66 -- AUTOMATED ELECTRON BACKSCATTER DIFFRACTION SYSTEM

Notice Date

April 3, 2001

Contracting Office

National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition & Assistance Div.,100 Bureau Drive Stop 3572, Bldg. 301, Rm B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-3572

ZIP Code

20899-3572

Solicitation Number

01-852-4117

Response Due

April 17, 2001

Point of Contact

TAMARA GRINSPON, Contract Specialist, (301) 975-4390, Anita K. Tolliver, Contracting Officer, (301) 975-6308

E-Mail Address

NIST Contracts Office (Contract@nist.gov)

Description

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN 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, #01-852-4117, is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-22.*****The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334511, and the small business size is 500 Employees.*****The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a requirement for a quantity of one (1) complete, high performance, research-grade automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) system (a.k.a. orientation imaging microscopy (OIM), which will be used to analyze the microtexture and microstructure of technologically important ceramics and metals, and provide spatially resolved crystal orientation and misorientation data.*****The system shall meet the following specifications: (A) The resolution of the electron backscatter pattern (EBSP) detector (also referred to as the camera) shall be at least 512 x 512 pixels; (B) The detector shall be a silicon intensified tube (SIT) camera capable of sufficient resolution for phase analysis; (C) The vendor shall supply a physical interface of the detector to 2 scanning electron microscopes (SEMs): JEOL JSM-6400; Hitachi S-4700; (D) The diffraction pattern capture angle shall be continuously variable between 20 degrees and 100 degrees without refocusing of the camera; (E) 3D stage control hardware and software shall be installed for the JSM-6400; (F) The system shall be capable of performing scans under stage control, beam control or a combination of both; (G) It shall be possible to program the stage control hardware and software system in a simple way so that, without user intervention, the system will automatically position and perform complex scans on multiple specimens; (H) The spatial resolution of the orientation data collected shall be 0.3 microns for the LaB6 SEM (JSM-6400) and 0.2 microns for the FEG SEM (S-4700); (I) A 900 MHz or faster PC shall be supplied for data acquisition, with 19" monitor, 20 GB hard drive, 48x CD-RW, MS Windows NT or 2000; (J) There shall be 2 licenses for data analysis software; it shall be possible to administer these licenses across the local TCP/IP network (NOTE: if applicable to this procurement, vendors should include any applicable license agreement with quotation package); (K) It shall be possible for the user to add custom modules ("plug-ins") in a convenient way to the analysis tools provided by the vendor; (L) The system shall be capable of automatic storage of software settings for different users and/or projects; (M) The data acquisition software shall be capable of Hough-transform-based analysis of EBSD patterns to an absolute accuracy of 1 degree; (N) The intensity of electron diffraction bands used for orientation analysis shall be based on kinematical electron diffraction theory using atom positions; (O) The system shall have a demonstrated ability to perform at least 15 orientation analyses per second on a single phase specimen; (P) It shall be possible to display texture data in the conventional ways, such as pole figures, ODFs and Rodriguez space diagrams; (Q) The system shall be capable of orientation imaging microscopy on multi-phase specimens; (R) The system shall be capable of the analysis of unknown phases by the combined use of chemical data (automated or user input) and crystallographic data from EBSP analysis; (S) Phase identification and discrimination shall be built into the data acquisition software; (T) Installation shall be provided and completed within 30 days after delivery; (U) Three (3) full days of on-site training shall be included.*****Delivery is required within 45 days after receipt of purchase order (ARO).*****The FOB point shall be DESTINATION, Gaithersburg, MD.*****Quotations will be evaluated in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 13.106-2-Evaluation of quotations or offers. Award will be made based on vendors' (A) Technical Capability to Meet Specifications (vendors shall address all specifications, and shall provide indication of understanding and ability to meet requirements); (B) Past Performance/Experience (vendors shall provide at least (3) references to whom comparable systems -- preferably for similar applications -- have been sold over the past five (5) years, including organization name, point of contact, phone number, and fax number for each); and (C) Price. (A) and (B), when combined, are more important than (C).*****The Government anticipates awarding one purchase order resulting from this combined synopsis/solicitation to the responsible vendor whose quotation, conforming to this synopsis/solicitation, will offer the BEST VALUE to the Government, price and other factors considered.*****Vendors shall address all requirements in this combined synopsis/solicitation, and shall provide clear evidence of understanding and the ability and willingness to comply with the Government's specifications of need. Failure to address a specification/requirement will be construed by the Government as inability to meet the need, or the vendor's taking exception to it.*****All vendors are to include with their quotes, a completed copy of provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, which may be downloaded from www.arnet.gov .*****The following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision applies to this solicitation: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial; ***** The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.*****The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition, including subparagraphs (11) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; (12) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; (13) 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; (14) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; (15) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; (18)(i) 52.225-3, Buy American Act-North American Free Trade Agreement-Israeli Trade Act-Balance of Payments Program; (21) 52.225-15, Sanctioned European Union Country End Products; (23) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration.; and Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level Above the Contracting Officer, which can be downloaded at http://oamweb.osec.doc.gov/conops/reflib/alp1296.htm All interested, responsible firms should submit quotes (Original Plus One Copy Of Quote and Enclosures), by 3:00 PM, Washington DC time, on APRIL 17, 2001, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition and Logistics Division, ATTN: TAMARA GRINSPON (01-852-4117), Building 301, Room B129, 100 Bureau Drive STOP 3571, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-3571. Faxed quotes will NOT be accepted. Copies of above-referenced clauses are available upon request.

Web Link

NIST Contracts Homepage (http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010405/66SOL006.HTM (W-093 SN50I0N3)