SOURCES SOUGHT
66 -- RECOVERY - SUBMICROMETER NEUTRON IMAGING INSTRUMENT
- Notice Date
- 11/24/2009
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 334516
— Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B129, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899-1640
- ZIP Code
- 20899-1640
- Solicitation Number
- AMD-10-SS05
- Archive Date
- 12/30/2009
- Point of Contact
- Eduardo F. Baca, Phone: 3019756388, Todd D Hill, Phone: 301-975-8802
- E-Mail Address
-
eduardo.baca@nist.gov, todd.hill@nist.gov
(eduardo.baca@nist.gov, todd.hill@nist.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- RECOVERY - THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS; A FULLY DEVELOPED TECHNICAL AND PRICE QUOTATION IS NEITHER NECESSARY NOR DESIRED. INFORMATION RECEIVED WILL BE USED FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. All responsible sources are encouraged to respond to this notice; however, sources that do not respond shall not be precluded from responding to any subsequent solicitation. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), seeks detailed written responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334516, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification in any response to this notice. Only manufacturers of new equipment need respond. Responses from responsible sources should clearly establish capability of providing Submicrometer Neutron Imaging Instruments (SNIIs). After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and specifications are developed for an SNII that can meet NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order utilizing FAR Subpart 13.5 to vendor that best demonstrates that it is capable of meeting or exceeding NIST SNII requirements. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that result will be conducted as a small business set-aside. This contemplated procurement is anticipated to utilize American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding if it is determined that responsible sources can satisfy the requirement. NIST has a need for an SNII that would meet the following general system requirements: The SNII should resolve elemental or isotopic features (density or composition) within a sample for a planar view using thermal and cold neutron radiation provided at the NCNR. The resolution in the planar view shall be 1 micrometer or less for 1 or more dimensions. The detection efficiency for neutrons striking the detector and processed by the entire system should exceed 45% efficiency for a thermal or lower energy spectrum. The system should be complete, including all necessary electronics and software necessary to collect data from the imaging device by neutron counting, then record and display the results in near real time at neutron flux rates in excess of 1E+06 n/s/cm2. The neutron sensitive element should be changeable in the detector to adjust the field of view and resolution parameters. The device will allow simultaneous neutron image collection over a field of view with the dimensions of several micrometers by a few centimeters in area. In addition, the device should have the ability to systematically move the sample in a way that larger views can be obtained by mosaic assembly in the software. The system should have the means to hold and unambiguously align the sample with the neutron imaging element(s). The system should accommodate significant variations in sample types and dimensions, e.g. few biological cells to hydrogen fuel assemblies. Therefore the preferred system will have the ability to cool, evacuate, heat, etc. the sample during the analysis. The technical functions of the SNII to be evaluated include: a. Spatial resolution of resultant image to meet or exceed 1 micrometer linear resolution in 1 or more spatial dimensions and at least 30 micrometers in the second dimension. b. Field of View: 1.5 micrometers by 1 centimeter or greater c. Detector efficiency (for thermal neutron equivalent): 75% neutron conversion and 25% of the conversion events recorded or better. d. Exchangeable converters: The system should have the option to replace and exchange neutron converters of different compositions and dimensions (fields of view). e. Gamma sensitivity: The instrument will normally operate in a neutron beam that has gamma and x-ray radiation traveling with the neutrons. Consequently the device should be x-ray and gamma ray tolerant when operated in a typical neutron beam. f. Vibration: The device should be tolerant to vibrations from sources within the instrument and reasonable ambient vibrations at the NCNR site such that the resolution is not degraded below specifications during operation. g. Sample positioning; ability to move sample in x-y plane such that a sequential series of radiographs from a single sample can be joined to form a larger contiguous image of the sample. h. If imaging is accomplished by event counting then coordinates of spatial (X, Y), and time (T) shall be recorded to an electronic file for each event. Requested Information to be Included in Responses to this Notice: 1. Please indicate whether your company manufactures or is an authorized reseller/business partner for a neutron imaging instruments (NII) of any kind and, if so, please provide complete commercial specifications for the NII that your company manufactures or sells, including the name of the company that manufactures the NII, where it is manufactured, and detailed functional and performance specifications that the product meets. 2. If your organization is an original equipment manufacturer of SNII's, then please provide the name of company(ies) that are authorized by your organization, as the OEM, to sell your organization's SNII, as well as their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Indicate the number of days, after acceptance of order, which is typical for delivery of SNII to the intended delivery location. 4. Please provide a complete copy of standard terms and conditions for the SNII that your organization manufactures or sells, to include, at a minimum: base warranty, available extended warranty (if offered), copy of software license(s) (if applicable), and customary payment terms. 5. Describe available training that can be purchased or may be included with the purchase of the SNII. 6. Describe customary documentation that is provided with the purchase of the SNII or previous model NII. 7. Describe optional items that are available for purchase for the SNII, such as consumables, spares, tools, additional components, ancillary equipment, software licenses, telephone support, etc. 8. If any of the above-referenced NIST SNII specifications appear to be unduly restrictive, then please indicate which specification you believe is unduly restrictive and indicate how you believe it could be more competitively worded such that it can be met by more than one SNII manufacturer and still meet the definition of commercial item at FAR 2.101. 9. Indicate whether modifications of the SNII manufactured or sold by your organization would be necessary to meet Government specifications listed in this notice and, if so, indicate whether those modifications be considered minor modifications as described in the FAR Subpart 2.101 definition of commercial item. 10. Indicate the number of persons currently employed by your company, including parent organization and all subsidiaries (if applicable). 11. Indicate whether the SNII referenced in the response is currently available for ordering from one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts and, if so, provide the GSA FSS contract number(s). 12. Provide any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research. Responses to this notice shall be sent by email to Eduardo F. Baca, Support Contractor, at eduardo.baca@nist.gov, with cc: to Todd Hill at todd.hill@nist.gov, so that it is received at that email address no later than December 10, 2009. The responses should include all 12 requests for information listed above. Contracting Office Address: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-1640 Primary Point of Contact: Eduardo Baca Support Contractor Senior Acquisition Specialist eduardo.baca@nist.gov Phone: 301-975-6388 Secondary Point of Contact: Todd Hill, Contracting Officer todd.hill@nist.gov Phone: 301-975-8802
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