Highly Accelerated Stress Test (HAST) System for Reliability

NIST's Division 735 at the Engineering Laboratory issued a combined sources sought notice and notice of intent to sole source for a Highly Accelerated Stress Test (HAST) System for Reliability, with responses due May 21, 2026 at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. NIST intends to negotiate a firm-fixed price purchase order on a sole source basis with ESPEC North America, Inc. (located in Hudsonville, Michigan) if no alternate sources are identified during the sources sought period.

The procurement supports the CHIPS Metrology initiative, specifically Project 3.08 for Grand Challenge 3, focused on non-destructive defect detection metrology for semiconductor advanced packaging. NIST seeks one HAST system with FOB Destination delivery featuring a single cylindrical stainless steel vessel (minimum 21-liter interior volume, 290mm diameter) capable of accommodating at least one 200mm wafer. The system must operate at temperatures between 105–162°C, humidity of 75–100% RH, and pressure of 0.020–0.392 MPa, with multiple control modes, touch-screen controller with Ethernet interface, automatic water supply, two stainless steel shelves, and live load testing capability. Remote monitoring and control via Ethernet, recipe editing, PC graphing, and email alarm functionality are required. Safety features include overcurrent protection, overheat and overpressure protection, humidifier water level detection, door lock mechanism, contract relay for external alarms, and automatic power shutdown. The vendor must provide a calibration certificate. Delivery is required within eight weeks after order receipt. Applicable NAICS is 334519 with a 600-employee small business threshold; PSC is 6640. Responses should be emailed to Jennifer.lohmeier@nist.gov.