements as well as thermal measurements using conventional DSC/TGA to identify melting point values and enthalpies (as needed).

Performance Standards

The Contractor shall ensure that all research procedures shall be fully documented such that the research could be duplicated independently. The accuracy of the results shall be consistent with similar measurements in the recent published literature. Uncertainty analysis shall comply with NIST publication requirements as specified in Technical Note 1297, “Guidelines for Evaluating and Expressing Uncertainty of NIST Measurement Results” (http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/guidelines/contents.html). Reports shall use SI units as specified in NIST Special Publication 811, “Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)” (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf).

Quality of work will be assessed by the Technical Information Contact (TIC), based on the Contractor’s proficiency in nanoparticle synthesis and characterization as determined by comparison with freezing/melting point and uncertainty levels of comparable measurements in the scientific literature, and by the suitability of data to the purpose, i.e., by meeting the correlation coefficient and relative standard deviation values set forth above. Reports will be examined and reviewed by the TIC to evaluate the Contactor’s performance.

E. DELIVERABLES AND DUE DATES

The Contractor shall prepare and submit Task-based reports to the TIC within five business days of completion of a task. All reports shall be submitted electronically in MS Word format.

Report for Task 1 shall comprise a summary of design drawings and finite element analysis for new nanocalorimeter chip designs. As an alternative, and with agreement of the TIC, the report may be prepared in the style of a technical manuscript suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed scientific journal such as Applied Physics Letters or Journal of Applied Physics.

Reports for Task 2 and Task 3 shall comprise calibration curves and fabrication data for nanocalorimeter chips performed under those tasks.

Reports for Tasks 4 and 5 shall identify the equipment used, the specimen preparations, the measurement conditions, raw and processed measurement results, images as constructed in the tasks, and all calculated or otherwise derived results specified in the tasks. As an alternative, and with agreement of the TIC, reports for Tasks 4 and 5 may be prepared in the style of a technical manuscript suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed scientific journal such as Applied Physics Letters or Journal of Applied Physics.

Four reports are required:

Report for Task 1

Design of new nanocalorimeter chips with CAD model and finite element analysis.

Report for Tasks 2 and 3

Calibration curves performed and documentation of nanocalorimeter chips fabricated.

Report for Task 3

Report on supporting measurements performed (including, but not limited to: videography, light microscopy, electron microscopy, DSC, TGA, FTIR (if needed) and particle size)

Report for Tasks 4 and 5 Report on the characterization of samples and nanocalorimeter measurements.

Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables: The TIC will provide comments on each report within 5 calendar days from receipt. The Contractor shall make any needed changes to the report within 7 calendar days from receipt of electronic or written comments from the TIC. The TIC will provide written notification when a report is accepted.

F. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance shall be September 16, 2013 to September 15, 2014.

All work shall be accomplished at the NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 facility. Normal duty hours are Monday through Friday 7AM-7PM, with the exception of Federal holidays or other official closures, to enable face-to-face technical interactions with key NIST staff.

Facility/Building/Campus Closures: During anticipated closures of the NIST facility due to declared training holidays, administrative leave granted to the entire government staff, or other closure, the Contractor may not be required to perform services, unless specifically scheduled. In the event of an unplanned closure of the facility due to natural disasters, emergency, or severe weather, the Contractor shall not report to work unless notified differently by the TIC.

Federal Holidays: The following is a list of legal federal holidays. If work necessitates the Contractor to be at NIST on a Federal holiday, the Contractor must obtain authorization from the TIC prior to the holiday:

· New Year’s Day, January 1st

· Martin Luther King’s Birthday, 3rd Monday in January

· President’s Day, 3rd Monday in February

· Memorial Day, Last Monday in May

· Independence Day, July 4th

· Labor Day, 1st Monday in September

· Columbus Day, 2nd Monday in October

· Veteran’s Day, November 11th

· Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November

· Christmas Day, December 25th

G. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY, DATA, AND/OR INFORMATION

All property, data and/or information provided by the Government during performance of this project remains the property of the Government and shall be surrendered to the Government upon completion or termination of this requirement. Likewise, any deliverables generated under this project remain the property of the Government.

Government-furnished equipment will be provided in an as-is condition and in a working condition.

The Government will provide the Contractor with access to the NIST cleanroom facility,a Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), optical and electron microscopes, instrumentation and hardware necessary for nanocalorimeter measurements, and a NIST computer for data analysis and report production. These facilities will be maintained and provided by the Government. The Government will also provide an office, furnished with a desk, chair, computer and a telephone, to be used for official work performance.

H. RISK ASSESSMENT

The HSPD-12 Security Risk Level assigned to this project is low risk.

I. KEY PERSONNEL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall have a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry or Materials Science and at least two years experience in:

1. Synthetic chemistry.

2. Liquid phase synthesis of nanoparticles

3. Liquid phase coating of nanomaterials

4. Microfabrication in a cleanroom environment

5. Characterization of materials using electron microscopy.

6. Characterization of materials using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

7. Characterization of materials using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)

8. Characterization of materials using chip nanocalorimetry.

9. Fabrication of silicon devices in a microfabrication/cleanroom facility.

10. Finite Element Analysis (preferably using Comsol Multiphysics software)

11. Computer Aided Drafting (preferably using Solidworks software)

J. GENERAL INFORMATION

Misconduct or Disruption of Services: At any time during the performance period of this contract, the Contracting Officer, may request the Contractor be immediately removed from the premises if they determine, at their unilateral discretion, that the Contractor’s actions or impaired state, to be a disruption to the workforce.

Safety: The Contractor shall be responsible for knowing and complying with all installation safety prevention regulations. Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety, cryogenic safety, chemical safety, compressed gas safety, fire prevention, cleanroom use and waste disposal. Specific safety information and training will be provided prior to laboratory use.

Security: NIST is a restricted campus. An identification badge is required for access for entry into buildings and also is shown to the armed Security Police when entering the campus.

Identification Badges: The Contractor shall comply with NIST identification and access requirements. The Contractor is responsible for absences due to expired identification and access documents. The Contractor shall wear a visible identification badge provided by the NIST Security Office. The badge must show the full name, title, and if required by NIST, the words “Contractor” in front. The Contractor shall turn in the NIST identification badge and vehicle pass to the TIC or Contracting Officer (CO) upon termination of their services under this contract.

Vehicle Registration: The Contractor must register their vehicle with the NIST Security Office to gain access to the campus. A valid driver’s license, Government-furnished civilian ID, proof of insurance and current registration must be presented to the NIST Security Office, at which time a NIST vehicle pass will be issued. The pass shall be displayed on the vehicle’s rear view mirror or in accordance with instructions. The Contractor shall follow NIST procedures for removal and turn-in of the vehicle pass upon termination of services under this contract.

***END OF STATEMENT OF WORK***

***INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS***

***All vendors shall submit the following:

Technical Quotation (Vol. I), Past Performance/References (Vol. II) and a Business/Pricing Quotation (Vol. III), as three (3) separate electronic files. Incomplete quotations may be considered non-responsive and removed from further consideration. Quotations 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. A one-page transmittal letter signed by an individual authorized to commit the organization shall be transmitted with the quotation to the Government. Each quotation shall be on 8.5” x 11” paper, in a commercially standard font, not smaller than 12 point font. Each page in the quotation shall be separately numbered. The quotation shall be limited to fifteen (15) single-sided, single-spaced pages (excluding the letter of transmittal, resumes, cover letter, letters of commitment, and past-performance information).

***Overall Arrangement of Documents*** Technical Quotation addressing all technical subfactors (Volume I) - No pricing information shall be included in the technical quotation

Past Performance/References (Volume II)

Business/Pricing Quotation (Volume III)

VOLUME I: TECHNICAL

NIST will evaluate quotations, based on the information submitted in support of these subfactors:

Technical SubFactor 1 Technical Approach

The offeror shall provide sufficient information to demonstrate its understanding of the requirements, providing a concise, detailed, and thorough discussion of its technical approach to successfully conduct the tasks defined in the SoW, including the complexities involved in nanocalorimeter chips and SRMs and any potential risks and how these can be mitigated.

Technical SubFactor 2 Key Personnel Experience

The offeror shall describe its experience with the methods associated with development of nanocalorimeter chips and SRMs discussed in the SoW AND demonstrate by a resume that the key personnel proposed have the qualifications noted in Section I of the SoW to perform the work described therein.

VOLUME II: PAST PERFORMANCE/REFERENCES

The offeror shall provide three (3) examples of past performance conducted within the last three (3) years of contracts for relevant work of a similar type and scope as the current requirement with federal, state or local governments and/or commercial customers. If the offeror has no relevant past performance it should include a statement to that effect in its quotation. The government reserves the right to consider past performance data obtained from sources other than those provided by the offeror in its quotation.

The description of each reference described in this section shall not exceed a half page. For each of the contracts, the offeror shall provide the following information:

· Contract number

· Client’s name and address and point of contact, including telephone number and e-mail address

· Dollar value

· Period of performance

· Narrative describing the requirement and its relevance to the current requirement

· Name of contracting officer or point of contact, telephone number and e-mail address

The offeror may include: a) past performance information regarding any problems encountered on the contracts described above and corrective actions taken to resolve those problems; and b) Any quality awards or certifications, letters of appreciation, commendations, industry recognition of excellence or special awards received with respect to performance of services. The offeror shall describe when the award, certification, etc. was received, and may provide as an attachment to this part.

VOLUME III: PRICE

1. Price - firm, fixed-price for the required technical services; the following tables shall be used for calculation purposes:

PROPOSED LABOR CATEGORIES

Task 1 – Design and Evaluate Nanocalorimeter Chips

1.

2.

Task 2 – Microfabricate Nanocalorimeter Chips

1.

2.

Task 3 – Calibrate Nanocalorimeter Chips

1.

2.

Task 4 – Characterize Samples and Nanoparticles

1.

2.

Task 5 – Measurements

1.

2.

ALL OFFERORS SHALL PROPOSE A PAYMENT SCHEDULE FOR THE DELIVERABLES SPECIFIED IN THE SoW

***PROVISIONS / CLAUSES***

The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html

The following provisions apply to this acquisition:

52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items;

52.212-2 Evaluation—Commercial Items;

52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items;

52.222-22 Previous Contracts and Compliance Reports;

52.222-25 Affirmative Action Compliance;

52.225-25 Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Engaging in Sanctioned Activities Relating to Iran – Representation and Certification

All interested offerors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) website located at https://www.sam.gov and must complete annual representations on-line in SAM in accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required.

The following clauses apply to this acquisition:

52.204-9 Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel;

52.204-99 System for Award Management Registration;

52.217-8 Option to Extend Services;

52.223-5 Pollution Prevention and Right-to-Know Information;

52.227-14 Rights in Data—General;

52.237-2 Protection of Government Buildings, Equipment, and Vegetation;

52.245-1 Government Property;

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference;

52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items;

52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders— Commercial Items including subparagraphs:

52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards;

52.209-6 Protecting the Government’s Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment;

52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside 52.219-13 Notice of Set-Aside of Orders;

52.222-3 Convict Labor;

52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities;

52.222-26 Equal Opportunity;

52.225-35 Equal Opportunity for Veterans;

52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities;

52.222-37 Employment Reports on Veterans;

52.223-18 Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messaging While Driving;

52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases; and 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration The following Department of Commerce (CAR) provision applies to this acquisition:

1352.213-70 Evaluation Utilizing Simplified Acquisition Procedures

The following Department of Commerce (CAR) clauses apply to this acquisition:

1352.201-70 Contracting Officer’s Authority;

1352.208-70 Restrictions on Printing and Duplicating;

1352.209-72 Restrictions Against Disclosure;

1352.209-73 Compliance with the Laws;

1352.209-74 Organizational Conflict of Interest;

1352.237-71 Security Processing Requirements—Low Risk;

1352.237-75 Key Personnel;

1352.239-72 Security Requirements for Information Technology Resources;

1352.246-70 Place of Acceptance; and Other appropriate clauses as needed

Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm ***This is an Open-Market Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for services as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL quotes shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:

The Offeror shall state “The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition.”

OR

The Offeror 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:

Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s).

Offerors that fail to furnish required representations or information, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration.

***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 an Offeror 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 Offeror’s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation.

***EVALUATION***

The Government will award a purchase order resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quotation is the most highly rated, and conforming to the solicitation, results in the best value to the Government, non-price and price factors considered. NIST reserves the right to make award to other than the lowest-priced offeror or to the offeror ranked highest technically, if it determines that to do so would result in the best value to the Government.

The Government intends to make a single award but reserves the right to make no award as a result of this solicitation.

The Government intends to evaluate quotations and award a purchase order without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial quotation should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. The Government may reject any and or all quotations if such action is in the public interest; accept other than the lowest price quotation; and waive informalities and minor irregularities in quotation received.

Non-price factors are of equal importance. Technical Approach, Key Personnel Experience and Past Performance, when combined, are more important than price. The relative importance of price will increase with the degree of evaluated equality of the technical factors.

***EVALUATION CRITERIA***

***Technical ***Technical SubFactor 1 Technical Approach The Government will evaluate the offeror's technical approach based on the information contained in the technical quotation to determine the extent of its understanding of the requirements and its ability to successfully complete the tasks. This evaluation will include an assessment of: a) design and evaluation of nanocalorimeter chips; b) microfabrication of nanocalorimeter chips; c) calibration of nanocalorimeter chips; and, d) characterization of samples defined in the SoW and nanoparticles.

***Technical SubFactor 2 Key Personnel Experience The Government will evaluate the extent to which the offeror’s technical background, education, experience, and qualifications demonstrate its ability to perform similar services pertaining to research in method development for nanocalorimeter chips.

***Past Performance The Government will evaluate the offeror's past performance information, and if appropriate, its proposed subcontractor’s past performance information, to determine its relevance to the current requirements and the extent to which it demonstrates that the offeror has successfully completed relevant contracts in the past three (3) years. In assessing the offeror's past performance, NIST may evaluate the quality, timeliness, and ability to control cost and schedule of the past work to determine the quality of service, and the extent to which the offeror has performed work of a similar type, magnitude and complexity. The Government will assign a neutral rating to offerors with no relevant past performance in the past three years. Past performance will be evaluated by contacting appropriate references, including NIST references, if applicable.

***Price The Government will evaluate the offeror's proposed prices to determine whether the proposed prices comply with the instructions articulated above and are realistic, complete, and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements.

***Offerors shall e-mail their quotation to randy.schroyer@nist.gov so that it is received by the response date/time for this solicitation. It is the responsibility of the offeror to confirm NIST’s receipt of its quotation. Each quotation shall include sufficient data to allow the Government to determine the amount, realism and consistency of the quoted fixed price.

***All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted in writing via e-mail to the Contract Specialist, Randy Schroyer, at randy.schroyer@nist.gov no later than 5:00PM EST July 9, 2013.

***The due date and time for receipt of quotations is July 15, 2013 no later than 5:00PM EST.***