Thermo-Optical Plane Source Thermal Conductivity Measurement Instrument

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Document Type:  Sources Sought Notice

Notice Number:  NIST-MML-25-SS17

Title:  Thermo-Optical Plane Source Thermal Conductivity Measurement Instrument

NAICS Code:  NAICS code of 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing

Contracting Office Address

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),

Acquisition Management Division,

100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1640,

Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640

Sources Sought Notice NIST-MML-25-SS17

Project Title:  Thermo-Optical Plane Source Thermal Conductivity Measurement Instrument

This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY.  Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response. 

This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for conducting a follow-on acquisition.  NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested.  No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information.  NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information.  In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper.

NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME.

Requirement:

NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a commercial item solution for the following:

• Measure thermal conductivity in the range less than or equal to 0.05 W/m-K to greater than or equal to 60 W/m-K.
• A direct measurement of thermal conductivity, not requiring numerical input values for heat capacity, density, or sample dimensions.
• Measure the thermal conductivity of solids, liquids, pastes, gels, and foams.
• Thermal conductivity measurement shall require only one sample, not requiring splitting of a sample into two pieces or two identical samples. 
• Measure thermal conductivity with an uncertainty of less than or equal to ± 6 %.
• Measure thermal conductivity with a repeatability of less than or equal to ± 2 %.
• Total measurement time less than or equal to 200 s.
• Provide spatial mapping of thermal conductivity with a motorized xy translation capability of greater than or equal to 100 mm x 100 mm.
• Automatic laser-sample focus capability using an automated z-stage.
• Surface area less than or equal to 3 mm by 3 mm.
• Maximum sample surface area greater than or equal to 100 mm by 100 mm.
• Minimum sample thickness less than or equal to 3 mm.
• Maximum sample thickness greater than or equal to 25 mm.
• Minimum required surface roughness less than or equal to 1 micron RMS (calculated as the Root Mean Square of a surfaces measured microscopic peaks and valleys).
• Class 1 Laser Product with integrated door interlocks.
• Necessary operating software for user interface and analysis.
• Necessary consumables, including emissivity applicants and container(s) for liquids/pastes/gels.
• Electrical requirements 110/220 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 15 Amps.

Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the item described above.  NIST anticipates issuing a Request for Quotation in the fourth quarter of FY2025, and awarding a contract no later than the fourth quarter of FY2025.

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses. The small business size standard associated with the NAICS code for this effort, 334516, is 1000 employees. Please include your company’s size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. 

After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract.  Companies that can provide such items are requested to email a written response describing their abilities to erik.frycklund@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice.

The following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice:

1. Name, Address, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, CAGE code, and point of contact information of your company.
2. Any information on the company’s small business certifications, if applicable.
3. Description of your company’s capabilities as they relate to the items described in this notice.
4. A description of your company’s previous experience providing the items described in this notice.
5. Indication of whether the items described in this notice are currently offered via your company’s GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), or other existing Government-wide contract vehicles; and, if so, the contract number(s) for those vehicles.
6. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research.

Responses are limited to a total of twelve (12) pages. The responses must be in MS Word format.  Pages shall be 8½-inch x 11-inch, using Times New Roman 11 Point Font.  Each page shall have adequate margins on each side (at least one inch) of the page. Header/footer information (which does not include any information to be analyzed) may be included in the 1" margin space.