Chemical-Mechanical Polishing Tool (CMP)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division Sources Sought for Commercial Item Purchase THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. It is a market research tool being used to determine potential and eligible business firms that are capable of providing the services described herein prior to determining the method of acquisition. The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) seeks information on vendors that are capable of providing Chemical Mechanical Polishing Tool. This announcement is not a Request for Proposals (RFP) and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. No solicitation is available at this time. Additionally, The Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of this synopsis. The results of this Sources Sought will be utilized to determine if any Small Business Set-aside opportunities exist. All Small Business Set-aside categories will be considered. In addition, this market research tool is being used to identify potential and eligible firms, of all sizes, prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a solicitation. As a result of this Sources Sought announcement, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage that can fulfil the requirements, in accordance with the requirement descriptions and technical specifications indicated below, then this acquisition may be solicited as a small business set aside. However, NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, INCLUDING LARGE and small businesses (SB, SDB, WOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB and VOSB). This requirement is assigned a NAICS code of 334510. The specific purpose of this Sources Sought Announcement is to determine if there are small businesses, within the parameters identified above, that are capable of providing the services identified. Interested business organizations that believe they are capable of meeting the requirement should submit electronic copies or mailed copies of their capability statement. Please limit responses to five (5) pages or less. Responses should include the following information: 1. Name of company that will provide product. 2. Name of company that will manufacture the product. 3. Spec sheets and examples of products that meet the specifications. 4. Typical lead time to deliver the product after receipt of order. 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research. INTRODUCTION Requirement overview: BACKGROUND NIST's Quantum Sensors' Group )QSG) develops detectors based on superconductivity that operate at low temperatures, ranging from 50mK to 4K. Cooling these detectors use specialized cryogenic cooling systems. Although there are commercial off-the-shelf cooling systems, these are typical very large and consume too much power for our detector systems. NIST is presently undertaking a development effort to miniaturize these cooling systems. As part of this effort, NIST is developing a compact cryocooler capable of reaching 1.5K for cooling Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detectors. This cooler consists of staging two separate cooling systems- a pulse tube for reaching 10K and a JT cooler for reaching 1K. For the purposes of this procurement, NIST is developing the pulse tube coldhead using a commercial Pressure Wave Generator. PURPOSE: The Boulder MicroFab is in need of a Chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) tool to extend its capabilities to allow for reliable submicron Josephson junction fabrication, develop processes with more layers for complex circuits, and for improved values of maximum currents of superconducting wires in microcircuits. The tool needs to accommodate wafer sizes including 3, 4, and 6 inches in diameter, it needs to be compact in size and designed for R&D and process development in contrast to tools designed for production featuring complex mechanisms for automated loading of wafers. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: 1. Platen Section: Stainless Steel platen capable of receiving a carrier. Platen must rotate at speeds of up to 80 rpm with variable speed control. 2. Carrier Section: Carrier must be able to accept wafers from 76.5 mm (3 inch) to 150 mm (6 inch) with manual loading of wafers and size interchange fast and reliable for everyday users of the tool. There must be an adjustable force control up to 15 Kg force. The spindle containing the carrier must have a variable speed control of up to 80 rpm. 3. Conditioning: Must have the capability of varying the conditioning drive to speeds of up to 60 rpm. 4. Dimensions: Compact dimensions are preferred, table top capability or footprint less than 1.2 m2. 5. Control system: Must allow for control of basic operating parameters including polishing time, rotational speed, and carrier down force. 6. Slurry supply: One slurry pump is sufficient for the main purpose of polishing silicon oxide that will be given to this polisher. The use of a different slurry for research in new processes should be possible after proper rinsing of the pump and polisher. 7. DI water: Consumption must be a maximum of 10 L/min. Any proprietary information should be so marked. The written capability statement should be received by the Contract Specialist no later than 11:00 pm MST January 23, 2015. The capability statement shall identify the business status of the organization. Only electronic statements will be accepted. Faxes will not be accepted. Send to Contract Specialist Miguel Vasquez at Miguel.Vasquez@Nist.gov. Direct all questions to this e-mail no later than January 21, 2015 11:00AM MST.