CHIPS R&D: LASER CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE – COMBINED SOURCES SOUGHT/NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE

***THIS IS A COMBINED SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE***

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Photonics and Optomechanics Group is seeking an automated high-speed and high-resolution laser confocal microscope. This microscope will be used for imaging photonic integrated circuits composed of many materials and to determine dimensions and roughness for these devices. The measurements are a critical component of a CHIPS project focused on understanding the optical loss and other critical properties of photonic integrated circuits so that the repeatability, yield and performance of these circuits can be improved.

The CHIPS Metrology program develops and advances cutting edge metrology capabilities for members of the US semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.  This NIST conducted research program works with device manufacturers, tool vendors, materials suppliers, and other organizations to address critical metrology gaps to spur innovation within seven grand challenge areas.  For more information on CHIPS Metrology, please visit https://www.nist.gov/chips/research-development-programs/metrology-program.

The project is investigating the extraction of optical properties at the material and device levels for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). These properties include refractive index, optical loss, dispersion, and the electro-optic coefficient, among others. By developing new methods to extract these properties from devices fabricated in a particular process, one can then optimize future devices based on the known properties and implement process control to ensure that these properties are fixed for the lifetime of the foundry process. In order to achieve these goals, the dimensions and roughness of the PIC devices must be measured with high accuracy and these measurements must be performed for many devices to achieve a statistically significantly sampling. Laser confocal microscopy is an excellent tool for achieving these measurements because it has nanoscale resolution while being able to measure samples in air and measurements are fast, providing a path towards high measurement throughput.

The microscope must fulfill a wide range of requirements, supporting various imaging modalities such as laser confocal microscopy, white light interferometry, depth-from-focus measurement, and brightfield imaging. The system should feature a high level of automation, allowing image capture in multiple modes, and be programmable for measuring an entire 100 mm wafer of PIC devices. Automation should also extend to microscope features that improve the quality of measurements such as motorized sample stages and automatic focal point detection and focus scans to achieve the highest quality images. Analysis tools for extracting critical data from resulting images must also be provided including dimensioning and roughness suites and comparison of collected images.

NIST is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that will achieve the objectives described above, in addition to the following essential requirements: 

Line Item 0001:

Laser Confocal Microscope

Quantity:  1

1. Key Microscope Capabilities
   1. An upright optical microscope that is designed for measuring 3D surface profiles with micro- and nanoscale features, particularly for semiconductor devices such as photonic integrated circuits, microelectromechanical systems, and microelectronics.
   2. Brightfield microscopy - Standard brightfield imaging used to image microscopic features with high resolution.
   3. Laser confocal microscopy – Scanning a laser on a surface and scanning the microscope focus results in a series of images that are processed to generate the surface profile with nanoscale resolution. A pinhole aperture and photomultiplier tube are used to maximize the sensitivity. Must be able to overlay laser confocal and brightfield images.
   4. White light interferometry – Imaging the topography of a surface using interference fringes generated with a special microscope objective and light source. Images are captured while scanning the focus of the microscope and are processed to generate the surface profile with nanoscale resolution.
   5. Depth-from-focus microscopy - Scanning the focus while in brightfield microscopy mode and capturing a series of images provides a height map of the imaged device. Further, this image set can be used to generate a processed image where features at all heights are in focus.
   6. Scanning and stitching – Taking images, using the above methods, over an area as large 50 mm x 50 mm and stitching them together to generate accurate high-resolution topographic and image maps.
   7. Profiling stacked layers – Measuring the topography of multiple stacked material layers that are transparent using laser confocal microscopy
   8. Automated measurement optimization – Automated methods for 1) the z-axis scan range for a given sample, 2) focal point detection, 3) optimal reflected light detection, and 4) optimal light level while imaging.
   9. Software data analysis tools: These include 1) critical dimensioning of devices from collected images, including a method to calibrate the microscope scales, 2) surface and edge roughness analysis, 3) image comparison to identify small differences between measured devices, and 4) overlaying collected data over optical images.  

1. Technical Specifications

1. Microscope objectives for brightfield and laser confocal microscopy

                                    Magnification values provided: 2.5×, 5×, 10×, 20×, 50×, 150×

1. Microscope objectives for white light interferometry

Magnification values provided: 10×, 20×, 50×

1. Laser wavelength for confocal measurements:                     405 nm +/- 5 nm
2. Laser maximum output:                                                          ≤ 1 mW
3. Laser class:                                                                             Class 2
4. Laser confocal height resolution:                                            ≤ 0.1 nm
5. Z axis height measurement method:                          Linear scale encoder
6. Photomultiplier tube bit depth:                                                ≥ 16 bit
7. White light height resolution:                                       ≤ 0.01 nm
8. Optical zoom range:                                                               1× to ≥ 8×
9. Camera pixel count:                                                                ≥ 5.6 megapixels
10. Camera processing bit depth:                                    ≥ 16 bit
11. Maximum full image capture rate:                                          ≥ 125 frames/s
12. XY motorized stage range                                                      ≥ 100 mm × 100 mm
13. Resolvable sidewall angle on microstructures:                      ≥ 85 degrees

NIST conducted market research from February 2025 through November 2025 by speaking with colleagues, performing internet searches, and speaking with vendors to determine what sources could meet NIST’s minimum requirements.  The results of that market research revealed that only Keyence Corporation of America (UEI: ZPANEFD3X431) appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements.

HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE

In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Please include only the following information, readable in either Microsoft Word 365, Microsoft Excel 365, or .pdf format, in the response.  Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact listed at the bottom of this notice as soon as possible, and preferably before the closing date and time of this notice.

• Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your company’s Unique Entity ID (UEI).
• 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.
• Identify any aspects of the description of the requirements in the BACKGROUND section above that could be viewed as unduly restrictive or create unnecessary barriers that adversely affect your firm’s ability to fully participate in a procurement for such services and explain why.  Please offer suggestions for how the requirements could be organized or structured to encourage the participation of small businesses.
• For the NAICS code
• Indicate whether your company is (a) a small business or (b) other than small business.  See the Table of Small Business Size Standards and the associated .pdf download file for small business size standards and additional information.
• If you believe the NAICS code listed in this notice is not the best NAICS code for the type of product addressed in this notice, identify an alternative NAICS code that you believe would be more appropriate for the planned procurement. 
• If your firm has existing Federal Supply Schedule contract(s) or other contracts for products or services against which the Department may be able to place orders, identify the contract number(s) and other relevant information.
• Describe your firm’s experience (as a prime, subcontractor, or consultant) providing the products or services described in Background section.
• Provide any other information that you believe would be valuable for the Government to know as part of its market research for this requirement.
• Please let us know if you would like to engage to get a better understanding of the requirement or need additional information about the Government’s requirement for the products or services described in the Background section. 

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE

Questions regarding this notice may be submitted via email to the Primary Point of Contact and the Secondary Point of Contact listed in this notice. Questions should be submitted so that they are received with 5 days of this posting.  Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline.

IMPORTANT NOTES

The information received in response to this notice will be reviewed and considered so that the NIST may appropriately solicit for its requirements in the near future. 

This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the NIST to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. 

This notice is not a request for a quotation. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotations.

No award will be made as a result of this notice. 

NIST is not responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice.

NIST reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and appropriate.

Thank you for taking the time to submit a response to this request!