ETEM Post-Column Electron Energy-Loss Spectrometer Upgrade

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Contract Opportunity

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

BACKGROUND

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Division 642, Materials Science and Engineering Division (MSED) is an organization whose mission includes developing techniques for structure and property measurements in CHIPS-relevant materials at the nanoscale under working conditions. The multimodal approach developed around the environmental transmission electron microscope (ETEM), including high-resolution imaging, diffraction, and chemical analysis techniques, such as EELS, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), cathodoluminescence (CL), and Raman spectroscopy, are currently supporting this mission.

In recent years, the semiconductor supply chain has become global, specialized, and interconnected. Chipmakers do business with thousands of individual suppliers that provide the highly complex materials and tools used to produce semiconductors. To address the lack of full visibility into the semiconductors market supply chain and R&D ecosystem gaps, NIST will conduct the measurement science, or metrology, critical to the development of new materials, packaging, and production methods in chip manufacturing. To continue supporting this mission, the ETEM metrology requires a spectrometer upgrade to advance electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) measurements in complex compound semiconductors, such as chalcogenides, nitrides, and oxides.

The ETEM Post-Column Electron Energy-Loss Spectrometer Upgrade sought here will enable low-electron-dose, high-frame-rate EELS acquisition by retrofitting a K2-IS direct-detection camera at the post-spectrometer position to measure the heterogeneity of optoelectronic structure and chemical composition in 2D and wide bandgap semiconductors with mitigated electron-beam effects. This structural or chemical heterogeneity causes device reliability issues at the atomic scale in chip manufacturing. On the other hand, a OneView camera retrofitted at the pre-spectrometer position offers in-situ high-resolution TEM imaging capability to elucidate underlying atomistic mechanisms leading to the measured heterogeneity. The capability to connect the formation of atomic-level heterogeneity to the fluctuation in optoelectronic properties will enable early production-stage diagnostic characterization for the CHIPS industry.

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

Contract Line-Item Number (CLIN) 0001: The Contractor shall provide one (1) ETEM Post-Column Electron Energy-Loss Spectrometer Upgrade.

The system shall meet or exceed the technical specifications identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for award. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components not authorized for sale in the U.S. by the Contractor is not acceptable.

Migrate a pre-existing K2-IS camera from a pre-spectrometer position of a pre-existing ETEM energy filter to a post-spectrometer position to enable direct-detection spectrum imaging.

1. Technical Specifications
   
   
   
   
   1. Retrofit the K2-IS direct detection camera using one post-spectrometer camera position that allows for the insertion and retraction mechanisms. Retracting the retrofit K2-IS direct detection camera will uphold the original functions of a pre-existing Ultrascan camera (Ultrascan 1) at the other post-spectrometer camera position, including GIF alignment, energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM), and dual-EELS acquisition at the high tensions of 80 kV, 200 kV, and 300 kV.
   
   
   2. The retrofit K2-IS direct detection camera should enable electron-counting EELS and EFTEM (counted) modes at the high tensions of 80 kV, 200 kV, and 300 kV.
   
   
   3. The retrofit K2-IS direct detection camera should support spectrum imaging, which reads out EELS signals at individual electron beam positions, when a raster scan of the electron beam is performed on a given sample, to obtain a three-dimensional data cube: the X-Y dimensions register the scanned area, and the z dimension records EELS spectra. The timing precision is achieved by hardware synchronizing the EELS readout with the electron beam scanning system.
   
   
   
   

Description: Migrate a pre-existing OneView camera from a pre-existing Thermo Fisher Scientific (FEI) Titan TEM to the pre-spectrometer position of the pre-existing ETEM energy filter.

1. Technical Specifications

1. Retrofit the OneView camera using one pre-spectrometer camera position that allows for the insertion and retraction mechanisms. Retracting the retrofit OneView camera will uphold the original function of a pre-existing Ultrascan camera (Ultrascan 2) at the other pre-spectrometer camera position, including image corrector tuning and data acquisition in the image and diffraction modes at the high tensions of 80 kV, 200 kV, and 300 kV.


2. The retrofit OneView camera should enable data acquisition in the image and diffraction modes with a full resolution of 4096 by 4096 pixels, a frame rate of 25 fps, and a dynamic range beyond 16 bits at the high tensions of 80 kV, 200 kV, and 300 kV.


3. The retrofit OneView camera should support the in-situ mode, which flexibly trades off resolution against frame rate from 4096 by 4096 pixels at 25 fps to 512 by 512 pixels at 300 fps, always at 100% duty cycle. This mode also enables the post-event triggering and LookBack features.

Description: Upgrade to perform four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM)

1. Technical Specifications
   
   
   
   
   1. The upgrade should enable a fast, STEM diffraction detection system using the retrofit K2-IS camera.
   
   
   2. The upgrade should include a hardware synchronization, diffraction imaging software, license to collect and store the data in high speed, and any required packages to perform 4D-STEM.
   
   
   
   

NIST conducted market research from December 2024 – February 2025 by, 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 GATAN, INC. (Ametek) (UEI: LB2BZV3NJ847) can meet all the Governments minimum 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 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).

• 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 April 14, 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

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 does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response.

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.

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.

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

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