Service Contract for Tescan Scanning Electron Microscope –Notice of Intent to Sole Source

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

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Physical Measurements Lab (PML), Quantum Sensors Division requires a service contract shall provide technical support and maintenance for an existing Tescan scanning electron microscope (SEM). This SEM is being used for 3-dimensional imaging of integrated circuit devices, providing 3-dimensional metrology at nanoscale spatial resolutions. This service contract is necessary to provide the vendor maintenance and technical support to ensure continued successful collection of critical metrological data for the semiconductor industry.

NIST conducted market research from Market research was conducted from December 2025 to May 2026 and included searches on: Google, discussions with colleagues, and reviewing company websites. The results of that market research revealed that only Tescan USA (UEI: LLMSCX34X9M6) appears to be capable of meeting NIST’s requirements per the following.

Through our market research, we found that only Tescan USA is the only provider of Tescan-guaranteed accessories and parts for Tescan SEMs, and thus is the only vendor capable of providing the accessories and parts needed for the Tescan SEM that the service contract acquired here will cover. Additionally, Tescan is the only provider of the proprietary software required to operate the instrument and thus is the only provider of technical support of that software. Tescan is also the only provider of factory-trained service engineers for Tescan SEMs.

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 re-seller of the product or service being cited and evidence of such authorization; and any other information that can help NIST determine whether this requirement maybe competitively satisfied.