SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
- Notice Date
- 1/25/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- 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, Maryland, 20899-1640, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- AMD-13-SS17
- Archive Date
- 2/23/2013
- Point of Contact
- Joni L Laster, Phone: 301-975-8397, Todd D Hill, Phone: 301-975-8802
- E-Mail Address
-
joni.laster@nist.gov, todd.hill@nist.gov
(joni.laster@nist.gov, todd.hill@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors that are capable of providing a complete tool or essential subsystems for a Specialized Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to support research in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) user facility as a shared resource accessible to researchers from industry, academia, NIST, and other government agencies through collaboration. The system will be used for the development of new measurement methods for multi-mode imaging of structures and processes in liquids and dense gaseous environmental cells correlated with nanoscale X-ray tomography. This is a sources sought notice for market research purposes. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, and specifications developed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order(s) for the complete system and/or for the essential sub-systems. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a small business set-aside. The development of new measurement tools and methods for nanoscale characterization that can subsequently be made available to users is a critical part of the CNST mission. Measurements of processes at solid-liquid and solid-gas interfaces, and in dense gaseous or liquid environments are needed in many areas, including the development of new materials and technologies for energy conversion and storage. This specialized microscope shall meet the following functional requirements: 1. The microscope shall have a long lifetime, high stability field emission electron gun (FEG) with sufficiently high probe current for efficient performance of nanoscale X-ray tomography, rapid elemental mapping, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS/EDX). A probe current of 100 nA or higher is desired. The vendor shall specify the highest probe current achievable. 2. The microscope shall be capable of operating in standard scanning electron microscope (SEM) and scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) imaging modes in vacuum as well as at elevated pressures typical for environmental electron microscopes. The operation at elevated pressures is mainly required to protect the tool in case of a breakdown of an environmental cell. The vendor shall specify the operating pressure range. 3. The microscope shall be equipped with a standard set of electron detectors, including back-scattered electrons (BSE) detector, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) detector(s), and variable pressure secondary electron (VPSE) or equivalent detector for imaging under elevated pressure conditions. 4. The microscope shall be equipped with external electrical and gas/liquid connections that connect to the environmental cell inside the chamber of the microscope. 5. The beam energy (electron landing) shall span a wide range, from 300 V or less to 30 keV or greater, sufficient to explore the electron transmissivity of membrane materials at low energies and yet able to produce intense characteristic X-rays from a number of target materials. The vendor shall specify the lowest landing energy achievable. 6. The inner volume and the shape of the chamber shall accommodate x-ray nanoscale tomography components as described below. 7. X-ray nanoscale tomography capabilities with the nominal resolution 400 nm or better shall be provided, including a multi-material, electron-beam-excited target mount on its own positioning stage; a rotatable sample holder mount on an X, Y, Z, Θ-tilt stage for tomogram acquisition; a coolable CCD camera with a high quantum efficiency and software for control, image acquisition, and processing. The vendor shall specify the quantum efficiency of the CCD camera. 8. The microscope shall be capable of electron beam induced current (EBIC) measurements for in situ electrochemical measurements and imaging. 9. The microscope shall be equipped with at least two micromanipulators that can be used as electrical probes. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334516, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. Companies that manufacture a Specialized Scanning Electron Microscope are requested to email a detailed report describing their abilities to joni.laster@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The report should include achievable specifications and any other information relevant to your product or capabilities. Also, the following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the system components for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(ies) that are authorized to sell the system components, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such systems. 4. Indication of whether each instrument for which specifications are sent to joni.laster@nist.gov are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s). 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NIST/AcAsD/AMD-13-SS17/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, United States
- Zip Code: 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN02973215-W 20130127/130125235029-bc11c9b71c6e7ae9ebca6500f5adb717 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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