Spectrometer(s) for High-Resolution X-Ray Emission Spectrometry and X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking contractors capable of providing spectrometer(s) for High-Resolution X-Ray Emission Spectrometry and X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure. This announcement is not a Request for Proposals or Quotes (RFP/RFQ) and does not commit the Government to award a contract now or in the future. The information contained in this notice is a DRAFT only and, as such, is subject to change prior to issuance of a solicitation. No solicitation is available at this time. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed, NIST may conduct a competitive or non-competitive procurement and subsequently award a contract. If at least two qualified small business sources are identified during this market research stage, this acquisition may be solicited as a small business set aside. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses (SB, SDB, WOSB, HUB Zone, SDVOSB and VOSB). This requirement is assigned a NAICS code of 334516 with a Small Business Size Standard of 1,000 employees. Interested business organizations that believe they may be capable of meeting NIST's requirements detailed below should respond to this notice with a narrative demonstrating their ability to meet NIST's requirements. Contractors may provide supplemental information at their discretion. Responses should be submitted to Grace.Parker@nist.gov no later than 10:00 AM Eastern Time on 12/18/2017. DRAFT REQUIREMENTS: A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The NIST Chemical Sciences Division develops test methods and reference materials in support of the U.S. Measurement System. The Division is responsible for establishing traceability of measured values to the International System of Units in the area of chemical metrology. The Division requires capabilities for high-resolution X-ray emission and fluorescence spectrometry and for X-ray absorption fine structure measurement in a normal laboratory setting in Gaithersburg, MD. X-ray emission Spectrometry (XES) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) are tools for determination of the oxidation states of elements in materials and for determination of the atomic bonding spatial arrangements in materials. The Division intends to use these capabilities to study chemical processes and to characterize reference materials for chemical properties. One example application is the determination of the amount of hexavalent chromium atoms in polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This information is required to demonstrate regulatory compliance of products made with PVC. Numerous additional applications are planned. Establishment of these X-ray spectrometric capabilities in laboratories in Gaithersburg will facilitate experimental design and preparation for conducting more powerful experiments at synchrotron facilities maintained and used by NIST. The synergy between lab-based and synchrotron-based measurement capabilities will enable more efficient use of the synchrotron facilities, including travel resources, and will enable NIST Gaithersburg scientists to design and conduct measurements for process monitoring and control. B. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROCUREMENT The NIST Chemical Sciences Division requires one or more spectrometers for high-resolution X ray emission spectrometry (XES) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectrometry. The spectrometers shall be laboratory-based design(s), as exemplified by the designs of Seidler, et al. (1). The system(s) shall be composed of a spectrometer, sample positioning equipment, computer for control and data acquisition, water chiller (depending on the X-ray source design), and other ancillary equipment and accessories. The system(s) shall perform unattended, automated, X-ray measurements with high resolution, sensitivity, and precision, and accuracy of energy calibration. The system(s) shall be capable of high-resolution measurements of X ray fluorescence and absorption spectra across the X-ray energy range of 2 keV to 13 keV, using spherically bent crystals and high-sensitivity X-ray detector(s) in a wavelength dispersive design. An energy dispersive design providing the required performance would also be of interest. The required X-ray energy resolution is of the order of 1 eV to 3 eV, depending on the line or absorption edge being measured. The spectrometers shall be configurable for both fluorescence mode and transmission mode measurements. The computer(s) used to control measurements shall be capable of running state-of-the-art software for evaluation of the measured data, as exemplified by the Athena software (2). (1) Seidler, G.T.; Mortensen, D.R.; Ditter, A.S.; Ball, N.A.; Remesnik, A.J.; A Modern Laboratory XAFS Cookbook; J. Physics: Conference Series 712, (2016) 012015; doi:10.1088/1742-6596/712/1/012015 (2) Ravel, B.; and Newville, M.; Athena, Artemis, Hephaestus: data analysis for X-ray absorption spectroscopy using IFEFFIT, J. Synch. Rad. 12, 537-541 (2005); doi:10.1107/S0909049505012719