Ultrahigh Vacuum (UHV) Compatible Electron Beam Evaporator – Combined Sources Sought/Notice of Intent to Sole Source

Maryland

08/15/2024 06:08 PM EDT

08/26/2024 09:00 AM EDT

COMMERCE, DEPARTMENT OF - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY - DEPT OF COMMERCE NIST

***THIS IS A COMBINED SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE***

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) compatible electron beam (e-beam) evaporator. The evaporator shall enable controlled sub-monolayer and multi-layer thin film growth, over areas of 4 mm diameter or larger. The e-beam evaporator will be interfaced with a UHV cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope (STM) setup via Conflat (CF) flange (2.75 inches outer diameter) and will be used to prepare thin films and 2D materials in-situ through epitaxial growth methods. The UHV-STM system already installed at NIST is used for atomic-scale spectroscopy and requires in-situ preparation methods within the UHV setup to obtain samples that are both atomically flat and pristine. The goal is to obtain one UHV compatible electron beam evaporator to be integrated with an existing UHV scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to enable controlled sub-monolayer and multi-layer thin film growth in situ.

If no alternate sources are identified, the Government intends to issue a Sole Source Award to Scienta Omicron Inc (3222 E. 1st Ave, #521, Denver, CO 80206) under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516. 

NIST has a need for a UHV compatible electron beam evaporator and a controller that meet the following minimum specificati

1. Evaporation requirements:
   1. The evaporator shall enable controlled growth of ultraclean sub-monolayer and multi-layer thin films over areas of 4 mm diameter or larger with the aid of a controller with integrated flux and temperature monitors. Specifically, the controller shall achieve controlled growth of materials using closed loop flux regulation.
   2. The evaporator shall enable electron-beam evaporation of materials using high voltage (up to ≈ 2 kV) to synthesize 2D materials in ultrahigh vacuum (< 5 x 10-8 Pa).
   3. The evaporator shall be able to heat an evaporant source (crucible or rod) from 200 °C to 2500 °C or greater.
   4. The evaporator shall have a working distance in the range of 100 mm – 300 mm while the position of the evaporant source relative to the filament shall be controllable with linear motion.
   5. The evaporator shall allow rear-loading of the evaporant material for compatibility with the existing UHV STM setup, and to preserve the evaporator alignment when changing evaporant materials.
   6. The evaporator shall be capable of evaporating carbon, boron, silicon, and other low vapor pressure materials (such as metals, including but not necessarily limited to aluminum, cobalt, gold, iron, platinum, silver, titanium).

1. Physical requirements:
   1. The evaporator shall include a flux monitor, thermocouple, and shutter.
   2. For compatibility with the existing ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) STM setup, the evaporator must be fully bakeable to 200 °C or higher temperature under vacuum to achieve ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions (< 5 x 10-8 Pa) post baking.
   3. The evaporator shall be water cooled to prevent pressure increases during use and enable stable growing conditions, as this characteristic is essential for growing pristine 2D materials.
   4. Mounting flange compatible with 2.75-inch CF flange.
   5. For compatibility with the existing UHV STM setup (limited space available), the inside vacuum and outside of vacuum dimensions of the evaporator shall conform to the following dimensional requirements:
      1. The in-vacuum length shall be no greater than 220 mm.
      2. The in-vacuum diameter shall be no greater than 40 mm (including when the shutter is fully open.
      3. In addition to the dimensions of the standard 2.75-inch CF mounting flange, the out-of-vacuum length shall be no greater than 170 mm.
      4. The out-of-vacuum diameter shall not be greater than 190 mm, including any ports for cooling water, high voltage feedthrough, filament and thermocouple feedthrough, flux monitor, and cooling water connections.

NIST conducted market research from February 2023 to August 2024 by attending conferences, speaking with colleagues, performing internet searches, and speaking with vendors to determine what sources could meet NIST’s minimum requirements.  The results of that market research revealed that only Scienta Omicron, Inc (UEI: EQKJNHM96DP4) appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements.

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 at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice.

• 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).

• Details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements.

• Whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization.
   
• Identify any aspects of the description of the requirements in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or create unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your firm’s ability to fully participate in a procurement for such services and explain why.  Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses.
   
• For the NAICS code
  • 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. 

• If your firm has existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts for products or services against which the Department may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.

• Describe your firm’s experience (as a prime, subcontractor, or consultant) providing the products or services described in Background section.
   
• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the Government to know as part of its market research for this requirement.
• Please let us know if you would like to engage to get a better understanding of the requirement or need additional information about the Government’s requirement for the products or services described in the Background section. 

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 by 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on August 21, 2024.  Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline.

IMPORTANT NOTES

The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future. 

This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. 

This notice is not a request for a quotation. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations.

No award will be made as a result of this notice. 

NIST is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.

NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!