Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Batch Reactor

This is a sources sought notice. The purpose of this notice is to conduct market research and identify potential sources of commercial products/services that satisfy the Government&rsquo;s anticipated needs. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large and small businesses. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 333242&ndash; Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing, with a Small Business Size Standard of 1,500 employees. This notice does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ), Invitation for Bids (IFB), or any commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will not pay for any information submitted in response to this notice. Submission of information is voluntary and will not result in any obligation on the part of the Government. NO SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS EXIST AT THIS TIME Requests for solicitation documents will not receive a response. Respondents shall clearly mark any proprietary or restricted information. In the absence of such markings, NIST will assume unlimited rights to all technical data submitted. BACKGROUND The semiconductor supply chain is global, specialized, and interconnected. Chipmakers do business with thousands of individual suppliers that provide the highly complex materials and tools used to produce semiconductors. To address the lack of full visibility into the semiconductors markets supply chain and R&D ecosystem gaps NIST will conduct the measurement science, or metrology, critical to the development of new materials, packaging, and production methods in chip manufacturing.  The Chemical Process and Nuclear Measurements Group is seeking an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) Batch Reactor to support a CHIPS R&D Metrology project focused on characterizing the stability of biofunctional semiconductor interfaces in chip-based biosensors. The reactor will be used to fabricate metal oxide and self-assembled monolayer (SAM) interfaces on 200 mm wafer substrates, which will then be subjected to interface stability and failure analyses using advanced metrology developed at NIST. The ALD reactor is a critical component of this program, aimed at understanding the impact of metal oxide and SAM deposition recipes on biosensor performance and lifetime, and ultimately accelerating biosensor development and improving manufacturing processes critical for commercial viability. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT The contractor shall deliver a quantity of one (1) ALD Batch Reactor inclusive of warranty and FOB Destination delivery that meets all minimum technical specifications identified below: Technical Specifications for Hardware Wafer size: Small pieces, up to and including 200 mm Wafer heating: Room temperature to 300 &deg;C (or higher) Wafer uniformity: 1% or better thickness uniformity for Al2O3 on Si (one standard deviation) Chamber heating: Independent of wafer, warm wall capable Carrier gas flow control: Thermal mass flow controller (MFC) Flow controller isolation: Pneumatic valve to isolate MFC for exposure mode Pressure measurement: Heated capacitance diaphragm gauge (CDG) Precursor manifold: 5 sources 5x single-port sources, including one source valve dedicated to ozone All process lines welded stainless steel and fitted with VCR metal seals Precursor manifold heating: 150 &deg;C or higher, jacketed Precursor injection valves: Fast-actuating (<20 ms) diaphragm valves with high-temperature perfluoroalkoxy alkanes (PFA) seats (200 &deg;C) Precursor vessels: 4x 50 mL one-port cylinders with >150 &deg;C manual shutoff valves 4x cylinder heating jackets Each vessel individually heated Temperature control: All zones PID controlled, individual zones for wafer chuck, reactor walls, precursor manifold, precursor vessels, SAM delivery system SAM delivery system: Fixed volume, quantitative delivery of low volatility SAM precursors with integrated CDG endpoint control Optical access: Windows/ports for access to wafer surface for in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry Exposure mode: Computer controlled downstream isolation valve for long exposures Vendor supplied recipes for common ALD processes such as Al2O3, TiO2, ZnO, Ta2O5, HfO2, In2O3 and common SAM processes such as aminopropyl ethoxy silane (APTES), decyltrichlorosilane (DTS), etc. Ozone or O2 plasma source for chamber cleaning: Ozone generator: 200 ng/mL or higher Ozone abatement: Ozone destruct unit for ozone vent/bypass Precursor abatement: Heated high-surface area trap for decomposing unreacted precursor Power requirement: Single phase 120 V, 20 A max Utility requirements: Compressed air for pneumatics, dry inert gas for carrier gas Safety interlocks: emergency-off (EMO) circuit, pushbutton, and hardware watchdog Chemical safety: Vented precursor cabinet Footprint: 24&rdquo; W x 24&rdquo; D x <48&rdquo; H Repairability: All consumable parts such as valves, actuators, gauges, heaters, vessels, critical orifices, O-rings, windows to be user-replaceable Documentation: System to include complete documentation of installed hardware, control system, system commissioning, system operation, and maintenance of consumables/parts Vacuum pump: Not included. Government will use an existing dry pump with at least 10 cubic feet per minute of pumping speed. Installation: System should be end-user installable with assembly being limited to connecting air supply, nitrogen supply, power, and reactant sources. Training: Not included. Operating and maintenance manuals to include all information needed for system startup, operation, and maintenance. Technical Specifications for Software Fully integrated computer or PLC controlled system operation Recipe-based control of carrier flow, valve actuation, timed exposure mode, fixed volume SAM delivery, oz…