SB1341-15-RQ-0884_SOW.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

TITLE: Procurement of a dual-nozzle deposition printer with gravimetric calibration

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Surface and Microanalysis Science Division, part of NIST's Material Measurement Laboratory, serves as the Nation’s Reference Laboratory for chemical metrology research, standards, and data to: (1) Characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of chemical species;

and (2) Improve the accuracy, precision, sensitivity, selectivity, and applicability of surface, interface, microanalysis, and advanced isotope measurement techniques. NIST intends to utilize and adapt state-of-the-art inkjet dispense technologies to support emerging applications in digital manufacturing and trace explosives detection. A critical barrier to the successful commercial-ization of such devices is control over the micro-scale placement of materials and the resulting morphology and functionality of the self-assembled structures, which often are manifested on the nanoscale. The possibilities for digital fabrication are greatly expanded by the use of multiple fluids, but this requires consideration of expanded metrological challenges. NIST’s expertise in micro-to-nanoscale measurements, as well as our experience in adapting drop-on-demand and on-the-fly inkjet printing for homeland security applications, will be applied to these emerging applications important to the economy of the United States.

A materials deposition printer must be able to dispense a wide variety of fluids to a surface in discrete droplets – on-demand and on-the-fly – with programmable spatial control. Droplet sizes emerging from inkjet nozzles are complex functions of fluid rheology, nozzle diameter, head pressure, driving waveform, ejection rate, and burst number. Gravimetric capabilities allow determination of the average droplet sizes with 1 % accuracy (Anal. Chem. (2009) 81, 8577).

Optical calibration techniques, while precise, cannot approach this accuracy. NIST possesses systems with these capabilities, but now requires a system that can dispense two different fluids from two nozzles simultaneously.

II. SPECIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide one (1) dual-nozzle, dual-fluid materials deposition printer with the following minimum technical requirements.

Technical Requirements

1. The system must be capable of reproducibly dispensing droplets of two different fluids with viscosities between 0.5 cP and 5 cP from two different nozzles onto the same location of a substrate within a 1 second time interval.

2. The driving waveforms for each dispensing device must be independently programmable, and must include options for bipolar, sinusoidal, and 12 point (or more) arbitrary waveforms.

3. The contractor shall provide a system that includes video cameras capable of capturing images of droplets in flight from each dispensing device with sufficient magnification to allow measurement of droplet diameters ranging from 10 micrometers to 150 micrometers. Lensing must enable focusing and zooming so that a resolution of 1 micrometer per pixel is achieved; 8-bit greyscale depth or better is required. Additionally, software must include programmable strobe progression delays to allow visualization of droplet formation dynamics. .

4. The contractor shall provide a system that includes video cameras capable of capturing images of evaporating residues from droplets with co-axial illumination and sufficient magnification to allow measurement of residue dimensions ranging from 10 micrometers to 150 micrometers. Lensing must enable focusing and zooming so that a resolution of 1 micrometer per pixel is achieved; 8-bit greyscale depth or better is required. Additionally, software must include programmable strobe progression delays to allow visualization of droplet interaction dynamics.

5. Fluid pressure within each dispensing device must be controllable to within 0.5 mbar.

The two dispensing devices may share the same pressure controller during operation, but they must be independent for purge and evacuation events.

6. The system must include a square or rectangle platen of at least 200 square inches on X, Y motion stages for lateral movements having a resolution and repeatability of 5 micrometers or less. The difference between the X and Y lengths on the platen shall not exceed 2”.

7. The system must include at least one Z stage for controlling height of the two dispensing devices above the platen.

8. The entire system must fit on an optical table six feet long and three feet wide.

9. The system must include an integrated microbalance with the capability of correcting for evaporation of dispensed droplets from dissimilar fluids from two nozzles. The combined relative standard uncertainty of the average droplet mass measured from either nozzle in such system must be less than one percent.

10. The system must be enclosed and vented through a hepafilter system. LED lights shall be integrated into the interior of the enclosure for display purposes.

11. The contractor shall provide a computer system meeting the following:

a. It must use an operating system supported by NIST such as Microsoft

Windows7, Macintosh OS X Yosemite, or Linux Ubuntu 10.04/12.04/14.04

LTS.

b. It must have at least an 18” (minimum diagonal) display monitor having at least XGA (1024x768) resolution with square pixels.

c. The system must capture XGA or better video at 15 frames per second (or better) for at least ten seconds individually from either of the cameras described in requirements 3 and 4, and store the video file on a hard disc

d. Files must be able to be downloaded to a USB device or sent through an internet adapter to a remote location within NIST.

12. The software must be able to automatically populate a database with user-defined field data such as InkjetSys, Date, Analyst, Client, Analyte, Substrate, Array, Loading, InkConc, DropMass@time1, DropMass@time2, scriptID, #Drops/spot, and export such data into a form compatible with Microsoft Excel or Access.

13. The software must have the capability to formulate options (e.g., droplet spacings, number of overprintings) for the printing of arrays given time constraints, array dimensions, number of arrays, solute concentration, targeted loading of solute, and droplet mass/volume.

14. During use of scripts or internal programs, there must be an indication of iteration number and time remaining for completion of the job.

15. During use of scripts or internal programs, there must be the means to automatically stop a job based on an internal test such as optical verification of jetting and gravimetric verification of droplet mass limits with user-defined tolerances.

16. The contractor shall provide one hardcopy and one electronic copy of the technical manual covering basic operations, maintenance and troubleshooting for the system to the NIST Technical Point of Contact (TPOC).

Installation. The Contractor shall install the instrument in Building 217, Room D114, at NIST Gaithersburg, MD. Installation shall include, at a minimum, uncrating/unpacking of all equipment, set-up and hook-up of all equipment, start-up, demonstration of specifications, and removal of all trash. Instrument will operate to manufacturer’s specifications upon installation.

Installation is to occur within 90 days of award.

Training. Include training at NIST for up to 5 NIST personnel covering normal operation, troubleshooting, and routine maintenance. Training will be coordinated with the NIST TPOC to ensure maximum availability of NIST personnel. Training is to occur within 10 days of installation. The training may be completed on-site at NIST immediately after installation and demonstration of specifications.

Warranty. The contractor shall include a one-year warranty. This warranty must cover non-consumable parts and travel/labor on-site should this become necessary within the warranty period. During the warranty period, the contractor shall provide unlimited telephone support (at normal business hours of the vendor) for questions regarding system operation.

III. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Installation, training, and acceptance testing shall be accomplished at NIST. Normal duty hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the exception of Federal holidays.

IV. DELIVERY

The printer and technical manual shall be delivered within 90 days of the award date. The items shall be shipped FOB Destination to: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Building 301 Shipping and Receiving, 100 Bureau Dr., Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

V. DELIVERABLES

Description Quantity Due Date Dual-nozzle, dual-fluid materials dispensing system

One 90 days after award of this requirement.

Hardcopy and electronic copy of technical manual delivered to the TPOC.

One each 90 days after award of this requirement

Installation of the equipment One 30 days after delivery

Description Quantity Due Date Training of NIST personnel at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD

One 10 days after installation

Acceptance Testing Once Immediately after training

Acceptance Tests Immediately after completion of delivery, installation, and training, the following tests shall be performed by NIST personnel:

1. Using a filtered mixture of ethylene glycol in water (having a viscosity of about 4 cP), average drop mass will be measured using the burst-mode gravimetric method (Anal. Chem.

(2009) 81, 8577) under a stable waveform and reservoir pressure. For each nozzle, this test will be repeated five times within 30 minutes using a script. Average drop mass from each nozzle must be between 10 ng and 150 ng, with a relative standard deviation of less than one percent. The test will be repeated up to five times, modifying waveforms and reservoir pressures as appropriate, until the test is passed.

2. A 10x10 square array of spots will be printed on a water sensitive surface. Each spot will be comprised of two drops of the glycol-in-water fluid from the two nozzles, where the two drops are deposited on a single spot within 1 second. Spots in the array will be separated by 1 millimeter. A success rate of 95 % or greater must be achieved, as measured by the number of non-overlapping drops in a spot as visualized on the surface by the video camera. The test will be repeated five times, and the 95% success rate must be achieved in 4 of 5 trials.

These tests are expected to take less than two hours. Any failures of the above tests will result in a rejection of the system by the Government. The contractor shall be responsible for fixing any deficiencies found during the acceptance test at no additional cost to the Government. If deficiencies are such that they cannot be fixed at NIST, the contractor shall un-install the system and provide a replacement system at no additional cost to the Government.

VI. GENERAL INFORMATION

Safety: The Contractor employee shall be responsible for knowing and complying with NIST installation safety prevention regulations (http://www-i.nist.gov/mml/safety/policies/index.htm.)

Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety, fire prevention, and waste disposal.

Patent Rights: The Government retains a Government use license to all inventions arising from this work.

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.

Media Inquiries: The Contractor employee shall not respond to any media inquiries. Any inquiries from the media shall be immediately relayed to the TPOC, COR, and/or CO. There shall be no interviews, comments, or any other response without the knowledge and approval of the NIST Director.