NOTICE OF INTENT-BMF HF VAPOR ETCHER

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acquisition Management Division intends to negotiate with Idonus Sarl (Cage: SCH63), located in Switzerland on a sole source basis under the authority of FAR Subpart FAR RFO 12.102(a) for a BMF HF Vapor Etcher, Statutory authority for sole source is 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), Only one responsible source. The statute is being implemented using simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 1901.

The sole source determination is based on the Government’s need by the Boulder Microfabrication Facility (BMF) for performing various etching processes in the Precision Measurement Laboratory located at National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Boulder campus.  The BMF currently has a vapor etching system that is used to remove silicon dioxide films from substrates.  The current system can only accept substrates with a maximum size of wafers with a lateral dimension of SEMI spec 100 mm wafers.  The BMF also processes wafers with a lateral dimension of SEMI spec 150 mm wafers, and some of the new fabrication processes require HF vapor etching.  Therefore, the BMF requires a new HF vapor etcher with all of the existing capabilities as the existing vapor etcher, but with the ability to accept substrates up to wafers with a lateral dimension of SEMI spec 150 mm wafers.

The NAICS Code is 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Manufacturing, with a Size Standard of 1,000 employees. NIST anticipates negotiating and awarding a firm-fixed-price purchase order to Idonus Sarl for this requirement.

Interested parties that can demonstrate they could satisfy the requirements listed above for NIST must clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing on or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used solely to determine whether competitive procedures could be used for this acquisition. If competitive procedures are not used it is estimated that an award will be issued by June 2026. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to angela.hitt@nist.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted to angela.hitt@nist.gov no later than 5/19/2025 at 5:00 p.m. MT.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AN OPEN COMPETITION:

HF vapor etching is a standard wafer processing technique in the semiconductor industry.  There are machines that range in size and ability from R&D to full foundry production and many companies offer a system.  Common systems use either HF liquid or gas.  The most important issue for an HF vapor is safety as HF is an extremely toxic chemical where exposures of 50 mL can be fatal.  Due to the danger of HF, the Government needs to stay with the liquid etchers for safety reasons. No other vendor can meet these technical requirements and meet the safety concerns. Without this procurement, critical NIST research activities involving etching processes would be forced to stop.