Vacuum Pumps and Controllers

Request for Information/ Sources Sought Notice for Providers/Suppliers of Vacuum Pumps and Controllers

Notice ID: NIST-FY26-CHIPS-11

Contract Opportunity Type

Sources Sought

Response Date:  December 1,2025

Product Service Code

   6640 – Laboratory Equipment and Supplies

NAICS Code

   334516 - Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing

BACKGROUND

We require vacuum pumps to provide clean, ultra-high vacuum conditions at pressures of 10-10 or lower for the series of beamline chambers. In addition to the pumps, we require appropriate pump controllers and interconnect cabling.

This notice is strictly to request information for market research purposes to help NIST determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for this requirement. This notice shall not be construed as a solicitation, an obligation, or commitment by the NIST.

OVERVIEW

These vacuum pumps will evacuate a synchrotron beamline to a pressure of 10-10 torr so that the extreme ultraviolet light being used in the measurements can be transmitted through the beamline to the measurement station at the end.

ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

NIST anticipates that it will require equipment that are similar to those in the draft SOW beginning on April 1, 2026, and intends to conduct a competitive acquisition.

INFORMATION REQUESTED FROM INDUSTRY SOURCES:

NIST invites industry sources to review this notice carefully and to familiarize themselves with the draft SOW.  Thereafter, NIST encourages those sources to submit the following:

• Company Summary:

1. Notice ID and its Title for this posting
2. Your company’s name, address, website address and Unique Entity Identifier.
3.  Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in sam.gov.
4. Company’s point of contact, their phone number, and their email address.
5. Your company’s size status as it relates to NAICS 333242 – Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing.  See table of business size standards at https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards for more information.

Standard Commercial Pricing: If your company has standard commercial pricing for its standard commercial products/services, please explain what it includes. You may also provide an estimate for the draft SOW requirements if you would like to do so. Do not include a proposal with specific pricing for the draft SOW; such information will not be considered. NIST will use commercial pricing information to help it estimate a fair market price for the upcoming acquisition. Please note this section does not count toward the page limit.

Existing Contract Vehicles: Indicate whether your company has a GSA Multiple Award Schedule contract or other federal contract under which NIST would be authorized to place an order., if so, provide a copy of that contract (including contract number, name and contact information for contracting officer, contract SOW, contract terms and conditions and contract prices).

The Government reserves the right to follow up on a one-on-one basis with respondents to request additional information or clarifications about information submitted.

THIS IS STRICTLY MARKET RESEARCH. NIST WILL NOT RESPOND TO QUESTIONS REGARDING THE RESULTS OF THIS MARKET RESEARCH. REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT BE PROVIDED

SUBMMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Interested parties shall submit responses to by the closing date of this notice to liz.timberlake@nist.gov and to tracy.retterer@nist.gov.

• Microsoft Word (or PDF) document, and 12-inch font.
• Submission shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Any cover page OR Standard Commercial Pricing Sections is not included in the total page count.
• Respondents are requested to state their capabilities and expertise in clear and concise language.
• Respondents are strongly encouraged to avoid use of excessive marketing and sales language

Cover Page

Respondents shall include the following Business information on the Cover Page:

1. Sources Sought Notice number, title, and date of issuance
2. Unique Entity ID
3. Company Name
4. Company Address
5. company website address,
6. Company Point of Contact, Phone, and Email address
7. Validation of business status under NAICS: 333242 -  Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing See table of business size standards at https://www.sba.gov/document/support-table-size-standards for more information.
8. Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in sam.gov.

This notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of NIST.

NIST does not intend to award a contract based on responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this notice, NIST may issue a Request for Quote (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP).

THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NIST shall arise because of a response to this notice or NIST’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation

Confidentiality

Do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in a response to this notice. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary information as it deems appropriate in establishing requirements for its upcoming acquisition.

DISCLAIMER

This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government 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. Information provided will be used to help NIST assess alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received and other market research, NIST may publish a solicitation on SAM.gov or on GSA ebuy, depending on the acquisition strategy chosen by NIST. NIST will not consider proposals submitted directly in response to this notice for award. Responses received after the closing date for this notice may not be considered for market research purposes.