Sources Sought for Scanning Acoustic Microscope

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR SOLICITATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). (b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of obtaining information to serve as a market survey to assist in the development of a procurement strategy. The Government seeks potential sources having experience in the development and production of C-mode scanning acoustic microscopes (C-SAM). The Government requests information on the potential source's knowledge, skill and experiences in the research, development, implementation and manufacture of leading edge state of the art scanning acoustic microscopes, particularly systems with the ability to image thin, multi-layer samples, such as stacked silicon dice. This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued pursuant to FAR 15.2. The US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) Redstone Arsenal, AL, on behalf of the US Army, desires to obtain information to serve as a market survey to aid in development and procurement strategy for acquisition of a C-mode scanning acoustic microscope. No award is intended as a result of this sources sought notice nor does the Government intend to pay for information received. Responses to this notice are not an offer and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. For questions regarding this RFI, please contact the Government contracting POC, Mr. Ronald McCall, via email at ronald.k.mccall.civ@mail.mil. The AMRDEC has requirements for performing failure analysis in silicon and nanotechnology systems for application in US Army missile and aviation systems. Central to these requirements is the ability to perform high resolution imaging of integrated devices. In order to facilitate higher integration densities, many manufacturers are going to stacked dice architectures where individual silicon dice are mounted directly to each other, with electrical interconnections between the devices. In order to maintain its mission, it is imperative that the government acquire the ability to image these inter-chip interconnects non-destructively. The Government seeks to identify companies that have capabilities in research, development, implementation, and manufacture of leading edge laboratory scanning acoustic microscopes and having the experience and facilities and capabilities to manufacture and commercialize these systems. The purpose of this RFI is to gather information about the research, development, and production capabilities of potential offerors in the areas of scanning acoustic microscopes. Specifically, offerors need to address the following system capabilities: (1) Measurement modes supported (A-Scan, B-Scan, C-Scan, Through-Scan, Reflection mode, Transmission mode, etc.); (2) Acoustic measurement resolution in each axis for each mode, as applicable; (3) Support for scanning stacked dice and other thin, multi-layer samples. This discussion should address thickness limitations, inter-layer resolution, system gain, operating frequencies, and the like; (4) Water ingress management; (5) Support for non-immersion imaging; (6) Ability to accommodate customized ultrasonic transducers with non-standard frequencies and variable focal lengths for a given f-number; (7) Area of measurement supported, including the support for image stitching, as applicable; (8) Supporting software, such as that for surface and volumetric (tomographic) reconstruction capability, and real-time display; (9) Overall system size (the desired system is intended for a laboratory R&D environment, not a manufacturing environment); and (10) Offeror's development and implementation history of similar state-of-the-art scanning acoustic microscopes. As previously stated, the purpose of this RFI is to gather information about the research, development, and production capabilities of potential offerors in the area of scanning acoustic microscopes. Responses: To assist in market research associated with the research, development, implementation and manufacture of scanning acoustic microscopes, the Government is requesting information from industry. Interested parties should submit the following information: (1) tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort; (2) any additional materials that are deemed appropriate by the respondent. The information provided shall not exceed 15 pages and no smaller than 12pt Times New Roman font. The objective of this process is to assess potential offerors capable of achieving the stated objectives. All questions must reference RFI number W31P4Q-17-R-0106 and be submitted in writing no later than 3:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST) on Tuesday, 18 April 2017 to the contractual point of contact Mr. Ronald McCall at ronald.k.mccall.civ@mail.mil; telephone requests for addition information will not be honored. Question submittals must also include: Company name, Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, and appropriate point of contact information. All RFI responses must be submitted to the contractual point of contact, Mr. Ronald McCall at ronald.k.mccall.civ@mail.mil. no later than 4:00 PM CST on Monday, 24 April 2017 . The Government requests that the respondents deliver one electronic copy in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. In addition to the information provided above, all responses to this RFI must include RFI number W31P4Q-17-R-0106, company or institution name, CAGE code, and point of contact information. NO FOREIGN PARTICIPATION IS AUTHORIZED. Acknowledgement of receipt will only be issued if a return receipt is requested with the submission. Please do not submit any classified information. All information submitted shall be adequately safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure in accordance with FAR Part 15.207. The Government reserves the right to request further clarification or request presentations to enhance the Government's understanding of the respondent's submittal. Submissions that fail to comply with the above instructions or present ideas that are not pertinent to the subject may not be reviewed. This is a request for information purposes only. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the US Army to procure products or services. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR OTHERWISE PAY FOR THE INFORMATION SOLICITED. No award is intended as a result of the RFI. Information submitted in response to this RFI is submitted at no cost to the Government and will not be returned. Any exchange of information shall be consistent with procurement integrity requirements, and all appropriate proprietary claims will be protected to prevent improper disclosure. In the event you have difficulty reading this RFI, please contact Mr. Ronald McCall at ronald.k.mccall.civ@mail.mil for a copy of this notice.