INVERTED OPTICAL MICROSCOPE FOR RAMAN NANOINDENTATION

DESCRIPTION: The National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) , Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) seeks vendors that are capable of providing a research grade, inverted optical microscope with excellent mechanical stability for integration into a custom instrument in which nanoindentation and Raman spectroscopy will be performed on transparent samples simultaneously. The requested items must be compatible with two existing Olympus microscopes objectives (PLAPOM60XOTIRFM and AP0100XOTIRFM (1.65NA) at NIST. THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS (FAR) SUBPART 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This procurement is being conducted under the Simplified Acquisition procedures pursuant to the authority in FAR Part 13 and FAR Part 12, Acquisition of Commercial Items (Title VII of the Federal Acquisition Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-355)). THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION, QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. THIS SOLICITATION IS BEING ISSUED USING SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). This solicitation document and incorporated clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-57. 1352.215-72 INQUIRIES (APR 2010) Offerors must submit all questions concerning this solicitation in writing to Cheryl Coxen at cheryl.coxen@nist.gov no later 6 calendar days after the issuance date of this solicitation. Any responses to questions will be made in writing, without identification of the questioner, and will be included in an amendment to the solicitation will govern performance of the contract. (End of Provision) The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 334516 with a small business size standard of 500 employees. This requirement is unrestricted and all interested Contractors may submit a quotation. **All interested offerors shall provide a Firm Fixed price quotation for the following line items 0001 through 0017**: Minimum Requirements: Line items 0001 through 0017 is a BRAND NAME or EQUAL requirement. Brand name or equal description is intended to be descriptive, but not restrictive and is to indicate the quality and characteristics of products that will be considered satisfactory to meet the agency's needs. The parts shall meet or exceed the following salient characteristics identified below. All items must be new. Used or remanufactured equipment will not be considered for Award. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: A microscope that is Brand Name or Equal to an Olympus IX-71 system with the following components (Olympus part numbers included for reference). 1) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. IX71S1F-3-5 or equivalent): 1 piece, IX71 microscope frame with 100:0 prism for left side camera port. $___________ 2) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. U-BI90CT-1-2 or equivalent): 1 piece, 1X Binocular Observation Tube with centering telescope for pupil plane imaging. $_________ 3) 2 ea: Olympus part no. WHN10X-1-3 or equivalent): 2 pieces, 10X eyepiece with FN:22. $____________ 4) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. IX2-RFA or equivalent): 1 piece, straight Fluorescence illuminator. $______________ 5) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. IX2-NPS or equivalent): 1 piece, Nosepiece stage insert for focus stabilization. $________________ 6) 1 ea: U-TV0.5XC-2-7; 1 piece, CCD camera adaptor,0.5X lens. $_________ 7) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. U-MF2 or equivalent): 1 piece, empty mirror cube for custom filter sets. $___________ 8) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. U-MBF3 or equivalent): 1 piece, brightfield mirror cube 9) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. U-LH100L-3-7 or equivalent): 1 piece 12V/100W halogen lamphouse 10) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. TH4-100-1-5 or equivalent): 1 piece, 12V/100W power supply for lamphouse. $____________ 11) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. UYCP-11 or equivalent): 1 piece, power supply power cord. $_____________ 12) 2 ea: (Olympus part no. JC12V100WHAL-L or equivalent): 2 pieces, 12V,100W halogen bulb. $______________ 13) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. U-CT30-2 or equivalent): 1 piece, long travel centering telescope. $_______________ 14) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. IX2-RFACB2-R or equivalent): 1 Piece, Laser port for beam entry on right side; must allow for injection of external collimated laser beam into microscope optical path directly below objective turret with no beam conditioning optics. User should be able to select illumination from the laser port or illumination from the IX2-RFA (item 3 above). $___________ 15) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. IX2-MFB-SP-R or equivalent): 1 piece, empty mirror cube for right facing laser port for use of custom filters. $__________ 16) 1 ea: (Olympus part no. ULWDMSPL50X or equivalent): 1 piece, MS Plan 50X ULWD Objective, Numerical Aperture of 0.55, Working distance of 8.10 mm. $_____________ 17) 1 ea: M-545.2MO*; 1 piece, Manual XY stage with 25 mm travel and micrometer screws (Physik Instrumente M-545.2MO or equivalent). Compatible with future upgrades to piezo stage (Physik Instrumente P-545 PINANO or equivalent). $_____________ TOTAL FIXED PRICE(Items 1-17): $________________ Pursuant to this application, the microscope must be 100% compatible with the Olympus objectives with part numbers PLAPOM60XOTIRFM and APO100XOTIRFM and yield optimal imaging characteristics with these objectives with respect to optical aberrations. Deviation from this compatibility would result in a reduced level of performance and performance from other lenses to those available with the requested microscope. Express Warranty (refer to FAR Clause 52.212-4 paragraph (o)): The contractor shall warrant the entire system for a period of one year after acceptance by the Government. All costs including parts, labor, travel, and other expenses necessary to repair the system will be borne solely by the contractor at no additional cost to the Government. Inspection and Acceptance: In accordance with FAR 52.212-4(a) all delivered items under this contract will be inspected to ensure they meet all the requirements set forth herein. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated on-site at NIST. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor's expense. Final Acceptance: NIST will provide payment in full upon successful completion of delivery and inspection and acceptance testing, and submission of a proper invoice from the Contractor. Payment terms shall be Net 30 Days. For acceptance, equipment must meet all minimum specifications. Delivery: Delivery shall be FOB DESTINATION, and be completed in accordance with the offeror's commercial schedule. FOB Destination means the Contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The offeror shall state the delivery schedule for all lines and deliver to: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 100 Bureau Drive, Bldg. 301, Shipping and Receiving, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1640. PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES: The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are hereby incorporated by reference. All FAR clauses may be viewed at http://acquisition.gov/comp/far/index.html. The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial; 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items. In accordance with FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, offerors must complete annual representations and certifications on-line at http://orca.bpn.gov. If paragraph (j) of the provision applies, a written submission is required; The following clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.211-6, Brand Name or Equal; 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items including subparagraphs: 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards; 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations; 52.222-3, Convict Labor; 52.222-19, Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; 52.223-18 Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messaging While Driving 52.225-1, Buy American Act - Supplies 52.225-13 Restriction on Certain Foreign Purchases (E.O. 12722, 12724, 13059, 13067, 13121, and 13129; and 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Central Contractor Registration. 52.247-34, FOB Destination Department of Commerce Agency-Level Protest Procedures Level above the Contracting Officer is also incorporated. It can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/agency.htm. 1352.201-70 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S AUTHORITY (APR 2010) The Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this contract, and, notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this contract, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price. (End of clause) 1352.209-73 COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAWS (APR 2010) The contractor shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations which deal with or relate to performance in accord with the terms of the contract. (End of clause) 3. NIST LOCAL_04 BILLING INSTRUCTIONS (a)The Contractor shall submit an original invoice or voucher in accordance with the payments provisions of this contract to: NIST Accounts Payable Office 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1621 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1621 FAX Number: 301-975-8283 Email: invoice@nist.gov (b)Each invoice or voucher submitted shall include the following: (1)Contract Number. (2)Contractor Name and Address. (3)Date of Invoice. (4)Invoice Number. (5)Amount of Invoice, and cumulative amount invoiced to-date. (6)Contract Line Item Number (CLIN). (7)Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of supplies/services delivered. (8)Prompt payment discount terms, if offered. (9)Any other information or documentation required by the contract. (END OF CLAUSE) (1) QUOTATION INSTRUCTIONS: Central Contractor Registration (CCR): In accordance with FAR Clause 52.204-7, the awardee must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration at www.ccr.gov prior to award. Refusal to register shall forfeit award. Due Date for Quotations: (1) Offerors shall submit their quotation electronically in MSWord or Adobe acrobat pdf format so that NIST receives them no later than 4:00pm, Eastern Time on March 23, 2012. FAXed quotations will not be accepted. Electronic versions of all quotes must be received at cheryl.coxen@nist.gov.; Telephone: 301-975-8838. Alternate Point of Contact: Ms. Andrea Parekh, andrea.parekh@nist.gov; Telephone: 301-975-6984. (2) Questions may be submitted to cheryl.coxen@nist.gov no later than six calendar days after issuing date of this solicitation. Telephone inquiries will not be honored. (3) It is the responsibility of the offeror to confirm and maintain receipt of quote, delivery date, and time and ensure delivery is on time. Quotation Preparation Instructions a) Overall Arrangement of Quotation The following information and documents are required for submission in response to this solicitation, in accordance with the guidelines outlined below. (b) Quotation Content: Each quotation shall consist of two (2) separate electronic files: (a) Price and (b) Technical. The contents of each shall be as follows: (1) PRICE QUOTATION: The offeror shall submit pricing for each item listed above in the solicitation. The offeror shall propose a firm fixed price for each item. Price quotations shall remain valid for a period of 90 days from the date quotations are due. (2) TECHNICAL QUOTATION: The offeror shall submit a Technical quotation (if the quotation is submitted electronically) that includes the following: a. Technical Capability: Offeror's Capability: The offeror shall submit a technical description or product literature for the equipment it is proposing, which clearly identifies the manufacturer, make and model. The offeror must demonstrate that its addresses all required salient characteristics, and clearly documents that the offered product(s) meet or exceeds the salient characteristics stated herein. If applicable, evidence that the Offeror is authorized by the original equipment manufacturer to provide the item(s) in the quotation shall be included. b. Warranty: The offeror shall describe the terms of its proposed warranty including, but not limited to, the length, method for coordinating and tracking warranty claims, and executing warranty calls. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions (Addendum to FAR 52.212-1(b)(11): This is an open-market solicitation for equipment as defined herein. The Government intends to award a Purchase Order as a result of this solicitation that will include the clauses set forth herein. The quotation shall include one of the following statements: "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition." OR "The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document with the exception, deletion, or addition of the following: Offeror shall list exception(s) and rationale for the exception(s). NOTE: This procurement is not being conducted under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) program or another Government Wide Area Contract (GWAC). If an offeror submits a quotation based upon an FSS or GWAC contract, the Government will accept the quoted price. However, the terms and conditions stated herein will be included in any resultant Purchase Order, not the terms and conditions of the offeror's FSS or GWAC contract, and the statement required above shall be included in the quotation. (2) QUOTATION EVALUATION: a. Evaluation Factors Award shall be made to the Lowest priced, Technically Acceptable offer. The Government will evaluate quotations based on the following evaluation criteria: 1) Technical Capability and 2) Price. 1.Technical Capability: No prototypes, demonstration models, used or refurbished instruments will be considered. Evaluation of technical capability shall be based on the information provided in the quotation. NIST will evaluate whether the offeror has demonstrated that its proposed equipment meets or exceeds all minimum requirements. Quotations that do not demonstrate the proposed equipment meets all the requirements will not be considered further for award. If an offeror does not indicate whether its proposed equipment meets a certain minimum requirement, NIST will determine that it does not. Technical capability must meet or exceed Price: The Government will evaluate whether the quoted price is fair and reasonable in relation to the solicitation requirements and consistent with the offeror's proposed technical approach. Prices shall not be evaluated on quotes that are determined technically unacceptable under the Technical Capability evaluation factor.