Inactive

Document Type: Sources Sought Notice Notice Number: NIST-MML-24-SS03 Title: Thermal Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope Platform for Automated Particle Analysis NAICS Code: 334516 Contracting ... Document Type: Sources Sought Notice Notice Number: NIST-MML-24-SS03 Title: Thermal Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope Platform for Automated Particle Analysis NAICS Code: 334516 Contracting Office Address National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640 This is a Sources Sought Notice ONLY. Requests for copies of a solicitation will not receive a response. This Notice is for planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposal or Request for Quotation or an obligation on the part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for conducting a follow-on acquisition. NIST does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Notice, or otherwise pay for the information requested. No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by NIST will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non-restricted/non-proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME. Requirement NIST is seeking information on the following: High-resolution variable pressure scanning electron microscope Schottky field emission scanning electron microscope Software application programmer’s interface (API) capable of controlling all major instrument functionality using Python or similarly capable open-source programming language Software sharable with collaborating laboratories under a permissive license. API documented to permit API use by programmer’s familiar with developing software for instrument control. Sample chamber with a motorized stage with X, Y and Z travel of at least 50 mm in each dimension. Stage with motorized tilt and rotation axes. Stage must be under API control. Vacuum system in the sample chamber. Vacuum system must be under API control. Sub-microsecond response-time backscattered electron detector Secondary electron detector Images from all electron detectors acquirable under API control. In-Beam secondary electron detector. In-Beam low energy backscattered electron detector Support two or more simultaneous energy dispersive X-ray detectors which provide both spectra from both individual detectors and the sum of spectra from all detectors. Capable of at least 50 kcps with an uncorrected Al K + Al K sum peak (characteristic-only) with integrated intensity that is less than 1 % of the Al K peak. Resolution at Mn K? of better than 130 eV while meeting the previous criterion. Acquisition of spectra and hyperspectral from the X-ray detectors must be provided by the software API. In-situ plasma cleaner. High-performance Windows 10 or Windows 11 personal computer with 4k or higher resolution monitor. Support instrument control software (“instrument console”) that provides control functionality for all major user accessible aspects of the instrument. An implementation of NIST RCA particle analysis algorithm or equivalent particle search, sizing and analysis algorithm implemented for automated analysis of microparticles from 250 nm to 100 µm. The algorithm must be fully accessible using the software API. The algorithm should be capable of analyzing >8,000 particles/hour with EDS acquisition times of 300 ms/particle on a suitable sample. The algorithm must facilitate collecting X-ray spectra using all EDS detectors from Interested parties shall describe the capabilities of their organization as it relates to the item described above. NIST anticipates issuing a Request for Quotation in second quarter of FY24 and awarding a contract in the third quarter of FY24. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses. The small business size standard associated with the NAICS code for this effort, 334516, is 1000 employees. Please include your company’s size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. Companies that can provide such items are requested to email a written response describing their abilities to donald.graham@nist.gov no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: Name, Address, Government Unique Identifier, CAGE code, and point of contact information of your company. Any information on the company’s small business certifications, if applicable. Description of your company’s capabilities as they relate to the item described in this notice. A description of your company’s previous experience providing the item described in this notice. Indication of whether the item described in this notice are currently offered via your company’s GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), or other existing Government-wide contract vehicles; and, if so, the contract number(s) for those vehicles. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in finalizing its market research. Place of Manufacturing of the item. Responses are limited to a total of twelve (12) pages. The responses must be in MS Word format. Pages shall be 8½-inch x 11-inch, using Times New Roman 11 Point Font. Each page shall have adequate margins on each side (at least one inch) of the page. Header/footer information (which does not include any information to be analyzed) may be included in the 1" margin space.