SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- SOURCES SOUGHT
- Notice Date
- 11/6/2015
- 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 B130, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1410, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1410
- Solicitation Number
- AMD-16-0010
- Archive Date
- 12/8/2015
- Point of Contact
- Lynda M Roark, Phone: 3019753725
- E-Mail Address
-
Lynda.Roark@nist.gov
(Lynda.Roark@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 one automated loadlock, two throttle valves and control software upgrades for two existing Denton Vacuum Discovery-550 sputtering tools to support nanofabrication in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), NIST's nanotechnology user facility. The sputtering tools are sited and used in the CNST NanoFab as a shared resource accessible to researchers from industry, academia, NIST, and other government agencies. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and specifications are developed for the automated loadlock, throttle valves and software that can meet NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order. 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 NIST CNST NanoFab operates two Denton Vacuum Discovery-550 sputtering tool to deposit thin films of various metals and insulators, designated by their serial numbers 49064 and 43814. a. S/N 49064. In its present condition, each user must spend an average of 60 minutes to perform one sputtering run. Of these 60 minutes, 45 are required to pump the chamber down from atmospheric pressure to the required 4 x 10-4 Pa (3 x 10-6 Torr) after loading the wafer. These 45 minutes can be reduced to 10 minutes by upgrading the tool with an automated loading chamber ("loadlock") system allowing the main chamber to remain under high vacuum during sample insertions, thus reducing the total run time from 60 to 25 minutes. The upgrade shall enable the operator to load a wafer without breaking the vacuum in the sputter tool chamber, and through software control automatically evacuate the loadlock, open an intra-chamber gate valve, transfer the wafer to the sputter tool, retract the loadlock manipulator, close the gate valve, and commence a pre-programmed sputter deposition process. After the process is completed, the loadlock system shall automatically return the wafer to the loadlock for removal by the user. This upgrade will more than double the throughput of this tool and thereby increase both productivity and customer satisfaction. The throttle valve (sometimes referred to as "control gate valve") upgrade will provide control of the process pressure independently from the gas flows (argon, nitrogen and oxygen) which will give researchers the means of adjusting the stress in the deposited films. Presently, the sputter tool is equipped with a simple open/closed valve which does not offer such flexibility. b. S/N 43814 This system needs to be upgraded with a throttle valve (sometimes referred to as "control gate valve") which will provide control of the process pressure independently from the gas flows (argon, nitrogen and oxygen) and will give researchers the means of adjusting the stress in the deposited films. Presently, this sputter tool is equipped with a simple open/closed valve which does not offer such flexibility. This instrument also needs a software upgrade of its control system. Presently, operation of the tool is done via a touch screen allowing only deposition of one material layer at a time. The upgrade shall be substantially similar as the software already installed on S/N 49064, allowing complete automatic deposition of multilayer films, including operation of the new throttle valve. This will enable redundancy between the two tools and allow users to operate either tool interchangeably. 1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: S/N 49064 a. The loadlock system and throttle valve shall upgrade a Denton Vacuum Discovery-550 sputtering tool. b. In order to accommodate the loadlock, a circular hole of diameter approximately 200 mm needs to be opened in the side of the sputtering chamber and a mating flange welded in place. c. The loadlock shall be equipped with a motorized manipulator arm to transfer a wafer placed on a carrier plate into and out of the sputtering chamber. d. The transfer sequences and sputter deposition process shall be completely automatic and consist of the following steps: pump down the loadlock to a suitable transfer pressure; open the gate valve; transfer the wafer carrier plate into the sputter chamber using a motorized manipulator; retract the loadlock manipulator; close the gate valve; pump down the sputter chamber to its base pressure; run the sputter deposition process; open the gate valve, transfer the carrier plate back into the loadlock; close the gate valve; and vent the loadlock to atmospheric pressure. e. The loadlock and transfer mechanism shall be compatible with the existing sputtering tool features, including wafer heating to 400 ⁰C, carrier plate rotation, and wafer RF bias. f. The throttle valve shall have an inside diameter of 6 inches. 2. CONSTRUCTION: S/N 49064 a. The loadlock chamber shall be made of electro-polished 304L-series stainless steel. b. The throttle valve shall be made of electro-polished 304-series or 316-series stainless steel. 3. WAFER TRANSFER: S/N 49064 a. The loadlock shall be capable of accepting and transferring one wafer at a time, with wafer diameters of 75 mm, 100 mm, and 150 mm. Wafers shall be transferred by means of a carrier plate fitting the existing rotating platform in the sputter chamber. 4. PUMPING SYSTEM: S/N 49064 a. The loadlock chamber shall be capable of reaching a vacuum of 6.6 Pa (5 x10-2 Torr) in ≤ 5 minutes. b. The loadlock may make use of the existing pumps on the sputter system. c. The loadlock shall be equipped with the following: i. Computer-controlled, electro-pneumatic high vacuum gate valve between the loadlock chamber and the sputter chamber; ii. Computer-controlled, electro-pneumatic roughing valve to the loadlock chamber; iii. Computer-controlled, electro-pneumatic vent valve; iv. Vacuum gauge on the loadlock chamber interfaced to the sputter tool system controller; and v. A quick-access-type loadlock door with viewport (minimum diameter 50 mm). d. The throttle valve shall be capable of regulating the chamber pressure from 0.013 Pa (0.1 mTorr) to 13 Pa (100 mTorr). 5. SOFTWARE: S/N 49064 a. The loadlock software shall integrate seamlessly with the existing sputtering tool software and the programmable logic controller. b. The software shall be capable of an automated, unattended process sequence as described in section 1.d above from wafer-in to wafer-out. c. The software shall provide the following options: i. Manual operation of loadlock and sputter tool; ii. Automatic operation of loadlock and sputter tool: auto-pump, auto-vent and auto-deposition; iii. Operation of the sputter tool without use of the loadlock; iv. Abort button to stop any process step. d. The throttle valve controller shall integrate seamlessly with the existing sputtering tool software and the programmable logic controller. 6. SOFTWARE: S/N 43814 a. The software shall be capable of an automated, unattended process sequence as described in section 1.d above from wafer-in to wafer-out. b. The software shall be substantially the same as installed in S/N 49064. c. The software shall provide the following options: i. Manual operation of loadlock and sputter tool; ii. Automatic operation of loadlock and sputter tool: auto-pump, auto-vent and auto-deposition; iii. Operation of the sputter tool without use of the loadlock; iv. Abort button to stop any process step. 7. THROTTLE VALVE: S/N 43814 a. The throttle valve shall have an inside diameter of 8 inches. b. The throttle valve shall be made of electro-polished 304-series or 316-series stainless steel. c. The throttle valve shall be capable of regulating the chamber pressure from 0.013 Pa (0.1 mTorr) to 13 Pa (100 mTorr). d. The throttle valve shall be integrated into the new control software. Please indicate training and delivery time frames. 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 Vacuum Chambers are requested to email a detailed report describing their abilities to Lynda.Roark@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 Lynda.Roark@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-16-0010/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, United States
- Zip Code: 20899
- Zip Code: 20899
- Record
- SN03941030-W 20151108/151106234504-3d3bfdf79b5d01c591afbb8ac3af9187 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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