Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)
[24-58245]
[SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE WITH FIELD EMISSION GUN (SEM-FEG), INTEGRATED ENERGY DISPERSIVE SPECTROMETRY (EDS) AND ELECTRON BACKSCATTERED DIFFRACTION (EBSD) SYSTEMS]
1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)
An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
2. Definition of the requirement
The National Research Council Canada has a requirement for the supply of quantity one (1) fully digital, Extreme High Resolution Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) system, in compliance with CSA and SEMI S2 and S8 certification requirements. The system must also provide a retractable Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS) and Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) Integrated System, a retractable Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) detector, a Gas Injection System (GIS) for Platinum Deposition, on-site and/or remote applications training for three NRC staff members, a CSA approved installation kit suitable for Canadian installations, and an annual service maintenance contract covering an additional three years of ownership after the provided manufacturer warranty and service period. The annual service maintenance contract must include labour, travel, living expenses and major parts coverage and must have a targeted on-site service response time of 48 hours, during normal business hours, to the Ottawa, ON – Montreal Rd. NRC campus.
The minimum specifications and requirements for the FE-SEM system must meet and include all of the following:
• Beam characteristics:
o Acceleration Voltage: 350 V to 30 kV
o Landing energies: Adjustable from 20 eV to 30 keV
o Beam current: 0.8 pA – 100 nA
• Resolution:
o 0.6 nm from 30 kV down to 2 kV
o 0.7 nm at 1 kV
o 1.0 nm at 500 eV
• A hot-swappable Schottky thermal ?eld-emission source capable of providing an electron beam with incident energy ranging from 20 eV - 30,000 eV and a current range of 0.8 pA to 100 nA
• A dual-mode (magnetic immersion and field-free) lens to enable extremely high-resolution imaging over a working distance range from 8 mm to as low as 0.5 mm. Extremely high resolution is defined above as 0.6 nm from 30 kV down to 2 kV, 0.7 nm at 1 kV, and 1.0 nm at 500 eV.
• Sixty-degree dual objective lens with a protection feature to protect the lens unit from damage due to accidental sample contact and to enable tilting of large samples.
• A monochromated electron beam source capable of reducing the energy spread to less than 0.2 eV across all accelerating voltages within the chromatic aberration-limited regime typically associated with high surface sensitivity imaging. Specifically, the monochromator must provide up 100 pA of beam current across the nominal incident beam energy range of 500 eV - 5 keV as well as for beams with landing energies down to 20 eV.
• A 6.0 megapixel (MP) or greater resolution optical color navigation camera to provide a full view of sample holder over the full range of travel of the XY stage.
• A single SEM column with multiple detectors capable of secondary electron (SE) and backscattered electron (BSE) detection that is specially designed for extremely high-resolution imaging (defined above) at both high and low kVs. It must also be designed for excellent materials contrast and imaging at landing energies down to 500 eV, capable of providing simultaneous in-lens SE and BSE imaging, and provide excellent direct detection of low loss BSEs.
• A retractable, Single Crystal STEM detector for annular bright field, dark field, and high angle annular dark field regions.
• A Directional Back Scatter (DBS) detector capable of detecting all backscattered electrons emitted up to 90 degrees.
• Large specimen chamber with a door-mounted 5-axes motorized x-y-z-rotate-tilt eucentric stage, capable of loading specimens with the size of 150 x 150 x 55 mm with full (360o) rotation
• A drift-free image mode setting to permit high-resolution, high signal-to-noise images under conditions of very low dwell times.
3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements)
o Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its system (as appropriate) meets all of the following requirements:
? A demonstrated Schottky thermal ?eld-emission source that is hot-swappable for a fast and contamination-free source exchange.
? A monochromated electron beam source capable of reducing the energy spread to less than 0.2 eV across all accelerating voltages within the chromatic aberration-limited regime typically associated with high surface sensitivity imaging. Specifically, the monochromator must provide up 100 pA of beam current across the nominal incident beam energy range of 500 eV - 5 keV as well as for beams with landing energies down to 20 eV.
? The ability to maintain the thermal stability of the electron column over the full range of magnifications, lens currents and accelerating voltages.
? An optical color navigation camera that provides a full view of sample holder over the full range of XY stage travel with a resolution of 6.0 MP or greater.
? A single SEM column with multiple detectors capable of secondary electron (SE) and backscattered electron (BSE) detection that is specially designed for high-resolution imaging at both high and low kVs. It must also be designed for excellent materials contrast and imaging at landing energies down to 500 eV and capable of providing simultaneous in-lens SE and BSE imaging, and provide excellent direct detection of low loss BSEs.
? A retractable, Single Crystal STEM detector with 11 segments for annular bright field, dark field, and high angle annular dark field regions.
? A two-mode, nine-segment annular Directional Back Scatter (DBS) detector capable of detecting all backscattered electrons emitted up to 90 degrees when beam deceleration is applied in combination with an immersion field.
? A 150 mm x 150 mm x-axis/y-axis Piezo stage with 1 micron or better repeatability and must have continuous 360° Piezo-driven rotation.
? A drift-free image mode setting to permit high-resolution, high signal-to-noise images under conditions of very low dwell times.
4. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s)
o Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA)
o Revised World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)
o Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
o Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
o Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA)
o Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement
o Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA)
o Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA)
o Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA)
5. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier
The Verios 5 UC from Thermo Fisher Scientific has been identified as the only fully digital, extreme high resolution Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) that meets all of the criteria set out in the Statement of Capabilities. The Pre-Identified Vendor, Systems for Research Corporation (SFR), is the sole distributor and only authorized technical support and repair company in Canada for FE-SEMs manufactured by Thermo Fisher Scientific
6. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)
The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6(d) “only one person is capable of performing the work.
7. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons
The following exclusion(s) and/or limited tendering reasons are invoked under the:
a. Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Article 513 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
b. World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP) – Article XIII (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
c. Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – Article 19.12 (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
d. Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – Article 15.10 (2) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
e. Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) – Article Kbis-16 (2) (c): necessary to protect intellectual property;
f. Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement – Article 1409 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
g. Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement – Article 17.11 (2) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
h. Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement – referencing the WTO Protocol Amending the GPA, Article XIII (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
i. Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement – Article 16.10 (1) (b) (iii): because of the absence of competition for technical reasons;
j. Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) –Article 1409 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
k. Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) – Annex 10-6 (2) (a): any form of preference, including set asides, to benefit micro, small and medium enterprises; and
l. Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement: refer to CETA as the provisions of CETA are incorporated by reference into and made part of this Agreement. (CETA) Article 19.12 (b) (iii).
8. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date
All the deliverables are expected to be received on or before 6 weeks after contract award.
9. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
Systems for Research Corp. · 4243C Dundas Street West, Unit #7, Etobicoke, ON, M8X 1Y3
10. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.
11. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities
The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is December 24th 2024.
12. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities
Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
Jonathan Soles
E-mail:Jonathan.Soles@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
