Notice of Intent to Noncompetitively Acquire CHIPS LEAP 6000 R Atom Probe Instrument

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

This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of RFO 12.102
 

In response to the CHIPS for America Act, NIST has a mission to perform and develop measurement science requested to support the domestic semiconductor industry. The Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is involved in materials characterization efforts to support multiple projects. To meet this requirement a LEAP instrument is required. semiconductor industry. A particular research focus of the instrument will be to study the effect of laser wavelength on semiconductor materials to characterize, quantify, and ameliorate sources of measurement bias and uncertainty, thereby improving accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of atom probe tomography (APT) measurements.  Materials characterization allows NIST scientists to make direct correlations between material processing, (nano)structure, and resulting properties.  This work involves three-dimensional (3D) atomic imaging of nanoscale samples in an atom probe tomography (APT) instrument.  An APT instrument: (1) accepts nanoscale needle-shaped specimens and specimen array coupons for analysis, (2) triggers field ion evaporation of the specimen, (3) detects the emitted ions in time and space, and (4) generates a 3-Dimensional (3D) computational reconstruction of the evaporated volume that can be used in further analysis. In this work, the APT instrument should be capable of triggering field ion evaporation with either a voltage pulse, a synchronous voltage + laser pulse (laser provided by NIST), or a laser pulse (laser provided by NIST). It should be capable of detecting multiple hits with high fidelity, have a wide field-of-view, high mass resolving power, and high detection efficiency such that it can be applied to complex heterogenous samples containing materials with a wide range of optical and electronic properties.

Consistent with NIST’s mission to perform and develop measurement science, a particular research focus of the instrument will be to study the effect of novel laser wavelengths to characterize, quantify, and ameliorate sources of measurement bias and uncertainty, thereby improving accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of APT measurements.

The Contractor shall deliver and install one LEAP 6000 R (or latest version) APT instrument with features as defined in the “Minimum Requirements” section inclusive of FOB Destination.  Control and support computers will also be included, as well as all software as defined in the “Minimum Requirements” section. In-person training will be provided for up to five (5) NIST personnel and the system will be covered under warranty for at least one (1) year to include all parts (non-consumables), software, labor, and travel.

NIST conducted market research from January 2026 to March 2026 via Intenet searches, GSA searches, System for Award Management, reviewing a 2025 award for the same instrument, and Speaking to Colleagues to determine what sources could meet NIST’s minimum requirements.  The results of that market research revealed that only CAMECA Instruments, Inc. (UEI: GE2SRXMY7453) appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements per the following.

NIST requires the LEAP instrument must be able to use specimen array coupons for mounting multiple specimens for efficient APT data acquisition to collect large, statistically meaningful populations of data. Specimen arrays are also required to allow us to efficiently explore data acquisition parameter space for the mission purpose of creating standard practices.

•           The APT instrument must use local (plug in) electrodes. Local electrode atom probes are unique to CAMECA and are an essential feature for modern APT work. The local electrode provides practical data collection rates in excess of 100,000 ions per minute. Without the local electrode, atom probe data collection rates would not be sufficient to collect large, statistically meaning populations of data, within the required time constraints for CHIPS, in support of our project goals, milestones, and deliverables.

•           The LEAP must have a 2-dimensional position-sensitive ion detector capable of multi-hit detection with a nominal detection efficiency in excess of 50%. For trace element analysis, such as dopants in semiconductors, analysts need to be able to collect as many ions as possible. The high detection efficiency and mass resolving power offered by this detector is essential for trace analyses (mass resolving power >1000 under normal operating conditions with an aluminum test sample).

•           NIST needs to use the same CAMECA equipment that the semiconductor industry is using. It is the only way to ensure that the physical measurement artifacts and data we create will be of use to industry stakeholders. The industry trend to switch from the older-generation near-ultraviolet (NUV)-based systems (i.e., LEAP 4000- and LEAP 5000-series models) to the deep ultra-violet (DUV) LEAP-6000 systems will continue to take place over the next few years, and NIST must switch as well, to remain relevant.

•           The reflectIon ion-optic used in the LEAP ion detection system provides an energy-compensated flight path to enhance mass resolution while maintaining field of view. This high mass resolution is required for proper spectral peak identification and accurate quantitative analyses.

•           The LEAP must be ready for laser-pulsed acquisitions with a laser system (optics, beamline, trigger pulse) provided by NIST. NIST has a long history of experimenting with non-commercial wavelengths and pulsed laser sources, and our CHIPS project seeks to continue this effort.

•           The LEAP must have the hardware and software required for synchronous voltage+laser pulsing to enhance element detection limits. Synchronous voltage+laser pulsing is only available on the newest generation LEAP instruments. This feature is critical to allow MML to explore detection limits for semiconductor dopants and other trace elements – which is part of MML’s mission to characterize, quantify, and ameliorate sources of measurement bias and uncertainty, thereby improving accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of APT.

•           The LEAP laboratory at the NIST campus in Boulder, Colorado currently has a local electrode atom probe (LEAP) 3000/4000-series instrument that is 19+ years old and is no longer fully supported by the manufacturer as of December 31, 2025. The new LEAP instrument must be the latest generation LEAP instrument (modern equivalent to the LEAP-6000 R or latest version), to permit direct replacement of the existing instrument and to facilitate re-use of the existing lab design, Class IV laser safety engineering and safety mitigation, existing local electrodes, specimen pucks, specimen carriers, etc. CAMECA Instruments, Inc is the only vendor that makes such a holder.

However, any sources that believe they are capable of meeting NIST’s minimum requirements are encouraged to respond to this notice by the response date to provide the following information at a minimum: Company Unique Entity Identifier number in https://sam.gov; details about what your company is capable of providing that meets or exceeds NIST’s minimum requirements; whether your company is an authorized reseller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement may be competitively satisfied.