Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JUNE 20, 2010 FBO #3130
SOURCES SOUGHT

66 -- Transmission Electron Microscope

Notice Date

6/18/2010
 

Notice Type

Sources Sought
 

NAICS

334516 — Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
 

Contracting Office

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, MD, Office of Acquisitions, 6701 Rockledge Dr RKL2/6100 MSC 7902, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-7902
 

ZIP Code

20892-7902
 

Solicitation Number

NHLBI-PB-EB-2010-194-JKS
 

Archive Date

7/22/2010
 

Point of Contact

Kenya Crawford, Phone: 301-435-0358
 

E-Mail Address

crawfordke@mail.nih.gov
(crawfordke@mail.nih.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice (SS). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business, under the applicable NAICS code, should not submit a response to this notice. The NAICS code for the project is 334516. The small business size standard is 500 employees. The purpose of the proposed acquisition is to identify qualified organizations that can provide the scientific equipment to provide a transmission electron microscope, that has the capability to enable users to obtain ultrastructural and microanalytical data by record electron micgrographs and x-ray spectra from a wide variety of different biological specimens to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). The new instrument will replace an old model FEI CM120 electron microscope purchased in 1996; thus, it is critical that the dimensions of the accessories are identical to the Philips CM120. The new transmission electron microscope (TEM) must include a large number of special features that will enable high performance, while maintaining ease of operation for researchers within the NIH intramural program. (1) TEM must operate at an accelerating voltage of 120 kV. (2) TEM must provide a line resolution of 0.2 nm as tested on a gold lattice image. (3) TEM must provide 2D and 3D imaging of cells, cell organelles and soft materials, both at room and liquid-nitrogen temperature using a cryo-holder. (4) TEM must have magnification range from as low as 20x to as high as 600,000x. (5) TEM must provide a high-level of automation, including automated gun alignments and automated correction of focus and astigmatism variations. (6) All TEM components, including the electron gun, the optical elements, the vacuum system and the stage, must be completely digitally controlled. (7) TEM must have a task-oriented user interface that allows users to automatically recall all optimized operating conditions, including lens settings, gun parameters, optical alignments, for all the different operation modes of TEM and STEM. (8) The TEM CCD camera, as well as any future upgrade of STEM detectors and energy-dispersive x-ray detector must be fully computer controlled. (9) Data acquisition, with all detectors, must be embedded in the user interface and be capable of automation for acquisition processes, including tomography. (10) TEM must be suitable for a multi-user environment. (11) TEM must be easily connected to a network for exporting data and ready for remote operation capabilities, allowing for operation from adjacent rooms and remote viewing during data acquisition. (12) TEM column must contain a gun with a Wehnelt assembly suitable for tungsten filaments or LaB6 cathodes. The column must be comprised of two condenser lenses: an objective lens with a computerized 5-axes eucentric goniometer, a diffraction lens, an intermediate lens and two projector lenses. (13) TEM must should include a projection chamber with a viewing window, a large (greater than 150 mm diameter) viewing screen, and a small screen for critical focusing with the aid of a high-quality 12x binocular viewer and a beam-stop mechanism. (14) TEM must be equipped with a 2k x 2k (4 Megapixels) cooled CCD camera. The camera should provide x1, x2, x3, x4, and x6 binning to allow maximum flexibility for image acquisition. The camera must be fiber-optic coupled to the phosphor for high photon collection efficiency and high detective quantum efficiency. The camera must provide 16-bit digitization to optimize dynamic range. The camera should provide a modulation transfer function of greater than 12% at the Nyquist frequency. (15) TEM vacuum system must ensure a clean, high-quality vacuum throughout the column, with special attention being paid to the specimen and emission chambers. The vacuum in the projection chamber must be separated from the high vacuum in the column of a differential pumping aperture. A liquid nitrogen-cooled cold trap fitted in the objective block must maintain the cleanliness of the vacuum, even under critical conditions, such as observation of specimens at low temperatures. The vacuum system must include a rotary pump with buffer vessel, an oil diffusion pump and an ion getter pump. An automatic vacuum valve between the gun chamber and the column chamber must allow high tension and emitter to remain on, even when the sample is exchanged. (16) Digital control of the TEM, and all its accessories, must be through one common graphical user interface operating under the Windows XP operating system. (17) TEM console must provide control pads that are ergonomically designed to provide essentially two workspaces: one in front of the column for normal transmission microscopy and one in front of the display monitor(s) for data management. (18) TEM must be equipped with the software packages that enable a high level of automation and performance, including storage of parameters that ensure that the instrument is well aligned and has optimal beam conditions. The software must embed the CCD camera so that it enables importing data into the data acquisition and data handling system of the microscope. (19) TEM must be able to move parts (e.g., the GatanCryo-shield, GatanCryo-holder, Oxford Model 6767 EDXS system, CM120 Wehnelt assembly, CM120 Single tilt sample holder and other CM120 holders) from the NIH CM120 to the Tecnai 12T or to provide replacement equivalents. Specimen holders that are currently being used with the Tecnai TF30 must also be moveable to the Tecnai T12. (20) TEM for a vendor-supplied Tomography data collection system (for the new TEM) that is familiar to NIH users and is fully integrated into the new TEM’s software. Many NIH users utilize the FEI Tomography Data Acquisition Software program. The vendor supplied tomography data acquisition software must meet or exceed the capabilities of the FEI Tomography Data Acquisition software package and must include an amount of training sufficient to retrain NIH users who know the FEI product to be able to know a new product. (21) TEM must have a tomography holder with an increased field of view [FOV] over the standard holder grid FOV. (22) TEM must be able to be field retrofittable to new capabilities, such as the addition of STEM mode. (23) TEM must have a standard tilt range of up to at least +/- 70 degrees of tilt with an increased range of up to +/-80 degrees with the use of a low profile holder. (24) TEM must have an all axis motorized mechanically/motorized eucentric stage for enhanced tomography data acquisition without the need to apply maximum computer stage controlled multi-axis compensation movements. (25) The system must have an additional pressure-limiting aperture between the projection chamber and the column for protection from contamination flow (26) The system must have an ion getter pump [IGP] to support the vacuum cleanliness in the emission chamber, the column and the specimen chamber. (27) The system must be able to use an LaB6 or Tungsten filament, and the same Wehnelt assembly must be able to house either filament. (28) The system must have on-board diagnostics, show full system functions, and have the capability for remote access, when NIH researchers open those capabilities. (29) The system must have individual password-protected user accounts that are housed on the main microscope PC and that allow users at their individual level of user access to store individual user instrument settings for their account. These settings, when activated by a user sign-in, would automatically recall the instrument alignment and system settings in their account and would discount any manual, less-than-optimum, setting left by a previous user. (30) The system must be able to provide a low level of user survey magnification that is at least as low as 25x magnification. Additional components may be required to allow operation of the base instrument. Possible components are provided as follows: - Tomography Data Acquisition software -UltraScan 1000 U 200 kV -Camera, Housing and Interface Flange -Scripting -Support PC -LCD Monitor -Compressor 115V, 50/60 Hz -Transformer -On-site Training -Installation labor -Installation material -Warranty labor -Warranty Material -Receiving dock -Installation kit -Service charges for moving parts from CM120 to the new TEM -Service charges for moving the EDS from the CM120 to the new TEM All Capability Statements sent in response to this SOURCES SOUGHT notice must be submitted, electronically (via email), to Kenya Crawford, Contract Specialist, at crawfordke@mail.nih.gov by July 7, 2010, 1:00 PM, EST. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NHLBI/NHLBI-PB-EB-2010-194-JKS/listing.html)
 

Place of Performance

Address: NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Zip Code: 20892
 

Record

SN02181873-W 20100620/100618234622-498a4c41d06376300242940cc50d1648 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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