W911QX-17-T-0163_-_Salient_Characteristics.pdf

Template last updated 07/28/2016

Salient Characteristics

The Contractor shall provide one (1) turn-key scanning electron microscope with an energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer for high-resolution imaging and compositional analysis of material surfaces and microstructures.

The system shall meet or exceed the following requirements:

1. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

System shall be capable of Secondary-Electron (SE), Backscattered Electron (BSE), and mixed-mode imaging with image sizes up to 2048 x 2048 pixels or better o System resolution shall be 10 nanometers (nm) or less o Live magnification shall range from 10x or less to 60000x or more o System shall be capable of SE, BSE, and mixed-mode imaging in high and low vacuum modes

System shall be capable of reducing/mitigating sample charge-up.

System shall include the appropriate vacuum pumps to operate in high and low vacuum operating modes; mode can be set either manually or through the system software’s user interface

System stage shall have an accuracy of 1 micrometer (µm) or better, with travel in:

o X-direction = 55 millimeters (mm) or higher o Y-direction = 55 mm or higher o Z-direction = 15 mm or higher o Rotation = 0° 360°; accuracy of 1.0° or better o Tilt = -15° +45°; accuracy of 1.0° or better

System stage shall be capable of handling samples 100 mm or larger in diameter, and 30 mm or taller in height.

System shall include a computer and monitor(s) with microscope and vacuum control software pre-installed.

o Computer shall meet or exceed the following requirements:

Windows 7 Pro (64-bit) or higher One (1) or more processors, with four (4) or more cores

a. Base frequency: 3.3 Gigahertz (GHz) or higher

b. Turbo frequency: 3.9 GHz or higher

c. Cache: 6 megabytes (MB) or higher

32 gigabytes (GB) or higher Random Access Memory (RAM) 500 GB or higher boot drive 1 terabyte (TB) or higher storage drive 4 GB or higher video card Multimedia card reader DVD-R/W optical drive, with appropriate software pre-installed for creating CDs and DVDs Standard US English (QWERTY) keyboard and optical mouse

One (1) or more 27 in or larger high-definition monitor(s);

monitor(s) shall be ENERGY STAR certified o Software shall be able to control the vacuum system, adjust/set microscope functions/parameter, control stage movements, and acquire/analyze/save/export images

Vacuum mode shall have the capability to be set to high or low pressure

Microscope functions/parameters shall have the capability to be adjusted for optimal image quality

a. Software shall have manual and automatic controls for focusing, stigmation, contrast, brightness, and beam shift

Software shall have controls for stage movement, if applicable

Image annotations shall be customizable

a. Data display shall include micron marker with value, date/time, imaging mode, and chamber conditions

b. Image metrology shall include multi-point length, angular, diameter, and area measurements.

Images shall be exportable to standard image formats:

Bitmap Picture (BMP), Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), and Portable Network Graphics (PNG)

2. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS)

System shall include a high-speed, high-resolution silicon drift x-ray detector and high-resolution digital multi-channel analyzer o System shall be Liquid Nitrogen (LN2)-free o Energy resolution shall be 150 electronvolts (eV) or better o System shall be capable of collecting spectra in both high and low vacuum modes, with either the SE or BSE detectors in place.

o System shall be capable of detecting elements ranging from boron

(Z = 5) or below to californium (Z = 98) or higher

EDS system software:

o Shall be fully integrated with the SEM software for microscope and stage control o Shall be capable of standardless quantitative analysis with multi-point, line, and area analyses o Shall be capable of collecting high-resolution (2048 x 2048 pixels or higher) spectral imaging (AKA hypermapping) Shall be capable of collecting ten (10) or more elemental maps simultaneously Shall be capable of overlaying up to three (3) elemental maps to generate a composite elemental map o Shall be capable of auto and manual peak identification o Spectra shall be exportable to American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) as well as spreadsheet-compatible formats o Elemental maps shall be exportable to standard image formats:

BMP, JPG, TIFF, and PNG

3. Documentation, Installation, ,and Training

The system shall include two (2) hard-copies and one (1) soft-copy of all equipment manuals.

The Contractor shall provide on-site set-up and installation at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland.

The Contractor shall provide training for up to ten (10) ARL staff members for two (2) days at a location and time in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area designated by the Government Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) after contract award.

4. Warranty

The Contractor shall provide technical support and software upgrades for three (3) years or longer.

The Contractor shall provide two (2) or more spare filaments and two (2) or more spare apertures, if applicable.

The Contractor shall provide a full warranty of the SEM system for three

(3) years, beginning on the first day after post-installation acceptance by the Government TPOC.

The warranty shall include the following:

o An annual preventative maintenance visit;

o The replacement of all defective parts at no additional cost to the

Government;

o A response time of 48 hours form the time the Government contacts the Contractor with a request for service to diagnose and propose a plan to repair the SEM-EDS system.