Source Sought Notice for CHIPS R&D Environmental Test Chamber

BACKGROUND

Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Division 305 at Engineering Laboratory, seeks information on commercial vendors that can provide an Environmental Test Chamber. The environmental test chamber will stress devices with repeated cycles of extreme hot and cold temperatures which will lead to structural and functional failures over time. The environmental chamber will add new capability to produce defects in semiconductor packaging devices that will be used for defect characterization and failure analysis. The system, in support of NISTs mission, will be used for metrology development, including image acquisition, processing and optimization. This instrument will be in Building 220 in Gaithersburg, MD, and managed by the Engineering Laboratory.

The CHIPS Metrology program develops and advances cutting edge metrology capabilities for members of the US semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.  This NIST conducted research program works with device manufacturers, tool vendors, materials suppliers, and other organizations to address critical metrology gaps to spur innovation within seven grand challenge areas.  For more information on CHIPS Metrology, please visit https://www.nist.gov/chips/research-development-programs/metrology-program.

General Description

As described above, the environmental test chamber will stress devices with repeated cycles of extreme hot and cold temperatures which will lead to structural and functional failures over time. By intensifying these stresses, the chamber can simulate years of wear and tear in just a few days or weeks, helping researchers to observe how materials, devices degrade (e.g., corrosion, cracking, or electrical shorts) under the extreme thermal stress.

1. General Requirement
   1. The seller shall provide evidence of experience of suppling, installing, and training on multiple DRIE systems of the same model being offered with similar requirements to those in the statement of work. Evidence of this criterion shall be demonstrated with appropriate documentation.
   2. The seller shall provide all new items. Prototypes, one-off systems, demonstration models, used or refurbished instruments will not be considered for award.
   3. The seller shall provide personnel that pass required government background checks to be issued badges for work on site.
   4. The seller shall provide a bid proposal which details all planned materials, consumables, travel, labor, equipment, and expenses.
   5. The seller shall supply the installation manual, utility requirements, and a diagram showing the tool footprint, measurements, and wall penetrations along with bid.
2. System Configuration
3. The system shall be a benchtop compact chamber.
4. The system shall have refrigeration system with air cooled condenser.
5. The system shall have heating and air delivery system.
6. The system shall have the interior walls, ceiling and floor constructed with 304 stainless steel and continuously welded seams throughout.
7. Chamber
8. The system shall be able to accommodate one 200 mm wafer.
9. The system shall have a cable port on the side of the chamber.
10. The system shall have a viewing window on the door with chamber light monitor.
11. operation
12. The system shall be able to cool to -68 °C or lower.
13. The system shall be able to heat to 180 °C or higher.
14. The system shall be able to thermal cycle between the lowest temperature and highest temperature.
15. The system shall be able to test samples with live load.
16. CONTROL SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE  
    1. The system shall include controller and controller software, power supplies, and all ancillary equipment required for the system to operate.
    2. The controller shall have a touch panel with standard Ethernet port.
    3. The controller shall be capable for data logging and graphical trend charting.
    4. The Controller software shall be able to support data acquisition, data logging, graphical trend chart, visual and audible notification, and email alert for test being run on the chamber.

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).

• Identify the equipment that your company sells that can meet the objectives addressed in the BACKGROUND section of this notice.  For each product recommended to meet the Government’s requirement, provide the following:

o Manufacturer name

o Model number

o technical specifications

o If your company is not the manufacturer, provide information on your company’s status as an authorized reseller of the product(s)

• Describe performance capabilities of the product(s) your company recommends to meet the Government’s requirements.  Additionally, if there are other features or functions that you believe would assist NIST in meeting its objectives described above, please discuss in your response.

o Discuss whether the equipment that your company sells and which you describe in your response to this notice may be customized to specifications and indicate any limits to customization.

• Identify any aspects of the NIST market research notice, including instructions, and draft minimum specifications in the BACKGROUND section you cannot meet and state why.  Please offer suggestions for how the market research notice and draft minimum specifications could be made more competitive.

• State whether the proposed equipment is manufactured in the United States and, if not, state the name of the country where the equipment is manufactured.

• Identify any plans/possibilities for changes in manufacturing location of the aforementioned equipment and provide relevant details, including timeline.

• For the NAICS code listed in this notice:

o 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.

o 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. 

• Describe services that are available with the purchase of the aforementioned equipment from your company such as installation, training, and equipment maintenance.

• Describe standard terms and conditions of sale offered by your company for the recommended equipment such as: delivery time after your company accepts the order; FOB shipping terms; manufacturer warranty (including details regarding nature and duration); if available, description(s) of available extended warranty; equipment setup and test; operator and service instruction manual(s); cleanup after installation; and if applicable, other offered services.  Provide a copy of manufacturer standard terms and conditions that typically relate to the sale of the specified equipment, if available.

• State whether your company offers facility renovation services related to installation of the recommended equipment at its delivery destination, if required per the NIST-identified minimum specifications, and provide description of said services.  Indicate if your company performs the facility renovation services or typically subcontracts the work to another company.  Indicate if your company would be interested in inspecting the intended installation site during the market research phase.

• State published price, discount, or rebate arrangements for recommended equipment and/or provide link to access company’s published prices for equipment and services. 

• If the recommended equipment and related services are available for purchase on any existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts against which NIST may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.

• Identify any customers in the public or private sectors to which you provided the recommended or similar equipment.  Include customer(s) information: company name, phone number, point of contact, email address.

• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for NIST to know as part of its market research for this requirement.

• State if you require NIST to provide additional information to improve your understanding of the government’s requirement and/or would like to meet with NIST representatives to discuss the requirement and the capabilities of the identified equipment.

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 5 days prior to the response date. 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

This notice is for market research purposes and should not be construed as a commitment by NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract.  There is no solicitation available at this time.

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

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

After a review of the responses received, a synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).

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