High-Performance Field Emission SEM System

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is conducting market research to identify contractors capable of providing a high-performance, high resolution Schottky Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) system with low-vacuum capabilities. This system will support research efforts at the Coal Center of Excellence (COE) to characterize diverse carbon-based materials, map elemental compositions, and conduct structural analyses. All responses shall include a detailed description of how the proposed instrument meets the specifications described in this Sources Sought notice. This shall include equipment model numbers. The specifications of the FE-SEM system with low-vacuum capabilities are outlined in Attachment A to this Sources Sought.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE that is open to all companies and is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. This Sources Sought Notice is released pursuant to FAR Part 10 Market Research and is issued for the purpose of identifying available sources (interested entities) capable of performing the requirement. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and NO CONTRACT will be awarded from this announcement. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests. The information gathered from this Sources Sought Notice will be utilized in the Government's determination for the business type utilized in the RFQ.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to solicit input and gauge interest among those parties capable of providing an FE-SEM system with low-vacuum capabilities in accordance with the specifications outlined in Attachment A to this Source Sought.

DESCRIPTION: The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system and is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. This system will support research efforts at the Coal Center of Excellence (COE) to characterize diverse carbon-based materials, map elemental compositions, and conduct structural analyses. As part of this mission, NETL has a need for an FE-SEM system with low-vacuum capabilities.

The information being solicited includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. A cover page (no longer than one page) which provides the following information: The entities name, address, phone number, email address for the point of contact, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, CAGE code (if applicable), and business size. Specify the small business classification: small business, small-disadvantaged business, woman owned, veteran owned, disabled veteran owned, 8(a) or HUB Zone. The cover page should also include the country in which the furnace would be manufactured in.

2. A brief Statement of Capabilities detailing how your company meets the requirements outlined in Attachment A – Technical Specifications.


SUBMISSION DATE AND TIME:

All interested parties responding to this Sources Sought Notice must submit their responses no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on August 5, 2026 through the FedConnect Portal or to David.Lahey@netl.doe.gov. For consistency purposes, responses are to be submitted electronically in either MS Word (.doc or .docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format using a minimum of 11-point font and allowing for 1-inch margins no more than 20 pages in length, inclusive of the cover page. Sources Sought responses may be attached to a notification in the Message Center portion of FedConnect. Information regarding how to submit information via FedConnect can be found at https://www.fedconnect.net. DOE personnel may contact firms responding to this announcement to clarify a responder’s capabilities or obtain other information as part of this market research process.

Please note that FedConnect is owned and operated by Compusearch Software Systems, Inc., not by the Department of Energy and therefore the Government does not provide help desk assistance for FedConnect. For assistance with FedConnect, please contact the FedConnect helpdesk directly:
By email: support@FedConnect.net. By phone: 1-800-899-6665 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time, except Federal Holidays).

You are strongly encouraged to submit your Capability Statement in response to this Sources Sought Notice at least 24 hours before the specified due date in order to have time to resolve any transmission problems.

As previously indicated, this is NOT a solicitation; therefore, no cost or pricing information should be provided. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. This is a market survey to identify potential sources capable of performing the effort required. Responses should be limited to the entity’s cover page and capabilities statement (as identified above) along with their respective business size based upon the list provided. It is not mandatory for an offeror to respond to this Sources Sought Notice in order to be eligible for proposing on a subsequent RFQ when/if issued.