USDA, ARS, PPD, Contracts Branch, 6303 Ivy Lane, Room 762, Greenbelt, Maryland 20770-1433

66 -- ELECTRON TRANSMISSION MICROSCOPE SOL RFP 27-3K06-96 POC Contact Sharon Boykin, Contract Specialist, Telephone No. 301-344-3125 or Fax No. 301-344-3354 The USDA, Agricultural Research Service, intends to purchase an Electron Transmission Microscope for it's laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. The Government is offering as a trade-in, two 15 year old TEM, a 17 year old H-500H Hitachi transmission electron microscope with STEM/SEM unit and Kevex X-ray detector and System 7000. Some of the microscope's minimum specifications are as follows: (1) Resolution of at least 5.0 Angstroms (point to point) or 2.5 Angstroms (lattice); (2) Accelerating Voltage - 25 kV to 125 kV; (3) Range: 50x to 500,000x; (4) The image shall not rotate or invert through the entire magnification range; (5) A manual electronic image rotation feature shall be available for framing images; (6) A specimen holder, having the capability of accommodating at least six grids, shall be included with the instrument; (7) A binocular microscope shall allow observation of the center of the viewing screen as well as other areas in the viewing chamber; (8) An airlock shall isolate the viewing chamber from the camera so that specimen observation could continue during film exchange or in a film lock situation; (9) Operator shall be able to align column electronically as well as have the ability for mechanical override when necessary; (10) In case computer failure, the computer controlled system shall have manual override; (11) Instrument shall have a goniometer stage with +/- tilt capability of 600 over the entire grid without any restrictions; (12) Digital imaging features; (13) A pre-pump safety system that prevents introducing the speciment into the column until it has been pre- evaluated; (14) The column shall be pumped with diffusion and/or turbomolecular pumps (rather than ion getter pumps) to achieve efficient pump down times when using frozen or ''wet'' samples; (15) optional accessories. Only written and facsimile requests for a copy of the solicitation will be accepted. Send request to USDA, ARS, PPD, Contracts Branch, ATTN: Sharon Boykin; 6303 Ivy Lane, Room 762, Greenbelt, Maryland 20770-1433. (0208)

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