Final_Specification.pdf

Government Requirements

TITLE: Procurement of an in-SEM plasma cleaner for a TESCAN MIRA-3 microscope

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Materials Measurement Science Division is involved in the measurement of compositional properties from a broad variety of natural and engineered materials. A common technique for measuring composition is electron probe x-ray microanalysis in a scanning electron microscope. Surface contamination can limit the accuracy with which these measurements can be performed. Surface contamination can come from various sources but results in a layer of material over the surface under consideration. This layer can be further enhanced by interaction with the electron beam. In-situ RF plasma cleaners have proven to be an effective way to eliminate contamination both on the sample and residual contamination inside the instrumentation.

II. SCOPE OF WORK

There are two broad classes of RF plasma cleaners available – in-situ and benchtop. The benchtop units are standalone units that combine the cleaner with a chamber and vacuum pump. They are an excellent way to clean samples but the sample can become contaminated as the sample is transferred to the SEM chamber and benchtop units don’t provide any mechanism to clean the SEM chamber, a major source of recontamination. In-situ cleaners attach to a port on the main chamber of an SEM. They take advantage of the vacuum pumps already present in the SEM. Because the RF plasma occurs in the sample chamber, the sample is cleaned and the interior of the chamber. The sample need never be exposed to atmosphere between cleaning and analysis.

This contract requires an in-situ RF plasma cleaner because of the benefits of 1) not transferring the sample after cleaning; 2) cleaning of the interior of the SEM.

III. SPECIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide one (1) RF plasma cleaning system that meets the following minimum technical requirements.

System Requirements:

Must be an in-chamber RF plasma cleaner designed for cleaning hydrocarbon contamination from samples and surfaces inside an scanning electron microscope sample chamber.

Must has a plasma source with a vacuum interface that can be attached or adapted to an available vacuum port on a TESCAN MIRA-3 scanning electron microscope.

Must have an electronic bleed valve with pressure feedback

Must have a unified controller to facilitate routine operation of the RF plasma cleaner

It must be compatible with a TESCAN MIRA-3 scanning electron microscope

Routine operation of the RF plasma cleaner must not damage the components within the microscope vacuum chamber including (but not limited to) the stage and motors, imaging detectors (secondary and backscatter) and X-ray detectors (including the polymer detector window.)

It must be a complete, integrated system with necessary hardware and electronics.

If there is a software component, it must be compatible with a Dell XPS-9100 with Windows 7

Professional edition.

The system must include an operations and maintenance manual covering proper operation, routine maintenance, and trouble-shooting for the instrument and controlling software o The manual may be supplied in hard copy or electronic format (or both).

Warranty:

The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a one year warranty for the equipment. The warranty shall cover all parts, labor and travel. The warranty shall commence upon acceptance of the instrument.

Manual / Documentation:

The manual must be document routine and advanced operation. The manual must document basic maintenance and routine operating procedures.

IV. DELIVERY DATE

60 days after award

V. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Installation (if necessary) of the instrument and training shall be accomplished at NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Normal duty hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the exception of

Federal holidays.

VI. DELIVERABLES

Description Quantity Due Date

RF Plasma Cleaner One (1) 60 days after award

Operations and maintenance manual for the analytical instrument

One (1) 60 days after award

VII. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

Acceptance will occur after the NIST TPOC verifies that the product meets the specifications of this document. The RF plasma cleaner will be tested by measuring raster marks form when the beam is rastered over an area of 10 µm × 10 µm on a glassy carbon substrate for one hour. The cleaner must remove visible signs of the hydrocarbon contamination within a single cleaning cycle.