Notice of Intent: Relocation of a Thermo Fisher Scientific Scios 2 FIB-SEM

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

Contracting Opportunities Announcement Type: Special Notice
Announcement Number: NIST-NOI-26-02512

Subject: Relocation of a Thermo Fisher Scientific Scios 2 FIB-SEM

Introduction
This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued, and quotations will not be requested.

Purpose
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate a firm-fixed-price purchase order on a sole-source basis with FEI Company, a Thermo Fisher Scientific subsidiary, located in Hillsboro, Oregon. The purpose of this acquisition is to decommission, relocate, reinstall, and return to operational condition a NIST-owned Thermo Fisher Scientific Scios 2 Focused Ion Beam–Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB-SEM) at the NIST Gaithersburg, Maryland campus. The system will continue to support research activities within NIST’s Material Measurement Laboratory (MML).

Authority
This acquisition is being conducted using the procedures at FAR Part 12 – Acquisition of Commercial Products and Commercial Services. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 334516 –Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing, with a small business size standard of 1000 Employees.

Description
The Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducts research and measurement science activities in support of NIST’s mission to advance measurement capabilities, promote innovation, and support U.S. industry. As part of these efforts, MML conducts materials characterization and analysis using advanced microscopy and related instrumentation to investigate the structure, composition, and properties of materials at microscopic and nanoscale dimensions.

Among the specialized instrumentation utilized by MML are dual-beam focused ion beam scanning electron (FIB-SEM) microscopes. These systems integrate focused ion beam milling and scanning electron microscopy capabilities within a single platform, enabling researchers to perform advanced materials characterization and related analytical activities. The equipment represents a significant scientific asset supporting ongoing and planned NIST research programs.

MML currently operates a Thermo Fisher Scientific Scios 2 FIB-SEM within an existing NIST facility. Due to changing programmatic and space-utilization requirements, NIST has determined that the instrument must be relocated from its current room to another room on the same floor within the existing building. The relocation is necessary to accommodate evolving programmatic needs and optimize the use of the laboratory space while maintaining the instrument’s availability for continued research and measurement activities.

Because the Scios 2 is a highly specialized and precision scientific instrument, its relocation requires appropriate planning, handling, transportation, positioning, installation, and verification to minimize the risk of damage to the equipment and ensure that it remains operational following the move. The work must account for the instrument’s specialized configuration and the requirements of the existing laboratory environment.

Accordingly, NIST requires the services of a qualified contractor with the necessary technical expertise, equipment, personnel, and experience to safely relocate the existing Thermo Fisher Scientific Scios 2 FIB-SEM from its current location to the designated room on the same floor and return the system to an operational condition. The relocation shall be performed in accordance with the requirements specified in this document and coordinated with designated NIST personnel to minimize disruption to ongoing laboratory operations.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide the following:

CLIN 0001: Move of Scios 2 FIB-SEM

Description: Contractor shall de-install the Scios 2, move it to another laboratory on the same floor of the current building, and then re-install the Scios 2, and verify that it meets the factory specifications of performance.

Quantity:  one (1)

The MCP gate shall:

•           Employ a nanosecond high-voltage pulse to gate the MCP detector in our CAMECA LEAP 4000 X-Si.

•           The MCP gate will decrease the voltage on the MCPs by a sufficient amount that the MCPs are not saturated. In this way, it is possible to maintain a high sensitivity, even near very intense bunches, which are “gated off” and would otherwise saturate our detector.

•           The gate pulse should be applied such that it does not affect the electric fields inside the flight tube of the TOF mass spectrometer.

•           Enable the detector to act as a fast shutter to ignore specific signals in a defined TOF window relative to the trigger pulse (t0).

•           Allow fast switching of MCP amplification, thus allowing NIST to choose to ignore signals that arrive in a specific time window following the trigger signal in the TOF mass spectrometry measurement required for performing atom probe tomography.

•           Accommodate pulse frequency rates from 100 kHz to 200 kHz.

Technical Specifications:

A.        MCP Gate Hardware:  The MCP gate shall include hardware that meets the following requirements:

•           The MCP gate module upgrade shall be installed on an existing CAMECA LEAP 4000 X-Si instrument (S/N 5020) at NIST Boulder Laboratories.

•           The MCP gate module upgrade shall include any necessary hardware including high voltage supply, timing electronics, cables, etc.  NIST will supply a trigger puylse from a mode-locked laser and will supply a digital delay generator for moving the gated time window.

•           The MCP gate module upgrade shall allow for gating our TOF mass spectrometry signal to ignore specific timing events of NIST choosing (e.g. events caused from scattering of electrons or ions in the vacuum chamber of the APT microscope).

B.        MCP Gate LEAP Integration

•           Control and operation of the MCP gate shall be fully integrated into the existing CAMECA LEAP 4000 X-Si instrument and controlled through a digital delay generator (supplied by NIST). 

C.        Warranty and Service

•           One (1) year warranty (to cover parts, labor, and travel) shall be included with the MCP gate module. The warranty shall cover the entire system and include on-site, telephone, and e-mail support.  All costs including parts, labor, travel, and other expenses necessary to repair the system (including all Contractor supplied hardware) shall be borne solely by the contractor at no additional cost to the U.S. Government as long as the existing factory warranty for the LEAP microscope is in place and active.  Warranty start date is the date of site acceptance.

D.        Delivery

•           Upon successful factory testing, the contractor shall be responsible for delivering the MCP gate module to its final location in a NIST-designated laboratory. 

•           The contractor shall schedule all visits to NIST with the COR at least 1 week before arriving at the site.

E.         Contractor Supplied Materials

•           The contractor shall supply all parts, hardware, equipment, and labor required to perform the tasks listed.

Sole Source Determination
The requirement is considered sole source because the equipment is an existing Thermo Fisher Scientific Scios 2 FIB-SEM that is maintained under a factory service agreement, and the required relocation involves specialized decommissioning, handling, reinstallation, and performance verification procedures specific to the manufacturer's equipment.

Thermo Fisher Scientific possesses the proprietary technical knowledge, manufacturer's procedures, specialized expertise, and equipment necessary to safely decommission and relocate the Scios 2 and subsequently restore the system to its required operating condition. The relocation involves the disconnection and reconnection of complex electrical and vacuum systems, as well as the proper handling and alignment of precision components that are critical to the microscope's performance.

NIST requires the system to be returned to operational condition following the relocation without compromising its established performance requirements or the terms of its existing factory service arrangement. Thermo Fisher Scientific has advised that it does not authorize third-party service providers to perform the required decommissioning, relocation, and reinstallation services for this microscope. Thermo Fisher Scientific has further advised that there are no authorized third-party service providers capable of performing the complete relocation and restoring the system to its manufacturer's accepted operating performance.

Use of an unauthorized third party could adversely affect the existing factory service agreement and may introduce unacceptable risk to the equipment's functionality, calibration, alignment, vacuum integrity, and overall performance. Any subsequent deficiencies could also result in additional costs and delays associated with restoring the system to its required operating condition.

Accordingly, the Government's requirement is not simply for transportation or physical movement of the microscope. It requires a qualified source capable of performing the complete manufacturer-specific process of decommissioning, relocation, reinstallation, and operational verification. Based on the information provided by the manufacturer, Thermo Fisher Scientific is the only known source capable of satisfying the Government's complete requirement.

Information for Interested Parties
Interested parties that believe they could satisfy the requirements listed above for NIST may clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing by or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation.

Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to Marvin Jean, Contract Specialist, at marvin.jean@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted via email to marvin.jean@nist.gov so that they are received no later than September 7, 2026, at 10:00 AM, Eastern Time (ET).

Each response shall include the following Business Information:

1. Contractor Name, Address,
2. Point of Contact Name, Phone Number, and Email address
3. Contractor (SAM) Universal Entity Identification (UEI)
4. Contractor Business Classification (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, HUBZone, veteran owned, etc.) as validated in System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors must have an active registration in www.SAM.gov.
5. Capability Statement