X-ray Diffractometer

This is a sources sought notice. The purpose of this notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government’s anticipated needs.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a Small Business Size Standard of 1,000 employees. This notice does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ), Invitation for Bids (IFB), or any commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract. NIST will not pay for any information submitted in response to this notice. Submission of information is voluntary and will not result in any obligation on the part of the Government. NIST has not yet determined its acquisition strategy for this requirement and encourages interested sources to respond to this Notice.

NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME

Requests for solicitation documents will not receive a response. Respondents shall clearly mark any proprietary or restricted information. In the absence of such markings, NIST will assume unlimited rights to all technical data submitted.

BACKGROUND

The Chemical Sciences Division is involved in a project seeking to deliver a testbed for heterogeneous catalysts based on emerging X-ray characterization methods as a key component of a current NIST Innovations in Measurement Science (IMS) project. IMS projects are competitively chosen for their potential for high impact on a scientific, engineering, and/or technological challenge that benefits society.  They impact stakeholders at NIST, industry, commercial labs, other federal agencies, or academia. The results promise to transform existing scientific, engineering, and/or technological knowledge to enable future capabilities for NIST and significantly advance NIST’s mission.

In support of these efforts, an X-ray diffractometer is needed to verify the structure of catalysts and other materials being catalogued prior to simulation and reporting, provide complementary data on catalysts at industrially-relevant reaction conditions, and provide a key reference point relating data from NIST’s testbed to conventional techniques applied to catalysts at internal and external facilities. In short, the diffraction capabilities play a key role in validating and benchmarking the capabilities under development as well as standardizing the data collected.

DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT

The Contractor shall provide one (1) X-ray diffractometer system that meets the following minimum technical requirements.  The X-ray diffractometer shall be capable of powder analysis in reflection or transmission mode, as well as grazing incidence and X-ray reflectivity measurements of thin films.  The X-ray diffractometer shall also include a detector with sufficient energy resolution for suppressing fluorescence from transition metals as described below.  Hardware and software shall also be provided to operate the X-ray diffractometer system.  The Contractor shall deliver and install the instrument, demonstrate performance characteristics meeting requirements, and provide training.

Performance Requirements:

1. Source:
   1. The diffractometer shall employ an X-ray tube source with, at minimum, 600 W of operational power with an accelerating potential of 40 kV.
   2. The X-ray tube source shall use a copper anode.
   3. The X-ray tube source shall be cooled with an internal chiller and not require external water circulation.
   4. The X-ray tube shall possess a line focus with the short dimension less than 0.05 mm and the long dimension greater than 10 mm.
2. Optical elements:
   1. The diffractometer shall employ a variable divergence slit by the source which can automate slit size selection.  This variable slit size shall be paired with automated routines to maintain a constant spot size on the sample across wide angle scans and automatically adjust at lower angle techniques like X-ray reflectivity.
   2. The diffractometer shall come equipped with axial Soller slits on the source side of 4° or less as well as axial Soller slits on the detector side for diffraction scans or equatorial Soller slits on the detector side for X-ray reflectivity measurements.
   3. The diffractometer shall incorporate anti-scatter screens of a few millimeters of opening.
   4. A Ni filter of appropriate thicknesses shall be provided to suppress Cu Kβ emission.
   5. Multiple absorbers, such as Cu films which can be stacked in 0.1 mm increments, shall be provided to suppress direct beam transmission during X-ray reflectivity measurements.
   6. Fixed size slits shall also be provided on the detector side to accommodate X-ray reflectivity measurements.
3. Detector
   1. At room temperature the detector shall possess energy resolution, based on full width half maximum at the Cu Kα emission energy, better than 400 eV for fluorescence rejection.
   2. The detector shall be at least a 1D detector with a spatial resolution of 75 micron as dictated by the pitch of, e.g., a silicon strip detector.
   3. The active window of the detector shall be at least 12.5 mm by 12.5 mm with sensor depths of at least 450 microns.
   4. The maximum global count rate of the detector shall exceed 100,000,000 counts per second.
   5. The quantum efficiency of the detector, at Cu Kα, shall exceed 98%.
4. Stages:
   1. X-ray diffractometer shall be capable of accommodating different experimental stages through the use of user-changeable stages.
   2. A powder diffraction stage shall be provided alongside compatible PMMA sample holders that are approximately 25 mm wide and 8 mm deep.  This stage shall be capable of rotating the sample in phi up to at least 20 revolutions per minute.
   3. A stage shall also be provided for the grazing incidence and X-ray reflectivity measurements.  This stage shall be capable of several millimeters of travel in the vertical direction as well as sample spinning and rotation in phi and omega.
   4. A stage shall also be provided for static measurements not requiring spinning.  This stage shall be approximately 2 inches in width with screw holes to accommodate the placement of custom non-ambient cells.  This stage should be shaped as an L-bracket with sufficient tolerances to be self-centered on the goniometer.
5. General configuration requirements:
   1. The diffractometer shall be capable of scanning from a 2θ angle below 0° to greater than 150°.
   2. The minimum step size and alignment accuracy in 2θ shall be less than 0.01°.
   3. The sample shall be capable of a few millimeters of travel in the vertical and be capable of a step size of a few microns to accommodate consistent alignment during diffraction and reflectivity measurements.
   4. The source and detector shall scan symmetrically about the sample as dictated by a goniometer.  The radial distance from source to sample (and sample to source) shall be at least 150 mm.
   5. Necessary materials for alignment, such as fluorescent screens or corundum references shall be provided.
   6. During grazing incidence measurements, the source and detector shall both continue to scan through respective angles while the sample stage rotates to maintain its angle with respect to the source.  This requires a stage for rotating omega spanning at least the same angle range as the diffraction angle range.
6. Radiation safety enclosure
   1. The diffractomer shall be enclosed in an interlocked radiation safety container.
   2. The radiation safety enclosure shall have an emergency off switch and lighting to indicate when the X-rays are in use.
   3. The enclosure shall possess a window which can be used to view the sample during operation, but not permit the transmission of X-rays.
   4. The enclosure shall also include a labryinth that can be used for routing, e.g., stainless steel tubing for gas delivery, cables for thermocouples and heating devices, and/or cables to connect to a potentiostat.
7. Desktop PC to control X-ray diffractometer.
   1. Shall include Windows 11 with trusted execution technology.
   2. Shall include the necessary software to operate the diffractometer.
   3. Shall include the necessary software to analyze data collected using the diffractometer.  Software shall include:
      1. Tools for identification of powders based on peak searches and full diffraction profiles with statistical methods to rank identified patterns, this includes search tools compatible with International Centre for Diffraction Data and Crystallography Open Database libraries.
      2. Processing tools for background subtraction and Kα2 stripping with corrections for sample displacements.
      3. Methods for crystallite size determination and stress analysis.
      4. Quantitative analysis based on the reference intensity ratio method.
   4. Communication with the diffractometer shall be achievable via USB and LAN.
   5. Shall include monitor, mouse, and keyboard.
8. General Requirements:
   1. The instrument shall be a brand new non-refurbished unit.  The unit shall not be a discontinued product, rather it must be currently sold and supported by its manufacturer.
   2. Any instrumentation requiring power must operate at a voltage compatible with USA standards.
   3. Instrumentation shall be compatible with operation between 15 °C and 35 °C.

RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS
To help NIST with its market research, NIST is requesting that industry sources carefully review this notice and any attachments to it and voluntarily provide the following information: 

1. Company Summary

• Notice Identification: Notice ID and Title of this posting.
• Corporate Details: Company name, physical address, website address, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).
• Point of Contact (POC): Name, phone number, and email address.
• Company Size Standard: Your company’s size status relative to the NAICS code provided in this Notice. (Refer to the SBA Table of Small Business Size Standards).
• System for Award Management (SAM) Registration: Indicate whether your company has an active registration for procurement purposes in SAM.gov.

2. Feedback for Draft Requirements

• Review the potential requirements/minimum specifications included with this Notice. Then, please provide suggestions to (a) improve clarity of it; (b) to make it more competitive; (c) to indicate whether there anything in it that may inadvertently exclude domestic involvement; and (d) to indicate how the requirements could potentially be revised to improve the ability for domestic (“Made in America”) end products to be considered.

3. Information Regarding Your Company’s Products and Services

• Provide specifications, company name of the original equipment manufacturer, and the country of manufacture for products and services that your company is legally authorized to sell and that may meet NIST’s minimum requirements.
• • Indicate whether, in your opinion, the product(s) meet the definition of (a) commercial product or (b) commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item or COTS item as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2 and, if so, which definition applies ((a) or (b)).
• • Indicate whether, in your opinion, the service(s) meet the definition of commercial service as described at https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide/far-overhaul-part-2.
• Standard Commercial Pricing: Provide your company’s standard commercial pricing information for the identified products and services and explain what is included in those standard prices.
• Estimated Price Range: You may provide an estimated price or price range for the requirements, including a brief explanation of how the price estimate was developed.
• Standard Commercial Terms and Conditions: Provide a copy of the standard commercial terms and conditions for the commercial products and commercial services identified in the response to this notice, including nature and duration of standard commercial warranty.

4. Regulatory and Supply Chain Compliance

• Indicate whether your company could comply with FAR Clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (OCT 2022) if this acquisition were to be set aside for small businesses. Provide a brief supporting explanation.

5. Existing Governmentwide Contract Vehicles

• Indicate whether your company has its own GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract or other federal contract vehicles under which NIST could award an order and, if so, provide the contract details (contract number, Contracting Officer name/contact, SOW, terms and conditions, and price lists).

We truly appreciate your company’s willingness to provide the above-mentioned information which NIST will be valuable in helping NIST complete its market research.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future.  All responses to this notice must be submitted via email to Sadaf.Afkhami@nist.gov, no later than 10:00 AM EST on August 7, 2026.

Format: Microsoft Word or PDF
Page Limit: 12 pages maximum
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IMPORTANT NOTES

This Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay respondents to this notice for information provided in response to this Notice. Following a review of the responses and market research, NIST may publish a solicitation on an authorized site, depending on the chosen acquisition strategy. Responses received after the closing date for this Notice may not be considered.

The Government reserves the right to use information that it receives in response to this Notice as it deems appropriate to establish final requirements or for other legally appropriate purposes.

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 capability.

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 synopsis and solicitation may be published on GSA’s eBuy or SAM.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered an adequate response to any such solicitation(s).