Sources Sought Notice - NIST-SS26-CHIPS-04.docx

Notice ID Number NIST-SS26-CHIPS-04

Title: Micro specimens of electroplated copper films and micro-sized lead-free solder for mechanical testing to fracture

Department of Commerce Advanced Acquisition Planning (AAP) Entry Number: 54825

The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs.

BACKGROUND

The Applied Chemicals and Materials Division, in the Material Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST, is developing new metrology to measure the micromechanical properties, to fracture, of thin-film electroplated copper (Cu) and micro-sized lead-free solder. These materials are critical as interconnects for heterogeneous integration for advanced packaging. Cu is used for Cu-to-Cu hybrid bonding, the most advanced interconnect technology today and in the near future, while Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solder is used for all levels of packaging. The packaging industry relies on physics-based models and finite element models to predict the thermomechanical performance of these interconnects as well as to guide their design and process development and understand reliability-related issues. Such models require accurate material property data as inputs. Mechanical property data, to fracture, are lacking or sparse for these materials with size scales, chemical composition and microstructure similar to that of the interconnects. The characteristic length for Cu hybrid bonds is 1 micron, and that of solder can range from 1 micron to over 100 microns. Common practice is to use material property data measured from samples of Cu and/or solder that are dissimilar in size scales and/or with dissimilar microstructures from those used in Cu hybrid bonding and solder bumping, but such data is not accurate due to the effects of size, processing and microstructure on the properties. A state-of-the-art technique is to use nanoindentation to measure mechanical properties, however, nanoindentation tests are typically not to fracture, especially for ductile materials such as metals. NIST is therefore developing new measurement tools and techniques to measure various mechanical properties (such as tensile, shear, bending, fatigue) of freestanding micro-sized metal specimens with NIST-designed geometries, and to conduct these tests to fracture. However, NIST lacks a way to make appropriate specimens of Cu and solder.

NIST has a need for a R&D partner to fabricate appropriate micro-sized specimens for NIST to measure. These specimens need to be free-standing with various thicknesses ranging 1 - 200 micron-thick electroplated Cu and 10 – 250 micron-thick SAC solder to enable size effect studies, with geometries designed by NIST, and with chemical composition and microstructure tailored to be similar to those of Cu hybrid bonded and solder bonded interconnects used in the heterogeneous integration industry. NIST also needs the R&D partner to eventually transfer their specimen fabrication methods and knowledge to NIST.

The period of performance is for a funded base period of 2 years, followed by one unfunded option period of 1 year.

NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the objectives described above, in addition to the following minimum essential requirements for the specimens and for the Vendor/Contractor:

1. The vendor shall fabricate micro “dog-bone” specimens from both electroplated Cu films and Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) solder, using designs provided by NIST. These specimens may include but are not limited to: tensile specimens, notched tensile specimens, shear specimens, fatigue specimens. The specimens shall have variations in their geometries and dimensions, as designed by NIST.

a. The Cu specimens shall have a range of thickness, from 1 – 200 microns.

b. The solder specimens shall have a range of thicknesses, from 10 – 200 microns.

c. The widths of the specimens will be between 10 – 100 microns, subject to NIST’s needs which are TBD based on the results of the R&D.

d. The vendor shall characterize the specimens’ chemical composition and microstructure, and tailor the composition and microstructure to be similar to Cu hybrid bonds and solder microbumps used in industry for heterogeneous integration.

e. The specimens shall be free-standing.

f. The specimens shall include additional structural components suitable for interfacing with NIST’s measurement instruments.

g. The specimens shall be fabricated entirely at the vendor’s location and shipped to NIST without being damaged.

h. The first set of specimens shall be delivered to NIST approximately 12 months after receipt of order (ARO). Additional specimens shall be delivered to NIST as and when NIST requests.

i. The specimens shall have chemical composition and microstructure similar to that used for Cu hybrid bonding and solder flip chip bonding.

2. The vendor shall be agile in their fabrication processes, by working closely and collaboratively and iteratively with NIST and responding rapidly (within a few days) to NIST’s needs if those needs change.

3. The vendor shall share all their methods and processes and data with NIST.

4. The vendor shall publish and present their results with NIST as co-author.

5. The vendor shall have cleanroom fabrication capabilities that complement those at NIST, as well as microelectronics packaging and solder processing capabilities:

a. The vendor shall have these cleanroom fabrication capabilities: photolithography with linewidths down to 2 microns, double-sided lithography, thick photoresist processing, double-sided DRIE, XeF2 etching, silicon wet-etching, HF etching, RIE, sputtering or e-beam evaporation of Ti, Cr, Al, Ni, Au, Cu films, growing of silicon oxide, electroplating of various metals, electroless plating of metals, wafer dicing.

b. The vendor shall have the following packaging processing capabilities: solder dispensing, solder reflow ovens, flip-chip thermocompression bonding, high vacuum package sealing.

c. The vendor shall at least have the following materials characterization capabilities: SEM, FIB, AFM, EDS, XRD, EBSD.

6. The vendor shall be an established member the US MEMS and semiconductor packaging R&D community for at least a decade, and have a demonstrated deep expertise in both microfabrication and semiconductor packaging, especially solder processing.

a. The vendor shall have multiple papers and patents in the field of microfabrication and semiconductor packaging processes.

b. The vendor shall have held leadership roles in the MEMS and advanced packaging research fields for at least a decade.

7. The vendor shall have at least 10 years of experience working on and leading R&D projects that involve sensitive data:

a. The vendor shall have at least 10 years of experience working on and leading R&D projects with classifications of CUI, ITAR or higher.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response: Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice. Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response.

· Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).

· Identify the products and services that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice. For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following:

· Manufacturer name

· Model number

· Technical specifications

· If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s)

· Describe performance capabilities of the products and services your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response.

· Discuss whether the products and services that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization.

· Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why. Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive.

· State whether the proposed product is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured.

· Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned products and provide relevant details, including timeline.

· For the NAICS code listed in this notice:

· Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.

· If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement.

· Describe services that are available with the purchase of the aforementioned products from your company such as installation, training, and product maintenance.

· Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended products such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; product setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation or testing; and if applicable, other offered services. Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified product, if available.

· State published price, discount, or rebate arrangements for recommended products and services and/or provide link to access company’s published prices for products and services.

· If the recommended products and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.

· Identify any customers in the public or private sectors to which you provided the recommended or similar products or services. Include customer(s) information: company name, phone number, point of contact, email address.

· Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for NIST to know as part of its market research for this requirement.

· State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received 5 business days prior to the response date. If the Contracting Officer determines that providing a written amendment to this notice to document question(s) received would benefit other potential respondents, the questions would be anonymized, and a written response to such question(s) would be provided via an amendment to this notice.

IMPORTANT NOTES

This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. There is no solicitation available at this time.

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response.

NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate.

Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).

The responses shall not exceed 10 pages including all attachments, charts, etc.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!