Electron Diffraction Instrument

The University of Southampton and the University of Warwick have a requirement to each purchase a dedicated electron diffractometer for high-throughput structural solution (two diffractometers in total) using Electron Diffraction. These instruments will form part of a national facility in conjunction with the national crystallographic service at Southampton. This procurement will be funded under an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) grant with the aim of kickstarting the widespread usage of electron diffraction by the crystallographic community within the UK.

The instruments will sit alongside and integrate with our existing and extensive X-Ray diffraction facilities. To that end the instruments must be suitable for use by non-specialist microscopists and should allow for the high-throughput collection of data for structural solution. Equally, the software must also be easy to use and allow for merging of datasets from multiple crystals to ensure sufficient completeness for publication.

Alongside the national aspect, there will be local users from both universities spanning a large range of different areas of materials research. There will also be technique development, with regards to optimised sample preparation, new classes of materials, but also on areas such as improving the refinements, e.g., dynamical diffraction. It is hoped to work with the successful supplier to develop this for the good of the whole community.

This tender is being run as a further competition against the NWUPC High Value Laboratory Equipment Lot 10 Polycrystalline & Single Crystal X-Ray Analysis (LAB3123 NW).

With reference to the joint procurement, the University of Southampton will be responsible for running the Further Competition process via its e-tendering portal, receiving and responding to general project correspondence and clarification requests, receiving the Further Competition responses, co-ordinating and facilitating the tender evaluation and moderation and awarding the eventual contract. Following formal contract award, the two institutions will be responsible for forming their own contracts.

The successful supplier will be contracting with two separate institutions, the University of Southampton and the University of Warwick. Each institution will have its own contract with the successful supplier, will stipulate separate delivery and installation locations and instructions, will require separate invoices and will raise separate purchase orders.

The final award of this contract will be subject to funding being approved, if the funds are not approved, we reserve the right to not award a contract as a result of this Further Competition process.