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Notice ID Number: NIST-FY25-CHIPS-0052 Title: Sources Sought Notice for Optical Microscope The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of com... Notice ID Number: NIST-FY25-CHIPS-0052 Title: Sources Sought Notice for Optical Microscope The purpose of this sources sought notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs. BACKGROUND The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST CHIPS Metrology R&D program has nondestructive defect detection metrology (NDDM) for semiconductor advanced packaging project. The NDDM project aims at developing reference defect artifacts and characterizing defective semiconductor samples to help improve X-ray computed tomography (XCT) defect detection metrology and accuracy of detection. The defect artifacts’ engineered defects and defective semiconductor samples’ defects need to be characterized to provide ground truth information which will be compared to XCT-based defect detection results. In order to characterize the ground truth defect information, the defect artifacts and defective semiconductor materials need to be destructively measured using methods such as precision mechanical polishing. Cross-sectioning or delayering processes will be implemented on the samples, which require accurate sample alignments through micrometer adjustments and precision polishing through digital dial indicators. The cross sections or the delayered planes are measured using an optical microscope optimized for the polisher sample holders and polishing process. The optical microscope should be able to auto-focus the cross section or the layer, and capable of installing manual or motorized translational stages. The microscope should allow installation of multiple objective lenses. The microscope should allow integration with a digital camera and a computer. NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the objectives described above, in addition to the following essential requirements: Hardware The optical microscope shall be an upright microscope, which is capable of using both reflected and transmission light for brightfield, dark field, circular polarized light-differential interference contrast, and polarized imaging when proper components are installed. The optical microscope hardware shall be capable of autofocusing images when proper software was used. The optical microscope shall allow at least 24 mm focus lift distance. The microscope shall be equipped with a motorized objective turret for automatic changing. Stronger consideration will be given for encoded positions from one (1) up to six (6) positions. The microscope shall be equipped with a motorized filter turret for automatic changing. Stronger consideration will be given for encoded positions from one (1) up to six (6) positions. The optical microscope shall be able to install at least one (1) filter slider for reflected light and one (1) filter for transmission light. The microscope shall be able to install at least one (1) mount for polarizer slider. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) reflector turret with at least four (4) encoded positions. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) reflector cube for brightfield imaging and one (1) reflector cube for darkfield imaging. Stronger consideration will be given to a system with easier installation (e.g., push and click mechanism) and automatic optical component recognition capabilities. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) binocular phototube. The phototube shall be capable of directing light to the eyepieces (100%) or to the camera (100%). The phototube shall be compatible with all microscope imaging modes. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) manual stage with x and y translational movement capability with at least 75 x 50 mm travel distances. The plate shall be at least 290 mm x 165 mm in size. The stage height shall be adjustable manually. The optical microscope shall be equipped with two (2) eyepieces with at least 10x magnification. The optical microscope shall be equipped with infinity corrected objectives lenses capable for bright field, dark field, and differential interference contrast imaging. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) objective lens with 5x magnification with numerical aperture of 0.12 or higher. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) objective lens with 10x magnification with numerical aperture of 0.2 or higher. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) objective lens with 20x magnification with numerical aperture of 0.4 or higher. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) objective lens with 50x magnification with numerical aperture of 0.7 or higher. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) objective lens with 100x magnification with numerical aperture of 0.8 or higher. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) digital camera and one (1) compatible camera adapter. The digital camera shall be capable of recording color images with at least 5 Megapixel resolution. The digital camera sensor shall have pixel pitch of 3.45 µm x 3.45 µm or less. Dynamic range shall be 12-bit. Stronger consideration will be given to camera that has adjustable digitation of 8 and 12-bit. Software The vendor shall provide a copy of software needed for basic operation of the camera that can be installed on a customer-supplied workstation. The vendor shall provide a copy of software needed for enabling encoded capabilities of the microscope. Accessories The optical microscope shall be equipped with a dust cover. The optical microscope shall be equipped with two (2) rubber eyecups. The optical microscope shall be equipped with one (1) filter slider with at least 3 positions. The optical microscope shall be equipped with a lens cleaning kit that includes an air blower, a dust brush, lens cleaning solution, a microfiber cloth, and moist cleaning wipes. Upgrade capability The optical microscope shall be upgradable to have motorized stages in x-y-z axes. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response: Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice. Please note that to be considered for award under any official solicitation, the entity must be registered and “active” in SAM at the time of solicitation response. Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI). Identify the equipment that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice. For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following: Manufacturer name Model number Technical specifications If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s) Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements. Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response. Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization. Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why. Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive. State whether the proposed equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured. Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned equipment and provide relevant details, including timeline. For the NAICS code listed in this notice: Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business. See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information. If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement. Describe services that are available with the purchase of the aforementioned equipment from your company such as installation, training, and equipment maintenance. Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; equipment setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services. Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified equipment, if available. State whether your company offers facility renovation services related to installation of the recommended equipment at its delivery destination, if required per the NIST-identified minimum specifications, and provide description of said services. Indicate if your company performs the facility renovation services or typically subcontracts the work to another company. Indicate if your company would be interested in inspecting the intended installation site during the market research phase. State published price, discount, or rebate arrangements for recommended equipment and/or provide link to access company’s published prices for equipment and services. If the recommended equipment and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information. Identify any customers in the public or private sectors to which you provided the recommended or similar equipment. Include customer(s) information: company name, phone number, point of contact, email address. Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for NIST to know as part of its market research for this requirement. State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received 5 days prior to the response date of February 11,2025. If the Contracting Officer determines that providing a written amendment to this notice to document question(s) received would benefit other potential respondents, the questions would be anonymized, and a written response to such question(s) would be provided via an amendment to this notice. IMPORTANT NOTES This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. There is no solicitation available at this time. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s capability. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s). Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request.