STATEMENT OF WORK

Title: Directional couplers

Lab: CTL

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The semiconductor supply chain is global, specialized, and interconnected. Chipmakers do business with thousands of individual suppliers that provide the highly complex materials and tools used to produce semiconductors. To address the lack of full visibility into the semiconductors markets supply chain and R&D ecosystem gaps NIST will conduct the measurement science, or metrology, critical to the development of new materials, packaging, and production methods in chip manufacturing.

This SOW describes equipment needed for a project “RF Waveform and Rapid Frequency-Comb Diagnostics for Plasma Etching”, which is part of the CHIPS metrology program’s Grand Challenge 5, “Modeling/Simulating Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes”. The equipment will be purchased by NIST’s RF Technology Division. Part of the mission of the RF technology division is to develop techniques for fundamental electromagnetic metrology.

In this case, the research project “RF Waveform and Rapid Frequency-Comb Diagnostics for Plasma Etching” focuses on high-power waveform metrology. High-power RF waveforms are used in semiconductor plasma processing, including etching and deposition processes. These processing steps are very common in semiconductor manufacturing. The characteristics of the waveforms impact the quality of the resulting chips. But industry lacks the ability to accurately measure these waveforms. We aim to close that gap by developing high-power waveform measurement techniques.

Specifically, this SOW describes high-power dual directional couplers. In our experiments, we will use high-power waveforms (up to 5 kW). The dual directional couplers are necessary to allow metrology equipment to sample the high-power waveforms. The couplers will be used in a laboratory, alongside electrical metrology equipment.

II. PURPOSE

Project 5.04 requires directional couplers. In radiofrequency (RF) electrical measurements, directional couplers are used to sample high-power signals by redirecting a small fraction of the power to a measurement instrument. We plan to use this technique for S-parameter measurements. In the semiconductor industry, S-parameters are integral to establishing the reliability of electrical measurement tools that monitor and control the RF signals delivered during etching and deposition processes.

These tools ensure processes are consistent from wafer to wafer, thus increasing yield.

Project 5.04 aims to establish traceability for these measurements. Traceability will help manufactures make these measurements more accurate and consistent.

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The direction couplers are critical for project 5.04 to establish traceability for high power signals. In the 5.04 Project Plan, all of the deliverables related to RF measurements we have planned rely on S-parameter measurements, which in turn rely on the directional couplers being delivered to NIST by Fall 2026. These measurements are a key part of our effort to establish traceability for high-power waveform measurements is, which is one of the main goals of Project 5.04. We anticipate that traceability for high-power RF signals will allow NIST to support the semiconductor industry by disseminating precision RF measurement techniques and allowing us to perform high-quality measurements to inform models of manufacturing processes.

III. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered.

The use of “gray market” components are not acceptable. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

Line Item 0001:

Description: Dual directional couplers Quantity: 2

a. The dual directional couplers shall be able to carry signals up to 5 kW average power in the main line without sustaining damage. Higher power handling is better.

b. The dual directional coupler shall be able to transmit signals 200 kHz to 220 MHz. Wider frequency ranges are better.

c. The coupling factor shall be approximately 60 dB to 74 dB.

d. The connectors shall be EIA 1-5/8 on the main line, and type N on the coupled ports.

IV. SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES

Define all deliverables and indicate (1) the quantity desired; (2) the format in which each deliverable is to be supplied; (3) the delivery date (based on the number of weeks/days); (4) the place of delivery. The context of each deliverable shall be clear.

Keep in mind that every task does not require a deliverable. Deliverables are always tangible items (i.e., report, minutes, etc.)

Deliverable Number Description Quantity Due Date

Place of Delivery

1 Dual directional couplers

2 No later than 20 weeks after receipt of order.

NIST Boulder

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Standards of Acceptance: The NIST TPOC or COR shall review all the above deliverables and respond with an acceptance or request for revision email to the Contractor Point of Contact (POC) within 30 days of receipt.

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

NIST Boulder 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

20 weeks ARO

V. DELIVERY TERMS

Delivery shall be F.O.B Destination (or equivalent incoterms, such as DDP) and shall occur in accordance with the delivery due dates of 20 weeks ARO.

FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery.

The contractor shall deliver all Line Items to:

National Institute of Standards and Technology, MS 672.01

325 Broadway

Boulder, CO, 80305

C/O TPOC

VI. INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in the specific FAR clause that allows the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense.

Performance Tests:

1. The TPOC will visually inspect the couplers for damage.

2. The TPOC will verify that that the pin depths of the coupled ports are within IEEE 287 specification for GPC connectors.

NIST may choose at its discretion to forego this part of acceptance testing.

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A visual inspection of the equipment will be performed by the NIST POC to identify surface defects or any form of indication that any equipment was damaged during transport to NIST. The Government shall have sole discretion to require repair or replacement of damaged and/or nonconforming supplies at no cost to the Government. The Government at any time prior to acceptance shall reject the equipment due to defects and/or nonconformance. The vendor is responsible for latent defects discovered any time after final inspection. However, the extent of its liability shall be prorated over the useful life of the equipment.

Ownership of the equipment shall transfer to NIST upon acceptance by the Government.

The Government will test, inspect, and accept or reject the equipment within 30 days of the receipt of the equipment unless otherwise indicated above. The Government reserves the right to conduct quality assurance testing to confirm that a given instrument(s) meets the manufacturer’s and/or the Government’s performance specifications. It is anticipated that the equipment will meet all manufacturer’s specifications and/or the Government’s performance specifications identified in the most recent operations and maintenance manual for each piece of equipment and/or in this document.

VII. WARRANTY

The Contractor shall warrant the parts in accordance with the Contractor’s standard commercial timeframe. Warranty shall commence after acceptance of the equipment and shall be in accordance with terms in FAR 52.212-4.

VIII. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The Contractor will be paid, in accordance with the payments clause in the contract and as otherwise noted in this document, upon receipt of a proper invoice.

1. 100% after installation and acceptance by the POC of fully installed system, AND

2. After the successful completion of the testing requirements set forth in this document under section set forth in this document, AND

3. After successful demonstration by the instrumentation that it performs in accordance with the requirements set forth in this document.

NOTE: Partial shipments and partial invoices will not be accepted, unless otherwise requested and accepted by the Contracting Officer prior to award offer.

Proposed payment schedules shall be submitted with vendor’s response to the

RFQ for consideration.

IX. CYBERSECURITY PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS

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NIST seeks a solution that provides security and privacy protection consistent with requirements defined by applicable federal laws, regulations, policies, and standards

(e.g., the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), OMB Circular A-130, and FIPS Publication 200). The solution provider (including subcontractors) may meet these requirements through various means, including but not limited to FedRAMP authorization, current third-party assessments (e.g., SSAE, PCI), and/or responses to

NIST special publication control set SP 800-171.

Minimally Acceptable Controls

• System security plan describing physical, technical, and administrative controls implemented to protect systems and sensitive personally identifiable information

(SPII).

• IT management processes to establish and manage secure configuration baselines including routine patching for all operating systems and applications.

• Access to SPII is restricted to those with a need to know. Personnel with access to SPII have background investigations performed (e.g. criminal, financial etc.), and are trained on secure handling of SPII.

• Access Controls for SPII meet or exceed industry best practices for access and identification control including, but not limited to, connectivity to servers and databases, multi-factor authentication for remote accesses for administration, secure configurations for any devices accessing the system, and strong physical security for any place where the data is accessed.

• The solution supports multifactor authentication for users and/or supports integration with customer federation services for Single-Sign capability.

• Processes for scanning on a continual basis for vulnerabilities and proper configurations for all aspects of the system, as well as processes for timely mitigation of findings.

• Auditing and Incident Response processes including customer notification of suspected or actual incidents and logging with sufficient information to perform forensics on any incident. Processes for notifying and providing appropriate mitigations, including but not limited to credit monitoring services, for subsidy applicants in the event of suspected or actual incidents.

• SPII is encrypted in transit using TLS 1.2 or better and encrypted at rest in all places the SPII is stored. All encryption algorithms and modules are FIPS 140- 2/140-3 validated.

If unable to meet any of the requirements listed above, the solution provider may provide details of mitigations or alternative protections in place to ensure the appropriate handling and protection of SPII.

If the solution provider provides services to other Federal agencies, provide a general description of the security risk management approach and client point of contact.

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