High Performance X-Ray Diffractometer

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THE SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.5 TEST PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS. ***This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-24.*** *** The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. This requirement is unrestricted and all interested Contractors may submit a quotation.*** ***The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking to purchase a High Performance X-Ray Diffractometer. ****All interested Contractor's shall provide a quote for the following: Line Item 0001: Quantity One (1) High Performance X-Ray Diffractometer, which shall meet or exceed the following specifications: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requires a high intensity XRD system to perform reflectivity and out-of-plane and in-plane diffraction on horizontally mounted thin films (less than 100 nm) of weakly scattering organics with spacing from 3 nm to 30 nm. Samples will be up to 2 in squares. Measurements need to be performed as a function of temperature from minus 100 degrees Celsius up to 300 degrees Celsius in vacuum. System must also be capable of doing x-ray reflectivity on films of 2 to 200 nm thickness. 1) Theta-Theta goniometer a) Horizontal sample mount for out-of-plane diffraction, in-plane diffraction and reflectivity b) Detector must also have ability to scan with horizontal motion i) Must have scan range of at least 3 to 100 degrees and a resolution of less than 0.005 degrees c) Motor resolution of 0.0002 degrees with repeatability of 0.001 degrees or better d) Motor controller(s) to control all motors and interface to the computer e) Angular range of greater than 150 degrees two theta 2) Copper K-alpha tube source a) Power of 2 kW or greater b) Voltage supply with 0.01 percent or less noise stability c) X-ray generator with voltage up to 60 kV and current up to 60 mA 3) Incident optics (interchangeable with no manual realignment) a) All necessary incident optics (soller slits and collimators) for thin film diffraction and reflectivity and powder diffraction measurements b) X-ray mirror i) Produces x-ray beam with equatorial divergence less than 0.04 degrees ii) Produces line focus x-ray beam of nominally 0.4 mm by 12 mm c) Two bounce high resolution monochromator (required only if system with x-ray mirror alone cannot satisfy acceptance test number 2) i) Produces x-ray beam with 35 arc second or better divergence d) (Part of Line Item Option 0002) Four bounce high resolution monochromator i) Beam divergence must be such that resolution is less than 15 arc second when used in combination with receiving optics 2 bounce monochromator 4) Computer controlled incident, scattering, and receiving slits and motorized attenuator a) Capable of variable slit measurements where slit is continuously varied during scan b) Minimum width ranges i) 0.05 mm to 6 mm with 0.01 mm steps for incident slits ii) 0.05 mm to 20 mm with 0.01 mm steps for anti-scatter and receiving slits c) Automatic attenuator that allows imaging of the direct beam with both detectors i) If both detectors have enough dynamic range to image the direct, full beam, then attenuator is not necessary ii) If necessary, must be capable of at least 3 different attenuation ratios in addition to full beam iii) Software must automatically scale the data by the current attenuation ratio 5) Receiving optics (interchangeable with no manual realignment) a) All necessary receiving optics (soller slits and collimators) for thin film diffraction and reflectivity and powder diffraction measurements b) Parallel slit analyzer for intermediate resolution c) (Part of Line Item Option 0002) 2 bounce high resolution monochromator i) Angular acceptance sufficient to give 15 arc-seconds resolution when used with incident 4 bounce monochromator 6) Detectors (interchangeable with no manual realignment) a) Low background point detector with energy resolution (such as scintillation or energy dispersive) i) Background of less than 0.5 counts/s ii) Energy resolution of less than 20 percent iii) Maximum count rate of at least 500,000 cps iv) Detector width of at least 12 mm b) 1D silicon strip detector i) Resolution of at least 128 pixels by 200 pixels covering approximately 3 degrees of two theta ii) Maximum local count rate of at least 1,000,000 cps and global count rate of at least 100,000,000 cps iii) Energy resolution of less than 30 percent iv) Detector width of at least 12 mm 7) Sample stage (xyz motorization, chi tilt, phi rotation) a) xyz sample movement with resolution of 0.002 mm and range of 100 mm for x and y and resolution of 0.001 mm and range of 5 mm for z b) Chi tilt with resolution of 0.002 degrees with range of at least 95 degrees c) Phi rotation with resolution of 0.004 degrees and 720 degrees of rotation d) Stages i) Single sample holder capable of holding a 100 mm sample (1) Must hold at least 6 samples (15 mm) in a horizontal line with the ability to do automated multisample scans ii) Hot/cold stage (Anton Paar DCS-350 equivalent or better) (1) Capable of temperatures from minus 100 degrees Celsius to 350 degrees Celsius (2) Sample must be able to be maintained in either vacuum or inert gas environment (both options are required) (3) Sample enclosure must be x-ray transparent in all directions (360 degrees of rotation and up to 180 degrees of tilt). Comparable to the PEEK dome of the DCS-350 or equivalent (4) Stage must come with control electronics that are controlled by the main instrument software (5) Stage must also come with all required cooling elements (e.g. LN2 dewar and transfer line) (6) Must come with vacuum system capable of pumping stage down to a vacuum level of nominally 1 mTorr 8) Software a) Must be user-friendly and easy to use, stable computer interface that controls all elements of the all elements of diffractometer (source, detector, stages, diffractometer, temperature, programmable incident/receiving slits) b) Script writing ability i) Control over all major computer controlled elements of the diffractometer. ii) Must be capable of automated scans during a programmed temperature cycle including full control over the temperature stage. iii) Must be capable of auto-aligning the sample height and tilt on each measurement during a programmed scan even if the sample is enclosed in the opaque dome of the hot/cold stage. iv) Must be capable of running multisample experiments on the large xyz stage by programming in center position of each sample. 9) Computer a) Top of the line computer system using Windows XP Pro with minimum specification of Pentium Core 2 Duo or equivalent, 2 GB of RAM, 300 GB of hard drive space, 16x DVD+/-RW with CD/RW, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet card, b) Microsoft Office software including Excel, Powerpoint, and Word c) Adobe Acrobat 8 d) 19 inch flat panel LCD monitor with resolution of 1280x1024 pixels, contrast ratio of 600:1 and response time of 5 ms or less Note: NIST requires Windows XP, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, Pentium Core 2 Duo due to compatibility with existing NIST computers and lab equipment. 10) Water chiller a) Water-cooled water chiller with enough cooling power to remove heat produced by the x-ray source and power supply 11) Hutch a) Hutch must comply with all applicable state and federal regulations including the code of Maryland Regulations subtitle 12 "Radiation Management" for radiation leakage and interlocks 12) Training and installation a) Must include installation. Installation, at a minimum, shall include uncrating/unpackaging of all equipment, set-up and hook-up of the system, demonstration of all required specifications, and removal of trash. Onsite installation and demonstration shall be done at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD. b) Vendor scientists must provide 3 days of technical on-site training. The training shall provide a thorough demonstration of all equipment functions, maintenance, data administration, and basic troubleshooting. The training may be completed at NIST immediately after installation and demonstration of performance specifications, but no later than 30 days after installation. OPTION LINE ITEMS: The following line items are Option Line Items. The Contractor shall provide pricing for these items. The prices quoted for Option Line Items 0002, 0003, 0004 and 0005 shall remain effective for a period of one year from the date of award. Option Line Item 0006 shall remain effective for a period of three years from the date of award (see FAR 52.217-7). Option Line Item 0002: Quantity One (1) Triple axis configuration, which shall meet or exceed the following specifications: 1) 4-bounce incident and 2-bounce receiving monochromators with specifications as described earlier in section 3, incident optics and 5, receiving optics. Option Line Item 0003: Quantity One (1) Analysis software packages (listed separately), which shall meet or exceed the following specifications: 1) Diffraction data analysis and reduction package 2) Reflectivity data analysis and reduction package Option Line Item 0004: Quantity One (1) System UPS, which shall meet or exceed the following specifications: 1) UPS system with sufficient battery capacity to keep the entire x-ray system running long enough for system to safely shut down during a power failure Option Line Item 0005: Quantity One (1) Extended Warranty for one additional year. Option Line Item 0006: Quantity One (1) Service/maintenance contract for one year. Acceptance Test 1. Thin film diffraction a. Instrument must obtain diffraction pattern from 20 nm thick annealed pBTTT-c14 film provided by NIST clearly showing 4 orders of the (H00) peak (2.1 nm spacing) in less than 30 minutes using a point detector. The Kiessig fringes around the (100) peak must be resolved. b. Must be able to resolve rocking curves on the (200) peak with 0.1 degrees or less FWHM without using a monochromator. c. Must be able to obtain in-plane diffraction pattern from 20 nm thick annealed pBTTT-c14 film provided by NIST clearly showing in-plane peaks, (010) with 0.37 nm spacing and (003) with 0.45 nm spacing. 2. Thin film reflectivity a. Must clearly resolve the fringes of the reflectivity pattern up to q = 1.5 1/nm of nominally 100 nm polystyrene film provided by NIST using either a configuration with the x-ray mirror and 2 bounce monochromator on the incident optics and no monochromator on the receiving optics; or only the x-ray mirror on incident optics with no monochromator on the receiving optics. 3. Thick film reflectivity (requirement if line item option 0002, triple axis, is purchased by NIST) a. Must clearly resolve the fringes of the reflectivity pattern up to q = 1 1/nm of nominally 1 micrometer thick polymer film provided by NIST using the triple axis configuration. NOTE: The following information is required at time of award: Contractor must provide facility hook up requirements (cooling water, power, etc...) and physical footprint of instrument (hutch, controller, chiller, UPS, computer, etc...) at time of award of contract. This will allow NIST to prepare for installation. ***The Contractor shall provide a minimum one (1) year warranty on all components including on-site repair. All required shipping of parts will be paid for by the vendor.*** ***Delivery shall be provided not later than 120 days after receipt of an order. Delivery shall be FOB Destination. FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The contractor shall deliver all line items to NIST, Building 301, Shipping and Receiving, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640. *** Award shall be made to the Contractor whose quote offers the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria: 1) Technical Capability factor "Meeting or Exceeding the Requirement", 2) Past Performance, and 3) Price. Technical capability and past performance, when combined, shall be approximately equal to price. If Technical Capability and Past Performance are equivalent, price shall be the determining factor. Technical Capability: Evaluation of Technical Capability shall be based on the information provided in the quotation. Quoters shall include example x-ray reflectivity along with conditions (generator current/voltage, step size, count time) from an x-ray system similar to the quoted system on films of comparable thickness to the acceptance tests to show the resolution, background and source intensity of the system. Quoters shall also include product literature which addresses all specifications & clearly documents that the product offered meets or exceeds the specifications identified herein. Past Performance Past Performance will be evaluated to determine the overall quality of the product & service provided and the Contractor's history of meeting delivery schedules for prior deliverables. Evaluation of Past Performance shall be based on the references provided and/or the quoters recent and relevant procurement history with NIST or its' affiliates. Offerors must provide a list of at least three (3) references to whom the same or similar equipment has been provided. Past Performance and Price shall not be evaluated on quotes that are determined technically unacceptable in accordance with the Technical Capability Evaluation factor. *** The full text of a FAR provision or clause may be accessed electronically at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html. *** *** The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items; 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. *** *** Offerors must complete annual representations and certifications on-line at http://orca.bpn.gov in accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offerors Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items. If paragraph (j) of the provision is applicable, a written submission is required. ***The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items including subparagraphs: (1) 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government, with Alternate I; (3) 52.219-4, Notice of Price Evaluation Preferences for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (if the offeror elects to waive the preference, it shall so indicate in it's offer); (7) 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns; (11) 52.219-23, Notice of Price Evaluation Adjustment for Small Disadvantaged Business Concerns (if the offeror elects to waive the preference, it shall so indicate in its' offer); (16) 52.222-3, Convict Labor; (17) 52.222-19 Child Labor - Cooperation With Authorities And Remedies; (18) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; (19) 52-222-26, Equal Opportunity; (20) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; (21) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; (22) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; (23) 52.222-39, Notification of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Feeds (Dec 2004) (E.O. 13201); (24) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (AUG 2007) (30) 52.225-5, Trade Agreements (NOV 2006); (31) 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases; (36) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Central Contractor Registration. 52.217-5, Evaluation of options 52.217-7, Option for increased quantity-separately priced line items The Government may require the delivery of the numbered line item, identified in the Schedule as an option item, in the quantity and at the price stated in the Schedule. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within [insert in the clause the period of time in which the Contracting Officer has to exercise the option]. Delivery of added items shall continue at the same rate that like items are called for under the contract, unless the parties otherwise agree. (End of Clause) Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm. *** This is an Open-Market Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation that will include the terms and conditions that are set forth herein. In order to facilitate the award process, ALL quotes shall include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows: The offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR The offeror shall state "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s) ***All quoters shall submit the following: 1) An original and one (1) copy of a quotation which addresses all of the above line items; 2) An original and one (1) copy of the technical description and/or product literature; 3) Description of commercial warranty; and 4) An original and one (1) copy of the most recent published price list(s), 5) Past performance references which must include the company/organizations name, contact person, phone number, and e-mail address, and 6) An original and one (1) copy of test data/conditions and product literature . ***All quotes shall be received not later than 3:00 PM local time, on April 21, 2008, 2008 at the National Institute of Standards & Technology, Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B125, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640, Attn: Andrea Parekh. Any questions or concerns regarding this solicitation should be forwarded in writing via e-mail to the Contract Specialist (Andrea G. Parekh) @ [email protected]. Because of heightened security, FED-EX, UPS, or similar delivery methods are the preferred method of delivery of quotes. If quotes are hand delivered, delivery shall be made on the actual due date through Gate A, and a 24-hour (excluding weekends and holidays) prior notice shall be made to the Contracts Office at 301-975-6984. NIST is not responsible for late delivery due to the added security measures. In addition, offerors/quoters who do not provide 24-hour notification in order to coordinate entrance to the NIST campus shall assume the risk of not being able to deliver offers/quotes on time. The Government is not responsible for the amount of time required to clear unannounced visitors, visitors without proper identification and without complete information that would allow delivery (i.e. point of contact, telephone POC, bldg., room number, etc.). If 24-hour notification was not provided, it is suggested your company representative or your courier service arrive at NIST at least 90 minutes prior to the closing time in order to process entry to the campus through the visitor center and complete delivery. Notice shall include the company name, name of the individual making the delivery, and the country of citizenship of the individual. For non-US citizens, the following additional information will be required: title, employer/sponsor, and address. Please ensure that the individual making the delivery brings photo identification, or they will be denied access to the facility. E-mailed quotes are acceptable. Faxed quotes will NOT be accepted. ***