59 -- THERMOCOMPRESSION BONDER

The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) proposes to negotiate on a sole source basis contract under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) with Finetech for a Thermocompression Bonder. The unit will be used to mate arrays of micromachined gamma-ray absorbers (the substrate) to silicon chips with suspended thin film thermometer circuitry and must meet the following specifications:1. It must be possible to align the absorber array to the silicon chip with 5 um accuracy prior to bonding, and the bonding process must preserve this accuracy. 2. The alignment optics must be able to align chips up to 80 mm in size. 3. The system must be able to apply mating forces from 10 g to 40 kg. 4. The system must include conductive heaters for the substrate and chip. 5. The system must be compatible with thermo-sonic bonding, hot-gas soldering, and dispense applications. 6. The system must be compatible with substrates ranging in height up to 10 mm. 7. It is imperative that the process of aligning and mating the chip and substrate be done in < 5 minutes since our chips are coated in a quick-drying epoxy. 8. The system must be able to hold chips by vacuum suction without damaging suspended thin-film circuitry contained on the chips. 9. The final mating between substrate and chip must be mechanically regulated so that the distance between the two parts can be controlled by a micrometer or other fine adjust mechanism. This procurement is being conducted per FAR Part 13.1, Simplified Acquisition Procedures (under $100K). This notice is for information purposes only. No competitive solicitation is planned. Based on product research and the accuracy required, Finetech makes the only product to meet our critical specifications. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether or not use of competitive procedures to fulfill this requirement would be in the Government's best interest and must address qualifications pertinent to this requirement. Anticipated award date will be February 1, 2007.