Inactive

The Office of Acquisition and Agreements Management (OAAM), Acquisition Management Division (AMD) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), on behalf of the Material Measurement La... The Office of Acquisition and Agreements Management (OAAM), Acquisition Management Division (AMD) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), on behalf of the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML), intends to negotiate on a sole source basis, under the authority of FAR 13, with CAPRES A/S of Denmark, to acquire a hardware upgrade for CAPRES CIPTech SPM. The Materials Science and Engineering Division of the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is involved in the development of manufacturing techniques for high quality ultrathin magnetic films and sensors, with the aim to produce films with precisely tailored thicknesses, well defined interfaces and strong crystalline texture. This work requires the measurement of the electrical transport properties of the films while applying variable magnetic fields perpendicular to the plane of the film. The enhancement of the CAPRES CIPTech Current-in-plane-tunneling tester will accomplish this critical infrastructural need by implementation of a permanent magnet assembly (control hardware and software associated therein) that can apply static magnetic fields or variable magnetic fields while measuring the electrical transport properties of a magnetic tunnel junction, a type of sensor film comprising two (or more) thin magnetic layers separated by an ultrathin (10-9 meter thick) dielectric layer. The NAICS code for this requirement is 334516 and the small business size standard is 1,000 employees. Sole source determination is based on the following: Market research revealed that CAPRES A/S is the only source that can provide a commercially available hardware upgrade to the CAPRES SPM CIPTech that will enable a variable perpendicular magnetic field upwards of 0.3 T out-of-the-plane of a MTJ film. Such a hardware upgrade will fit into the existing form factor of the CAPRES SPM CIPTech NIST owned tool (Serial Number (S/N) 073028) and will facilitate measurements of samples whose TMR can be measured exclusively under the application of perpendicular magnetic fields. No solicitation package will be issued. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, interested parties who regard themselves as capable of fulfilling these requirements are invited to submit responses to the Government for consideration. Responses received by 11:00AM EST January 24, 2020 will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete the proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.