The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks information on commercial vendors that are capable of providing three horizontal Diffusion/Oxidation/LPCVD furnace stacks. One stack will be configured for Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD) and two stacks will be configured for atmospheric processes. The systems will be used to support nanofabrication in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), NIST's nanotechnology user facility. The systems will be sited and used as a shared resource accessible to researchers from industry, academia, NIST, and other government agencies in the CNST NanoFab. After results of this market research are obtained and analyzed and specifications are developed for the Diffusion/Oxidation/LPCVD furnaces that can meet

NIST's minimum requirements, NIST may conduct a competitive procurement and subsequently award a Purchase Order. If at least two qualified small businesses are identified during this market research stage, then any competitive procurement that resulted would be conducted as a small business set-aside.

NIST intends to replace the existing systems with new systems in order to add the capability of processing 200 mm wafers in LPCVD processes and atmospheric processes at temperatures ≥ 1300ºC. The system(s) will consist of 1 LPCVD stack and 2 atmospheric stacks. Each stack having at least 3 tube furnaces.

1. General

The LPCVD stack will be used by NanoFab users to deposit silicon nitride, silicon dioxide and polysilicon. The atmospheric stacks will be used for annealing, wet/dry oxidations and diffusions. All 3 stacks shall be capable of processing substrates ≥ 200 mm in diameter. The systems will be installed in a vertical laminar flow, class 100 cleanroom. Vacuum pumps will be located in the subfab beneath the process level. Each stack will be equipped with a source cabinet that contains all process gas panels. Each stack will be equipped with a cantilever load system and exhaust scavenger system at the load end. All 3 stack (9 furnace tubes) will be delivered as turnkey systems complete with quartz or silicon carbide fixtures, gas panels and vacuum systems.

2. Atmospheric Furnace Stacks
a. The furnace tubes will be horizontal.
b. The thermal flat zone shall be at least 12 inches long
c. There shall be at least 3 tubes per stack
d. The maximum temperature shall be ≥ 1300ºC
e. Gas panels will have at least 5 gas channels
f. One tube shall be equipped with an external pyrogenic torch for wet oxidations

3. LPCVD Furnace Stack
a. The furnace tubes will be horizontal.
b. The thermal flat zone shall be at least 12 inches long
c. There shall be at least 3 furnace tubes in the stack
a. The tubes will be configured for polysilicon, Low Temperature Oxide (LTO) and silicon nitride.
d. The furnaces will be equipped with a vacuum system and associated instrumentation.

NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources, including large, foreign, and small businesses. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 334516, as those domestic sources having 500 employees or less. Please include your company's size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice.

Companies that manufacture horizontal Diffusion/Oxidation/LPCVD furnaces are requested to email a detailed report describing their abilities to [email protected] no later than the response date for this sources sought notice. The report should include achievable specifications and any other information relevant to your product or capabilities. Also, the following information is requested to be provided as part of the response to this sources sought notice: 1. Name of the company that manufactures the system components for which specifications are provided. 2. Name of company(s) that are authorized to sell the system components, their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address). 3. Indication of number of days, after receipt of order that is typical for delivery of such systems. 4. Indication of whether each instrument for which specifications are sent to [email protected] are currently on one or more GSA Federal Supply Schedule contracts and, if so, the GSA FSS contract number(s). 5. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.

Point of Contact
Lynda Roark, Contracting Officer, Phone (301) 975-3725, Fax (301) 975-8753, Email [email protected]

 

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