Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively CHIPS XAFS and Diffraction, Silicon Drift Detector

Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively Acquire two new detectors at NIST’s Beamline for Materials Measurement. One is a strip detector for high-resolution X-ray Diffraction. The other is a large-area, photo-counting X-ray detector. This project involves an existing NIST Synchrotron beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II).

It’s purpose is to improve the X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) measurement capabilities for state of the art semiconductor samples working directly with Contractor researchers stationed at NIST’s Beamline for Materials Measurement (BMM) and other researchers studying materials for information technology.

The proposed detector enhancement will substantially increase sample throughput and measurement sensitivity, driving the ability to probe semiconductor device interfaces, a broader set of element/matrix combinations, and nanoscale structures in device stacks. These enhanced capabilities will become broadly available to the US Semiconductor Industry by allocation of beam time at the BMM via NIST’s Partner User Agreement with NSLS-II (DOE).

This broad and rapid accessibility of the new x-ray beamline metrology will directly enhance innovation and competitiveness in the US Semiconductor Industry. This notice is not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested. This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b) via FAR 13.501. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334413 Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requires a contractor to provide two new detectors at NIST’s Beamline for Materials Measurement. One is a strip detector for high-resolution X-ray Diffraction. The other is a large-area, photo-counting X-ray detector. The required detectors must meet the following unique specifications:

(1) Photon-counting pixel detectors with high sensitivity and low noise compared to scintillator-based detectors. The High-resolution strip detector shall have a single pixel point-spread function and with single photon counting with count rate exceeding 105 photons/sec/pixel. The Large-area, photon-counting X-ray detector shall have a single pixel point-spread function with single photon counting with count rate exceeding 106 photons/sec/pixel.

(2) The detectors energy discrimination in the form of detection thresholds. The High-resolution strip detector shall have a 4.5 keV to 40 keV threshold range. The Large-area, photon-counting X-ray detector shall have a threshold range 3.5 keV to 30 keV with at least 2 threshold settings. These ranges are required to further reduce measurement noise by rejecting photons outside the energy band of the measurement.

NIST conducted market research from August 2023 to May 2024 by internet searches, GSA Advantage searches, company website searches, discussions with sources, and sources sought posting. Sources sought NIST-SS24-CHIPS-0046 was posted from April 19, 2024 to May 3, 2024 with no responses. The results of that market research revealed that only Dectris AG; Taefernweg 1, Daettwil Ag, 5405, Switzerland;

UEI: YV8TDJ73G3L9 appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements. However, any sources that believe they are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements are encouraged to respond to this notice by the response date to provide the following information at a minimum: Company Unique Entity Identifier number in https://sam.gov; details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements; whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement may be competitively satisfied.