Notice of Intent to Sole Source

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT AND IS NOT

A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTES. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA), Glenn Research Center (GRC) intends to award a firm fixed price sole source contract

under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 only one responsible source to:

JEOL USA, Inc.

11 Dearborn Road

Peabody, Massachusetts 01960

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is

334516.

NASA has a need for an analytical, high resolution, thermal Schottky type field emission

scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM).

- Both high and low vacuum modes of operation for organic and inorganic sample evaluation, with

integrated ESD (Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) and EBSD (Electron Backscatter

Diffraction) Capability

o High count rate EDS – minimum 125,000cps for C, F, and Mn K-alpha energy lines

o EBSD detector with greater than 5500 patterns per second, with fiber optic lensing

o Detector tilt control

o Software control for EBSD / EDS system

o Qualitative (ZAF) and Quantitative (PRZ) Analysis

o Area, Point, and Line Data Collection and Analysis

o User Generated Database Capability

o Automated large area mapping – montage functionality

 Drift Correction

 Live acquisition Mapping

o Peltier Cooled Dry Silicon Drift Detector; thin film window

 Detects elements Be to U

 Energy resolution
- Must include a Multi-Element High Sensitivity Backscatter Electron (BSE) Detector.

o Acquires simultaneous Back-Scatter Electron and Secondary Electron Images, at

accelerating voltage 0.5kV – 30kV in both high and low-vacuum modes for imaging

multiple types of samples.

 Includes signal mixing functions for topographic imaging and elemental

comparison.

- Stage large enough to image samples weighing up to 8kg (in XYZR / 2kg in XYZ) without

destruction of samples.

o Stage shall accommodate samples up to 90mm in height, and 200mm (or greater) in

diameter without the need to remove any stage spacer or rotation module

- Resolution Requirements:

o 1nm resolution (or better) at 20kV, in high vacuum mode

o 3nm resolution (or better) at 1kV, in high vacuum mode

o Resolution under standard analytical conditions to be 3nm at 15kV

o 1.8nm resolution (or better) at 15kV, in low vacuum mode

- Must be capable of remote operation

- Field emitter must be guaranteed for a 3-year lifespan

- Low power and facilities requirements

o Single Phase Electrical Installation (AC117V, 60Hz)

o Dry Compressed Air

o No water required - i.e., no water chiller needed for operation of microscope

- The FE-SEM will be used to evaluate polymer, metal, and ceramic materials. An FE-SEM will

allow for high resolution imaging of samples for high-cycle fatigue, reaction zones in high

temperature testing and materials development, flight hardware, and additively manufactured

components.

JEOL USA, Inc. is the manufacturer of and only source available to provide the brand name

product. It would take a great deal of additional work to evaluate other vendor’s alternate

configurations to determine the impacts on equipment footprint, unit specifications, compatibility issues with existing equipment, and training. Without a thorough technical evaluation, the risk is substantial that an alternate vendor would provide a system with serious deficiencies leading to reduced compatibility, performance, and additional system administration labor. In addition to significant time needed to evaluate different brands, there is the potential impact to the processing time while the employees are trained efficiently on a new vendor/brand software. In order to meet the projected timeline, the Governments best option is to sole source to JEOL USA INC.

This synopsis does not constitute a solicitation; however, if any interested party believes they can meet the above requirement, it may submit a statement of capabilities. The statement of

capabilities must be submitted in writing and must contain clear and convincing evidence that

competition of this requirement would be advantageous to the Government. Please note that if

parties choose to respond, the Government will not provide reimbursement for any costs incurred from the preparation and submission of documents.

Capability statements shall be submitted by e-mail ONLY as a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF

attachment no later than January 26, 2024, 5:00 PM Eastern Time to the following addresses:

kavina.patel@nasa.gov and wayne.s.plummer@nasa.gov