Preventive Maintenance (PM) Service and Spare Parts Kit for Ion Beam Deposition Cluster Tool

INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified business sources. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. NIST is seeking 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 1000 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice. NOTE: This notice is strictly for obtaining Market Research. There will be no Question & Answer period under this Sources Sought Notice. BACKGROUND/PURPOSE The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors that are capable of providing Preventive Maintenance (PM) service and one Spare Parts Kit for an ion beam deposition cluster tool supporting nanofabrication in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), NIST's nanotechnology user facility. The cluster tool is located and used in the CNST NanoFab as a shared resource accessible to researchers from industry, academia, NIST, and other government agencies. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, and specifications are developed for the PM contract and Spare Parts Kit that can meet NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a small business set-aside. SCOPE NIST is seeking contractors who have the capabilities to provide precious metals meeting or exceeding the following specifications: 1. CLUSTER TOOL GENERAL DESCRIPTION a. The tool consists of two deposition chambers connected to a wafer transfer robot and two cassette modules, each capable of holding up to 25 wafers. Each chamber houses six sputtering targets, each 200 mm in diameter, two 14-cm ion beam guns, a wafer stage and ion neutralizers. The tool is equipped with Residual Gas Analyzers (RGA), throttle high vacuum valves, film thickness monitors, and various vacuum gauges. 2. PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE TASKS The vendor shall provide on-site service for the maintenance activities described below. Inspect and, if needed, replace the following. a. Wafer stage components: seals, O-rings, filters, chiller fluid. b. High vacuum valve gaskets c. Shielding d. Anode deposition source e. Hollow cathode neutralizer f. Plasma bridge neutralizers g. Ion gun grids h. RF generator domes 3. REFURBISHMENT TASKS The vendor shall refurbish and return to NIST all the parts having been replaced, for future use as spare parts. a. Grids, neutralizers, domes, shields etc. 4. SPARE PARTS KIT The vendor shall provide NIST with one kit of the following spare parts a. Grid assemblies b. Hollow cathode neutralizer c. Plasma bridge neutralizers d. Anode e. Domes f. Miscellaneous insulators, ceramics, filters, valves, etc. 5. Anticipated Period of Performance 5 Years - Base period with 4 option periods RESPONSE INFORMATION In order for a contractor to clearly convey their capability to fulfill the above-identified need, they MUST SUBMIT the following information. It is preferred that Capability Statements address each of the components in the order in which they are listed below. Please provide information regarding the following: 1. Companies that service high vacuum deposition tools with the desired capabilities must submit a detailed capability statement, addressing all of the specifications discussed above, in an organized format (preferably in the same order as listed above) that allows for a direct correlation to the requested information. 2. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such systems. 3. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research. Each response shall include the following Business Information: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the system components for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(ies) that are authorized to sell the system components, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail addresses of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses. 4. Business size for NAICS 334516 (1000 employees) and status, if qualified as an 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA), Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA), Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA), and/or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Contractor Information Pages). 5. DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number, and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.). Companies also must be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR, at www.ccr.gov) to be considered as potential sources. 6. Identification of the firm's GSA Schedule contract(s) by Schedule number and contract number and SINs that are applicable to this potential requirement are also requested. SUBMISSION INFORMATION Responses must be submitted no later than October 19th at 11:00AM, EST. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. GENERAL INFORMATION As previously stated, the Government will not entertain questions regarding this Market Research; however, general questions may be forwarded to the following: Contracts Specialist: January Magyar Email Address: January.Magyar@nist.gov Phone: 301-975-5442 Contracting Officer: Lynda Roark Email Address: Lynda.Roark@nist.gov Phone: 301-975-3725 "Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s)."