A01_-_Sources_Sought.pdf

Last updated 2/13/2017

Sources Sought Instructions

(1) Action Code : SOURCES SOUGHT

This is a Sources Sought Notice only. This is not a request for proposal, but a survey to locate potential sources. This Sources Sought does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposals, or a Request for Quotations, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue an order or otherwise pay for the information solicited, nor is it a guarantee of a forthcoming solicitation or contract. It is for market research purposes only. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities, and qualifications of various members of industry, to include the Small Business Community: Small Business, Section 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUB-Zone), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women- Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB). The Government must ensure there is adequate competition among the potential pool of responsible contractors. Small business, Section 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, & EDWOSB businesses are highly encouraged to participate.

(2) Date : 5/22/2018

(3) Classification Code: 66

(4) NAICS Code: 334516 Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing

(5) NAICS Size Standard: 1,000 Employees

(6) Contracting Office Address: 2800 Powder Mill Road Bldg. 601 Adelphi, Maryland 20783

(7) Subject: Sources Sought for One (1) Focused Ion Beam – Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB-FESEM) Dual-Beam System and One (1) Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) System

(8) Proposed Solicitation Number: W911QX-18-R-0047

(9) Sources Sought Closing Response Date: Ten (10) Days After Posting

(10) Contact Points: Nicole Propst, Acquisition Specialist, nicole.l.propst.ctr@mail.mil / 301-394-2031 and Christopher Moy, Contract Specialist, christopher.r.moy.civ@mail.mil / 301- 394-2021

(11)

A. Objective:

To find sources that are qualified to meet the supplies/services as listed in section 11B. Note that the specific requirements in section C are subject to change prior to the release of any solicitation.

B.

Information for Interested Sources

1) The Government requires NET30 payment terms for commercial items. As part of your response to this market research request, indicate your company’s willingness to adhere to these payment terms.

2) The Government is contemplating an eight (8) month period of performance. This period of performance (POP) shall include a mandatory Awardee site visit within 30 days after contract award (ACA) to evaluate the installation location at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD and provide the Government with relevant specifications and recommendations for room modifications. Once the Awardee site visit is complete, the remaining POP will be used by the Government to modify the room while the Awardee ships, delivers, installs, and conducts acceptance testing of each System in the Government-modified installation locations.

3) Interested Sources shall submit any and all questions related to the subject requirement to the below listed by no later than (NLT) 10 days after the posting of the subject Sources Sought Notice to FedBizOpps (FBO). The Government will review all submitted questions and post official responses at the time of formal solicitation of the subject requirement on FBO.

Draft Salient Characteristics

CLIN 0001:

Period of Performance/Delivery Date: Within eight (8) months after contract award

(ACA)

One (1) Focused Ion Beam – Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB- FESEM) Dual-Beam System with the following minimum specifications:

mailto:nicole.l.propst.ctr@mail.mil mailto:christopher.r.moy.civ@mail.mil

(1A) Ion Beam Related Characteristics

1. Gallium (Ga) ion source.

2. Maximum ion accelerating voltage of 30 kilovolts (kV).

3. Minimum ion accelerating voltage of 500 volts (V).

4. Minimum ion probe current of one (1) picoamp (pA) or lower.

5. Maximum ion probe current of 50 nanoamp (nA) or higher.

6. Minimum ion source life of at least 2000 microamphours (Ahrs).

7. Minimum ion beam resolution(s) (selective edge method):

at 30kV: three (3) nanometers (nm) or better at 500V: 500 nm or better

8. Multi-gas injection system (GIS) unit capable of simultaneously housing up to six

(6) deposition precursor chemicals and injecting them from a single nozzle allowing for the deposition of Tungsten (W), Platinum (Pt), Carbon (C), and Silica (SiOx), and at least 2 of the 6 chambers allowing external gas flow, for example Water (H2O), Carbon Tetrafluoride (CF4), and Xenon Difluoride (XeF2).

(1B) Electron Beam Related Characteristics

9. High-stability Schottky field-emission electron emitter.

10. Maximum electron accelerating voltage of 30 kV.

11. Minimum electron accelerating voltage of 200 V or lower.

12. Minimum electron probe current of one (1) pA or lower.

13. Maximum electron probe current of 100 nA or higher.

14. Minimum resolution(s):

at 30kV: at least one (1) nm or better (in Scanning/Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) mode) at 15kV: at least one (1) nm or better at 1kV: at least one (1) nm or better at 0.5kV: at least one (1) nm or better

15. Beam deceleration capability allowing landing energies of 50 electron-volts (eV) or lower.

16. Maximum field-of-view of two (2) millimeters (mm) or higher.

17. Minimum scan speed of 25 nanoseconds (ns) or faster.

18. Minimum number of simultaneously scanned channels of four (4).

19. Scan features include at a minimum: line averaging, scan interlacing, drift-compensated frame integration, standard frame integration, and frame averaging capabilities.

(1C) Specimen Chamber and Stage Related Characteristics

20. Large chamber with minimum width x depth x height dimensions of 300 x 300 x 300 mm.

21. Large chamber with a minimum of 15 ports.

22. Large chamber with integrated plasma cleaner.

23. Specimen stage with minimum: (1) X-Y-Z range of 130-130-10 mm; (2) continuous rotation of 360 degree (o), and tilt range of -10o to +60o.

24. Specimen stage with minimum specimen weight capability of 0.5 kilograms (kg) at 0o tilt.

25. Minimum XY stage movement repeatability at 0o tilt less than one (1) micron

(m).

26. Integrated column and chamber isolation for vibration damping.

(1D) Detector Related Characteristics

27. At a minimum, the following types of detectors or equivalent:

Everhart-Thornley secondary electron (SE)

In-lens secondary electron/backscattered electron (SE/BSE)

In-column SE/BSE

In-column backscattered electron (BSE)

Retractable segmented back-scattered electron (BSE)

Retractable segmented STEM with bright-field (BF), dark-field (DF), high-angle dark-field (HADF), and high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) modes.

28. In-chamber navigation camera or low magnification capability equivalent.

29. Infrared (IR) chamber camera.

30. EDAX TEAM Pegasus Integrated EDS-EBSD with Octane Elite-70 and Hikari Super SEM interface for Hikari Camera integrated energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy/electron back-scattered detector (EDS/EBSD) system or most-current EDAX integrated EDS/EBSD system.

(1E) Vacuum Related Characteristics

31. Completely oil free vacuum system.

(1F) Additional Equipment Characteristics

32. Drift correction.

33. Auto transmission electron microscopy (TEM) specimen preparation capable.

34. Automated mosaic capturing and image stitching capable.

35. Uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

36. Programming (e.g. scripting) for automated specimen characterization and/or fabrication capable.

37. Graphical user interface that has 100% commonality with the dedicated FESEM (see Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) System requirement below) with respect to the scanning electron microscopy controls, imaging, and software, excluding low vacuum control.

38. State-of-the-art technology (system and software) for FIB sample preparation (e.g. transmission electron microscope foil or atom-probe tips).

39. Automated serial sectioning, imaging, analytical characterization, and three dimensional (3D) tomography reconstruction (e.g. imaging, EDS, and EBSD) capable.

40. Three (3) year extended warranty on all warrantied parts and components (non-consumable).

41. Awardee site survey must be coordinated with the technical point of contact (TPOC) and completed within 30 days ACA.

42. The Contractor shall install the System at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD and conduct acceptance testing with Government personnel in attendance within eight (8) months ACA.

(1G) The Contractor shall price each of the following Optional Equipment Characteristics separately:

43. GIS unit capable of premixing a minimum of two (2) chemicals listed in 1A-8 above prior to injection for complex chemistry deposition or enhanced reactive etching.

44. Electron beam source with monochromator.

45. Retractable directional solid-state BSE detector with four (4) annular and three

(3) azimuthal segments capable of acquiring signals from four (4) independent detector segments simultaneously.

46. Auto thickness termination for TEM specimen preparation.

47. Auto thickness termination for TEM specimen preparation by STEM imaging.

48. Automated beam and aperture alignments for both electron and ion beam columns.

49. Multi-purpose specimen holder with up to 18 standard 12 mm diameter specimen stub and three (3) pre-tilted specimen stub sites.

50. Environmental factors mitigation including, but not limited to: vibration, acoustic noise, temperature, and electromagnetic field interference (EMI) if required based upon awardee site survey.

51. Included in three (3) year extended warranty, four (4) of each ion beam source consumables: i. liquid-metal ion source (LMIS), ii. extractor, iii. suppressor, and

iv. aperture per year.

One (1) Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) System with the following minimum specifications:

(2A) Electron Beam Related Characteristics

1. High-stability Schottky field-emission electron emitter.

2. Maximum electron accelerating voltage of 30 kV.

3. Minimum electron accelerating voltage of 200 V or lower.

4. Minimum electron probe current of 10 pA or lower.

5. Maximum electron probe current of 100 nA or higher.

6. High-vacuum minimum resolution:

at 30kV: at least one (1) nm or better (including STEM mode) at 15kV: at least one (1) nm or better at 1kV: at least one (1) nm or better at 0.5kV: at least one (1) nm or better

7. Low-vacuum minimum resolution:

at 30kV: at least two (2) nm or better at 3kV: at least two (2) nm or better

8. Maximum field-of-view of five (5) mm or higher.

9. Minimum scan speed of 25 ns or faster.

10. Minimum number of simultaneously scanned channels of four (4).

11. Scan features include at a minimum: line averaging, scan interlacing, drift-compensated frame integration, standard frame integration, and frame averaging capabilities.

12. Beam deceleration capability allowing landing energies of 50 eV or lower.

13. Automated electron beam and aperture alignments.

(2B) Specimen Chamber and Stage Related Characteristics

14. Large chamber with minimum width x depth x height dimensions of 300 x 300 x 300 mm.

15. Large chamber with a minimum of nine (9) ports.

16. Large chamber with integrated plasma cleaner.

17. Specimen stage with minimum: (1) X-Y-Z range of 100-100-50 mm; (2) continuous rotation of 360o, and tilt range of -3o to +70o.

18. Specimen stage with minimum specimen weight capability of 0.5 kg at 0o tilt.

19. XY stage movement repeatability at 0o tilt equal to three (3) m or lower.

20. Integrated column and chamber isolation for vibration damping.

(2C) Detector Related Characteristics

21. At a minimum, the following types of high-vacuum detectors or equivalent:

i. Everhart-Thornley SE

ii. In-lens SE/BSE

iii. In-column SE

iv. Retractable segmented BSE

v. Retractable segmented STEM with bright-field (BF), dark-field (DF), high-angle dark-field (HADF), and high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) modes.

22. At a minimum, the following types of low-vacuum detectors or equivalent:

i. SE

ii. BSE

23. In-chamber navigation camera or low magnification capability equivalent.

24. Infrared (IR) camera.

25. Transfer and integrate existing TEAM Pegasus Integrated EDS-EBSD with Octane Elite-70 and Hikari Super SEM interface for Hikari Camera from FEI Nova NanoSEM 600 to new FESEM system.

26. Simultaneous collection of EDS and EBSD data from the same planar region.

(2D) Vacuum Related Characteristics

27. Low vacuum capable with a maximum and minimum pressure of 500 Pascals (Pa) or higher and 10 Pa or lower, respectively.

28. Completely oil free vacuum system.

(2E) Additional Equipment Characteristics

29. Two (2) single-gas injection system (GIS) units for Platinum (Pt), Tungsten (W), and/or Carbon (C) depositions.

30. Drift correction.

31. Automated mosaic capturing and image stitching capable.

32. UPS

33. Three (3) year extended warranty on all warrantied parts and components (non-consumable)

34. Awardee site survey must be coordinated with the TPOC and completed within 30 days ACA.

35. The Contractor shall install the System at APG, MD and conduct acceptance testing with Government personnel in attendance within eight (8) months ACA.

(2F) The Contractor shall price each of the following Optional Equipment Characteristics and Option Trade-In Equipment separately:

36. Retractable directional solid-state BSE detector with four (4) annular segments capable of acquiring signals from four (4) independent detector segments simultaneously.

37. Lens-mounted low-vacuum directional solid-state BSE detector with four (4) annular segments capable of acquiring signals from four (4) independent detector segments simultaneously.

38. Environmental factors mitigation including: vibration, acoustic noise, temperature, and electromagnetic field interference (EMI) if required based upon awardee site survey.

Optional Trade-In Equipment:

Manufacturer Part No /Year Serial Number Qty

FEI

NanoSEM 600i /

NOVANANOSEM600_D8177

C. Responses:

All interested parties should notify this office e-mail within the posted date.

Responses shall include:

(I) To what extent each of the specifications can be met.

(II) Include your type of business (i.e. commercial, academia), whether your organization is classified as a large or small business based on the 1,000 Employees standard that accompanies NAICS code 334516. If a small business, you must also list any small disadvantaged status you hold [HUBZone, 8(a), Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), etc.].

(III) Past experience/ performance through the description of completed projects.

(12) Responses to this sources sought are due no later than 11:59AM Eastern Standard

Time (EST) ten (10) Days after Posting. Submissions should be emailed to nicole.l.propst.ctr@mail.mil and christopher.r.moy.civ@mail.mil

Questions concerning this sources sought may be directed to Nicole Propst at nicole.l.propst.ctr@mail.mil / 301-394-2031 and Christopher Moy at Christopher.r.moy.civ@mail.mil / 301-394-2021. Please be advised that .zip and .exe files cannot be accepted.

(13) Place of Contract Performance: B4600 and L1226 at Aberdeen Proving Ground

(APG), MD

(14) Estimated Delivery Timeframe or Period of Performance: Eight (8) months ACA

5/22/2018

X Fatimata Diallo

Contracting Officer (KO)

Signed by: DIALLO.FATIMATA.1403809434 mailto:nicole.l.propst.ctr@mail.mil mailto:christopher.r.moy.civ@mail.mil mailto:nicole.l.propst.ctr@mail.mil mailto:Christopher.r.moy.civ@mail.mil