SOW.docx

Statement of Work XI3/Astromaterials Research Office Femtosecond Laser Ablation System April 15, 2020

JSC (The Astromaterials Research Office within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division) is designated as the Agency lead center for planetary sample analysis, cosmochemistry, lunar advanced science, and Mars fundamental research. A unique suite of analytical instruments allow for the fulfillment of this Agency responsibility. One core facility within this suite houses mass spectrometer instruments for precision isotopic and elemental analysis, and currently, the Astromaterials Research Office has a requirement for a femtosecond laser ablation instrument to conduct targeted in situ analysis. A femtosecond Laser Ablation instrument is required for high precision isotope and element ratio measurements with the newly installed magnetic sector Multicollector Inductively Coupled Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) system. This instrument requirement was vetted and awarded through NASA’s peer review proposal process. The femtosecond pulse width is required as it has been demonstrated that matrix, thermal and fractionation affects are significantly reduced, if not eliminated, at the fs pulse width, and ablated aerosol particle size distribution is optimum for highest transport efficiency to the MC-ICP-MS. A fully integrated Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) system is required for trace and major element determinations from the same laser plasma with the laser ablation (LA) system interfaced to the MC-ICP-MS. The combined LA-LIBS system shall be integrated to provide low level and precise elemental/isotope ratio determinations with the Laser Ablation component and elemental screening with the LIBS component. The fully integrated LIBS system shall have the capability to analyze virtually all elements in the periodic table with the exception of noble gases. This capability is critical to meeting Agency research goals that enable human and robotic missions.

The following represent a minimum list of required hardware components and technical specifications for the femtosecond laser ablation instrument:

1. Laser Source and Optics – The laser source shall be a femtosecond Ytterbium (Yb-KGW) seed laser amplified by Yb-doped (10%) Yb:KYW crystals with direct diode pumping. The laser shall have a Gaussian (TEM00) beam profile with integrated laser energy monitoring.

a. Repetition rate shall be variable from 1Hz to 1 KHz in single shot pulse mode and gated mode to provide any arbitrary number of laser pulses at selected repetition rates.

b. The laser wavelength shall be at the fundamental 1030nm.

c. Pulse duration shall be <500 fs.

d. Spot sizes shall be variable from 5 to 100 micrometers for the 1030nm laser.

e. An automated laser shutter shall be available for laser energy stabilization.

f. Laser energy shall be a minimum of 400uJ for the 1030nm wavelength.

g. A continuously variable optical attenuator shall be provided for energy adjustment.

h. The laser housing shall be made of a single monolithic cast aluminum design, be temperature regulated and hermetically sealed. A built in temperature sensor and humidity control shall be included.

2. Sample Chamber and Gas Manifold. Multiple sample chambers shall be provided.

a. A 100mmx100mm purge gas (Ar, He) sample chamber is required.

b. The gas manifold that controls carrier gas flow to and from the sample chamber shall be made of stainless steel and copper to minimize degassing and prevent build up of any particles leading to memory effects.

c. A 100mm x 100mm 2-volume moving cup laser ablation cell is required.

d. A dual digital mass flow controller is required for the low pressure/gas purge chamber calibrated to Argon and Helium.

e. Field upgrade to a 2-volume fixed cup, fixed volume design capable of simultaneous tandem LIBS and Laser Ablation is required.

f. For each sample chamber a set of interchangeable chamber inserts is required to address different sampling protocols including rapid bulk analysis, micro-inclusion analysis, depth profiling and elemental mapping.

3. Stages and stage control. Computer controlled, stepper motor driven X-Y-Z stage control shall be provided.

a. X-Y stage –travel range of 100mm x 100mm, 0.25 micrometer resolution.

b. Z stage –standard travel range of 35mm, 1 micrometer resolution.

c. A 670nm red pointing laser for auto-height adjustment.

d. Class I laser enclosure with safety interlocks.

e. Ultra stable Z staging for the sample chamber.

4. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) System – A LIBS system for the simultaneous determination of major and trace elements during femtosecond laser ablation shall be included. The LIBS system shall be fully integrated into the femtosecond laser ablation system.

a. The spectrometer and detector of the integrated LIBS system shall be described in detail in the bid response.

b. The LIBS system shall be of a dual detector design. It shall include 2 LIBS spectrometers and detectors. These shall be of the state-of-the-art Czerny-Turner spectrograph design each coupled with high performance Intensified Charge Couple Device (ICCD) detector.

c. The two LIBS detectors should be capable of collecting data simultaneously and the operating software should display the real-time emission data from both detectors.

d. The LIBS system shall have an integrated electronic control module for gate delay adjustment.

e. Detector 1 shall be a Czerny-Turner spectrograph coupled with high performance ICCD detector and dual grating turret (2400 g/mm for UV & 1200 g/mm for VIS and NIR coverage), the ICCD camera shall have a built-in timing control of gate width. It shall include high transmission fiber optics cable for maximum plasma emission light collection.

f. Detector 2 shall be a Czerny-Turner spectrograph coupled with high performance NIR ICCD detector and dual grating turret (1800 g/mm for VIS & 1200 g/mm for VIS & NIR coverage), the ICCD camera shall have a built-in timing control of gate width. It shall include a high transmission fiber optics cable for maximum plasma emission light collection.

5. Imaging Optics. A 1.3M Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) color camera & Light Emitting Diode (LED) Flood lighting shall be included.

a. LED Coaxial light with fiber and bottom transmitted light shall be included.

b. Auto zoom at 12X with 5M camera shall be included.

6. Tandem LIBS and Laser Ablation Control Software.

a. The software shall allow control of all mechanical and electronic functions of the LIBS and Laser Ablation system in a single integrated software suite. This software shall control at a minimum the laser pulse energy, spot size, rep rate, positioning of the laser spot on the sample, and gas flow (on/off and flow rate) to the cell. It shall also control the LIBS spectrometers and at a minimum be capable of controlling the gate delay and gate width of the two spectrometers.

b. It must be possible to choose among a selection of ablation patterns, including lines, spots, line of spots, and rasters.

c. It must be possible to automatically analyze a number of predetermined patterns in unattended fashion.

d. The control software shall be Windows™ 10 compatible.

e. Bi-directional control between the laser system and the ICP-MS data collection software shall be via TTL/CMOS compatible signal voltages or switch relay closures.

f. Software control of three light sources with variable intensity (fiber optic ring for high contrast, transmitted, coaxial for highest intensity lighting) is required.

7. LA-MC-ICP-MS and LIBS data processing software. This software suite shall include data processing for both LA-MC-ICP-MS and LIBS analyses.

a. LA-MC-ICP-MS data processing. The software shall be capable of importing time resolved MC-ICP-MS signal. It shall be capable of performing smoothing & temporally resolved standard deviation (TRSD) calculations. It shall be capable of mass spectra generation based on user selected isotopes. Auto integration of the time-resolved MC-ICP-MS signals shall be possible as shall comparative analysis of time resolved MC-ICP-MS signal. Advanced calibration model using scanned mass spectra shall be included including quantitative analysis with linear and polynomial fitting calibrations shall be possible.

b. LIBS data processing. It shall include LIBS peak integration, continuum and background signal subtraction, LIBS spectra curve fitting, LIBS signal statistics tracking during multiple laser shot data collection and depth profiling; quantitative calibration curve generation.

c. A LIBS database of emission lines generated from real LIBS plasmas shall be included.

d. The standard software shall include spectra analysis functions such as continuum background subtraction and curve-fitting of overlapping peaks allowing the operator to see true signal intensities.

e. The standard software shall provide the capability to find the ratio of one peak to another and to automatically calculate standard deviations for all peaks.

f. Software shall monitor statistics of emission peak intensities and their ratios during multiple laser pulse sampling.

g. Software shall allow for quantitative analysis by plotting calibration curves based on certified reference standards.

h. Advanced quantification analysis using multivariate calibration shall be available in the data analysis software for both LA-MC-ICP-MS and LIBS data.

i. Sample classification feature using principal component analysis (PCA) shall be available in the data analysis program for both LA-MC-ICP-MS and LIBS data.

j. 2D and 3D mapping of the selected elements/ isotopes shall be standard.

k. Advanced elemental mapping module to enhance build-in basic mapping capability is required. The advanced elemental mapping module shall be capable of:

i. Elemental map overlays on the sample image.

ii. Display of all emission and mass spectra captured for all image pixels on the map.

iii. Mapping function for PCA and correlated elements determined by the Cluster Analysis.

8. Analytical Support.

a. The vendor shall provide analytical support to ensure that the laser is optimally configured and operated for analyses of interest. This support shall include ready availability of experienced, PhD level, laser ablation and LIBS experts for either telephone consulting or onsite consulting at the customer site or the vendor's offices/labs. This support shall be provided for two years.

9. Warranty and delivery.

a. 1-year manufacturer warranty covering all hardware components and software functionalities with the exception of the femtosecond laser source which must come with a 2-year warranty is required (full parts and labor included).

b. Delivery must be within 8 months after receipt of order.