SOLICITATION NOTICE
66 -- Atomic Force Microscope
- Notice Date
- 8/8/2007
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- SB1341-07-RQ-0433
- Response Due
- 8/24/2007
- Archive Date
- 9/8/2007
- Description
- THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THIS SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE FAR SUBPART 13.5 TEST PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-18. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. This acquisition is unrestricted and all responsible quoters may submit a quote. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) has a requirement for an atomic force microscope (AFM) which will become part of the user facility. The microscope will be installed in the Class 100 Federal Standard 209E Clean Room at the CNST. As the AFM will be used as a characterization tool to measure structures fabricated in the clean room, it will need to perform well in the clean room environment. As many inexperienced users will be using the instrument with only limited training, the instrument must be easy to use. LINE ITEM 0001: All quoters shall provide a quotation for a quantity of one (1) each Atomic Force Microscope, which includes all of the following components and meets or exceeds all of the following required specifications. All equipment must be new. A. SCANNER A.1 The scanner must have a minimum range of 90 microns in X and Y and 5 microns in Z; A.2 The scanner must have closed-loop control to provide position accuracy. Under closed-loop control the position non-linearity must be less than 1 percent in X, Y and Z for the ranges stated in Specification A.1. Lower position non-linearity is preferred; A.3 The instrument must have good drift performance. It must meet the non-linearity specification in A.2 within 30 minutes after introducing a new tip and sample and doing the tip approach; A.4 Under imaging conditions, the noise in X and Y must be less than 1.8 nm RMS in closed-loop operation and less than 1.2 nm RMS in open-loop. Lower X and Y noise is preferred; A.5 Under imaging conditions, the noise in Z must be less than 0.6 nm RMS during closed-loop operation and less than 0.05 nm RMS open-loop. Lower Z noise is preferred; B. COURSE POSITIONING STAGE AND SAMPLE/TIP MOUNTS B.1 The sample stage must be equipped with a vacuum chuck for sample mounting. -The chuck shall be able to accommodate sample ranging from piece parts 5 mm in size to entire wafers 150 mm in diameter; -The chuck shall accommodate sample thicknesses of up to 12 mm; -A sample is affixed to the chuck by evacuating the region beneath the sample with a vacuum pump; -The scanner specifications shall be met while the vacuum pump is in operation. B.2 The sample stage shall provide a minimum of 100 mm of motion in both X and Y; B.3 The course positioning shall have a sufficient range in Z to accommodate samples as described in B.1, and provide easy tip exchange; B.4 Tip exchange shall be easy enough for inexperienced users to perform after training. Exchanging tips shall take no longer than 30 minutes including all procedures and calibrations required before measurements; B.5 The course positioning shall be fully motorized; B.6 The stage shall have a minimum resolution of 2 microns in X and Y; B.7 The stage shall have a minimum bi-directional repeatability of 6 microns in X and Y; B.8 The course Z positioning shall provide fine resolution to enable routine sample approach without tip crashes. C. OPTICAL MICROSCOPE C.1 The system shall be equipped with an optical microscope for positioning of the tip and sample; C.2 The microscope shall have a maximum viewing area of 500 microns or larger; C.3 The microscope must have the capability to zoom and focus; C.4 The microscope must have a resolution of better than 2 microns; C.5 The instrument must provide the capability of controlling the level of illumination. D. VIBRATION ISOLATION AND ACOUSTIC ENCLOSURE D.1 The system must be equipped with an acoustical enclosure as well as vibration isolation to shield the system from acoustic and vibrational noise; D.2 With the vibration isolation and acoustic shielding, the AFM must meet all listed specifications in the environment of the NIST Nanofab Facility. NIST is currently in the process of compiling the environmental conditions in the Nanofab Facility. These conditions will be released via an amendment to this solicitation within a few days. E. DATA ACQUISITION, AND CONTROL SYSTEM E.1 Because of the variable user population that will be utilizing the instrument at the CNST, ease of use is an important system feature. For the purposes of this procurement, elements that may signify a system is easy to use include: 1)bInstructions that do not imply an extensive background knowledge on the part of the user; 2) Controls that are well-defined in their range of operation; 3) A small number of steps or actions required to achieve results; 4) Optimized procedures that produce results in the shortest amount of time; 5) Consistent and easily understood naming conventions for controls and procedures; and/or 6) Little reliance on continual monitoring by the user to achieve results. E.2 Data acquisition shall have the capability of capturing at least two data channels simultaneously at a pixel density of 1024 ? 1024 or higher and four data channels at a pixel density of 512 x 512 or higher. Preference shall be given to equipment that can provide data acquisition with the capability of capturing of at least four data channels at pixel densities of 1024 x 1024 or higher; E.3 Data transfer rates shall be available at scan speeds of at least 10 lines per second; E.4 The control system shall have the capability of unattended operation allowing automated characterization of different points on a sample with scan parameters and scan pattern pre-defined by the user; E.5 The software shall either run under Windows XP or a Unix/Linux operating system; E.6 The computer control display shall allow the operator to select all standard microscope functions. F. OPERATION/MEASUREMENT MODES F.1 The control system shall have the capability to characterize the resonance frequency of cantilevers at oscillation frequencies up to 1 MHz and also to tune the drive and oscillation amplitudes; F.2 A method for approaching the tip into measurement distance of the sample shall be provided: (i) The approach shall be fast, taking no longer than 5 minutes; (ii) The approach shall be designed to avoid tip sample contact; F.3 The AFM shall be able to measure in contact mode; F.4 The AFM shall be able to measure in tapping mode using the amplitude of the cantilever oscillation as the feedback signal; F.5 All of the necessary hardware and software shall be included to measure the phase of the cantilever oscillation; F.6 All of the necessary hardware and software shall be included to perform electrostatic force microscopy and magnetic force microscopy measurements. G. EQUIPMENT DOCUMENTATION G.1 Instruments must be supplied with full documentation including instrument user guides and operations manuals (one (1) hard copy and soft copy), installation and routine diagrams, connection schematics, and service/maintenance manuals. G.2 After completion of manufacturing, but prior to shipment, the Contractor shall provide written data to the NIST Technical Contact which clearly documents that the equipment meets all of the Government?s required specifications. This data will be reviewed by the Technical Contact. Upon review, the Technical Contact shall authorize the Contractor to ship the instrument or advise the Contractor of performance weaknesses. Any required rework shall be completed at no additional cost to the Government. LINE ITEM 0002: INSTALLATION: The Contractor shall install the system. Installation shall include, at a minimum, uncrating/unpackaging of all equipment, set-up and hook-up of all equipment, start-up, and demonstration of all minimum specifications. Qualified personnel shall install the system and perform all activities necessary to ensure the system is fully functional and meets all required specifications. The equipment shall be installed in a Class 100 Federal Standard 209E Clean Room. NIST shall review the Cleanroom protocols with installation personnel before installation commences. LINE ITEM 0003: TRAINING: The Contractor shall provide training on-site at NIST Gaithersburg for NIST personnel. This training may commence immediately upon completion of installation and demonstration of specifications. Training shall include, at a minimum, a thorough demonstration of all equipment functions, equipment operation which will allow NIST personnel to operate the system to its full capabilities, and basic troubleshooting. Installation and training must be scheduled, in advance, with the NIST Technical Contact, (to be identified upon award.) LINE ITEM 0004: WARRANTY: The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a one year warranty on installation and equipment. The warranty shall be on-site at NIST Gaithersburg. All parts, labor and travel shall be included. DELIVERY Delivery terms shall be FOB DESTINATION. The AFM shall be packaged and delivered in clean packaging compatible with a Class 100 Federal Standard 209E Clean Room. Delivery, installation and training must be completed not later than 180 days after receipt of purchase order. Delivery term shall be FOB Destination. 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 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. TESTING The Contractor shall provide AFM images of NIST provided samples. The following tests shall be performed and results provided with the Contractor?s quotation. Tests shall be completed on an instrument identical in specification to that being quoted by the Contractor and shall be performed at no cost to the Government. This is a total of 2 samples with 14 measurements. NIST provided samples shall be returned to NIST with quotations. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL SUBMIT A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR SAMPLES TO CAROL A. WOOD, CONTRACT SPECIALIST. SAMPLES SHALL BE PROVIDED VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS, OVERNIGHT SERVICE AT THE GOVERNMENT?S EXPENSE. REQUESTS SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: COMPANY NAME, POINT OF CONTACT, SHIPPING ADDRESS (NO POST OFFICE BOXES), AND TELEPHONE NUMBER. 1) Two images shall be provided to NIST in TIFF format for each of the listed measurements. These are (1) height trace; and (2) height retrace except for the diblock copolymer sample as noted below; 2) The raw data must be provided to NIST with no background subtraction or image processing performed in the software; 3) The pixel resolution for each image shall be 1024 by 1024 pixels; 4) The scan speed for each image shall be 1 line per second; 5) Measurements shall be made on the following samples according to the instructions listed a. Sample 1: 8 measurements total. Patterned silicon with line spacing of roughly 4 microns. i. Scan size: 80 microns by 80 microns ii. Orient sample with lines perpendicular to the scan direction iii. The first recorded image shall begin no longer than 15 minutes after loading the sample iv. Acquire four measurements in succession to monitor the drift and non-linearity v. Rotate the sample by 90 degrees and then repeat i-iv with the scan direction also rotated by 90 degrees. b. Sample 2: 3 measurements total. Clean silicon wafer. i. Scan size shall be 2 microns by 2 microns ii. The first recorded image shall begin no longer than 15 minutes after putting in the sample iii. Acquire two measurements in succession to monitor drift and non-linearity. iv. Change scan size to 50 microns by 50 microns. v. Acquire a single image. c. Sample 3: 3 measurements total. Diblock copolymer sample. i. Scan size shall be 1 micron by 1 micron ii. Choose scan axis perpendicular to step direction iii. Record the (1) height trace and (2) phase for each image iv. The first recorded image shall begin no longer than 15 minutes after putting in the sample v. Acquire two measurements in succession to monitor drift and non-linearity vi. Change scan size to 500nm by 500nm vii. Acquire single image viii. Diblock shall be visible in the phase image. FINAL ACCEPTANCE The successful quoter must repeat the tests above, prior to final acceptance by the Government. Testing must be completed on-site at NIST after all equipment has been installed. NIST will accept the system only upon successful completion of delivery, installation, training and demonstration of all minimum specifications. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND BASIS FOR AWARD Award will be made to the Contractor whose quote offers the best value to the Government after evaluation of technical factors and price. The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria: 1) Technical Capability: Meeting or Exceeding the Requirement, 2) Past Performance, and Price. Technical Capability and Past Performance, when combined, are equal in importance to price. TECHNICAL CAPABILITY Evaluation of Technical Capability shall be based on the documentation provided in the quotation and test data. Contractors shall include the manufacturer, make and model of the products, manufacturer sales literature or other product literature which addresses all specifications, and clearly documents that the offered products meet or exceed the specifications stated above. Test Data submitted will be analyzed to further evaluate the ability of the system to meet the minimum specifications In determining best value, consideration shall be given to instruments with lower position non-linearity, lower X, Y, and Z noise, and higher pixel density. In addition, the Government has a desire to obtain the following additional performance capabilities: -Video image capture to allow the digital capture of images recorded by the microscope; -Digital Q control to adjust the effective cantilever Q value up or down by an order of magnitude; -Additional electronics / control features for doing non-contact AFM with frequency based detection; -Additional electronics / control features for doing lateral force microscopy; -Additional electronics / control features for doing conductive atomic force microscopy; -Capability to detect the overtones and higher harmonics of the cantilever motion, and use them for imaging; -Additional capability of adding user defined functionality; -Added functionality for performing lithography with the AFM; *Provides control of the probe velocity, vertical (Z) position, applied voltage, pulse strength, and duration. *User interface to input lithographic patterns. If these features are available, the Contractor shall quote these features as separate items on their quotation. While award is not contingent on these features, if quoted, the Government will consider the purchase of any or all of these features based on the value to the Government, technical merit and price considered. PAST PERFORMANCE Past Performance shall be evaluated to determine the overall quality of the product and service provided by the Contractor. Evaluation of Past Performance shall be based on the references provided and/or information provide by NIST and its affiliates. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at www.acqnet.gov/far. The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors ? Commercial; 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications ? Commercial Items. In accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications ? Commercial Items, offerors must complete annual representations and certifications on-line at http://orca.bpn.gov. If paragraph (j) of the provision applies, a written submission is required. The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.204-7 Central Contractor Registration; 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions?Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders?Commercial Items including subparagraphs: 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I; 52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (if the offeror elects to waive the preference, it shall so indicate in its? offer); 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns; 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.222-19, Child Labor?Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; 52.222-39 Notification of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Fees; 52.225-5, Trade Agreements; 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases (E.O. 12722, 12724, 13059, 13067, 13121, and 13129; and 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Central Contractor Registration. Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS All offerors shall submit the following: 1) An original and one copy of a quotation which addresses all line items; 2) For the purpose of technical evaluation: Two copies of technical description and/or product literature which clearly documents that the proposed product meets all minimum specifications and the required test data. 3) NIST provided samples and the required test data; 4) A list of at least three (3) past performance references. The list of references shall include, at a minimum: The name of the company or organization and the reference contact person; the telephone number of the reference contact person; the contract or grant number; the amount of the contract; the address and telephone number of the Contracting Officer if applicable; and the date of delivery or the date services were completed; 5) A description of the commercial warranty; 6) This is an Open-Market Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/ Solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL quotes shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: The offeror shall state ?The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition.? OR The offeror shall state ?The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s). Please note that this procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government-Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the offeror?s FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. DUE DATE FOR QUOTATIONS All quotations shall be sent to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition Management Division, Attn: Carol A. Wood, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640. All offerors shall ensure the RFQ number is visible on the outermost packaging. Submission must be received not later than 3:30 p.m. local time on Friday, August 24, 2007. FAX quotations shall not be accepted. E-mail quotes shall be accepted. Because of heightened security, FED-EX, UPS, or similar delivery methods are the preferred method of delivery of quotes. If quotes are hand delivered, delivery shall be made on the actual due date through Gate A, and a 48 hour (excluding weekends and holidays) prior notice shall be provided to Carol Wood, Contract Specialist on 301-975-8172. NIST is not responsible for late delivery due to the added security measures. In addition, offerors/quoters who do not provide 24-hour notification in order to coordinate entrance to the NIST campus shall assume the risk of not being able to deliver quotes on time. The Government is not responsible for the amount of time required to clear unannounced visitors, visitors without proper identification and without complete information that would allow delivery (i.e. point of contact, telephone POC, bldg., room number, etc.). If 24 hour notification was not provided, it is suggested your company representative or your courier service arrive at NIST at least 90 minutes prior to the closing time in order to process entry to the campus through the visitor center and complete delivery. Notice shall include the company name, name of the individual making the delivery, and the country of citizenship of the individual. For non-US citizens, the following additional information will be required: title, employer/sponsor, and address. Please ensure that the individual making the delivery brings photo identification, or they will be denied access to the facility.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Ship to:, NIST, Shipping and Receiving, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Country: UNITED STATES
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN01365623-W 20070810/070808220603 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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