CAN: Procurement of Imaging System for Device Metrology

The National Physical Laboratory [NPL] requirement is for a microscope to be used for imaging and dimensional measurements of microfabricated quantum devices. The microscope will be installed inside the SuperFab cleanroom at Royal Holloway, University of London.

The microscope will be used both for imaging throughout the fabrication process, and for measuring the dimensions of completed devices and features. Primarily, the microscope will be used with samples comprising thin-films (metals and dielectrics) deposited on silicon- or sapphire wafers. The equipment must be cleanroom compatible.

The instrument must enable the device imaging based on the following

1. The complete system must comprise the microscope and any software needed to meet the specifications.
2. It must enable automatic large area "stitching" of images and include a motorised stage
3. The system with its software suite must be able to provide dimensional measurements, step height measurement, and area / volume measurements on all relevant materials.
4. The included software must be suitable for a multi-user environment.
5. Should preferably enable long working distances (>4mm)
6. Should be suitable for imaging of microfabricated 3D structures.
7. Please note that this RFQ does not specify the type of microscope. Both widefield optical microscopes and confocal microscopes will be considered if they meet the requirements.
8. 'As part of the evaluation process NPL will hold a demonstration stage with the top scoring 2 suppliers. Suppliers will have to demonstrate the capability of their proposed system by imaging a sample supplied by NPL.