Combined Sources Sought Notice and Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract for an Optical Dilatometer with Heating Microscope Capability

This is a Combined Sources Sought Notice and Notice of Intent to Award a Sole Source Contract for an Optical Dilatometer with Heating Microscope Capability. BACKGROUND The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting market research to identify alternative sources that (a) are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements for the following commercial products and commercial services and (b) would be interested in competing for that requirement. The contractor shall deliver an optical dilatometer with heating microscope capability. The equipment must be able to meet the following minimum specifications and include installation, training, and a minimum 1-year warranty: The system shall be a horizontal optical (non-contact) dilatometer that measures sample dimensional changes using a high-precision camera and optical imaging, without any mechanical contact with the specimen. The system shall include an exchangeable optic for operation as an optical dilatometer with a resolution of 1 µm or better. The system shall include an exchangeable optic for operation as a heating microscope with a resolution of 1 µm or better and a field of view of at least 1 x 1 cm. The system shall include a MoSi2 furnace capable of operating from room temperature up to at least 1700 °C with programmable heating rates from 0.01 to 20 °C/min. The system shall have a vacuum-tight sample chamber capable of achieving a pressure level of at least 0.1 Pa when used in combination with an appropriate vacuum pump. The system shall include automatic gas control for at least 3 gases with mass flow controllers (MFC) in an external housing, enabling software-controlled atmosphere management for inert, reducing (up to 5% H2 mixtures), and oxidizing atmospheres. The tube, heating elements, and thermocouples shall be compatible with up to 5% hydrogen atmospheres. The system shall include a compatible Type S thermocouple and a Type C thermocouple. The system shall include appropriate reference samples. The system shall include a desktop PC with current-generation processor, monitor, and Windows operating system with all necessary instrument control and data analysis software. The system shall include Windows-based software capable of programming device-specific settings and control functions, data storage, and evaluation of thermal expansion, sintering behavior, morphological analysis, and contact angle measurements. The system shall be delivered with a digital or physical operations and maintenance manual. The system shall have dimensions and weight that will allow it to be installed on a typical laboratory benchtop. The system shall be operated by 230 V or lower power. NIST has not yet determined its acquisition strategy for this requirement and encourages interested sources to respond to this Notice. If NIST’s market research indicates there are alternative sources that are capable and interested in competing to fill this requirement, separate and apart from LINSEIS INC. (UEI# UMJGJH9LHZC5) then NIST will consider conducting a competitive acquisition in accordance with law and regulation. To be clear, NIST’s identification LINSEIS INC. in this Notice does not constitute a binding commitment or obligation for it to conduct a sole source procurement with LINSEIS INC. for this requirement. Instructions for Responding to Respond to This Notice Parties that respond to this Notice are requested to voluntarily submit the requested information via email in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, and/or Microsoft Excel format to the designated point(s) of contact whose name and email address appears at the bottom of this notice. Please provide only the information requested by this Notice, and do not include proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in a response to this Notice. Information Requested in Response to This Notice: To help NIST with its market research, NIST is requesting that industry sources carefully review this notice and any at...