Combined Sources Sought/Notice of Intent: Digital Lock-in Amplifiers

chain is global, specialized, and interconnected. Chipmakers do business with thousands of individual suppliers that provide the highly complex materials and tools used to produce semiconductors. To address the lack of full visibility into the semiconductors markets supply chain and R&D ecosystem gaps, NIST will conduct the measurement science, or metrology, critical to the development of new materials, packaging, and production methods in chip manufacturing.? The Photonics and Optomechanics Group develops micromechanical resonators for precision sensing (e.g., acceleration, ultrasound, mass sensing) and quantum information science (e.g., quantum memory, quantum frequency conversion) where the resonance frequencies of interest are often in the microwave range and in excess of 1 GHz. A microwave digital lock-in amplifier is needed for the measurement of microwave acoustic resonators that are being developed for real-time mass measurements within material deposition processes, among several other applications. The system must be able to operate at frequencies up to 1.8 GHz, be capable of measuring the amplitude and phase of signals at these frequencies, and provide a phase locked loop with proportional-integral-derivative feedback control so that mechanical resonances can be tracked and characterized. A digital lock-in amplifier is needed to measure the amplitude and phase of radio frequency signals up to 1.8 GHz. Specifically, the lock-in amplifier will be used to measure the electrical response of microscale acoustic resonators while semiconductor materials are deposited on them using atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes, providing time-resolved detection of these processes. This is part of a larger effort to perform high-fidelity process metrology for ALD and use the resulting data sets to build a digital twin of ALD processes. ALD is essential for state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing, where it is used to create electrical isolation layers in transistors that are a countable number of atoms thick. The resulting ALD digital twin will allow U.S. manufacturers to refine their processes using virtual models, thereby providing optimized process conditions that will increase fabrication yield and push towards the fundamental limits of transistor performance. The microscale acoustic resonators used in this project will operate in the range of 1 GHz to 1.8 GHz because this provide the necessary measurement bandwidth to observe ALD process dynamics. As a result, a lock-in amplifier that matches with the resonance frequencies of the sensors is needed. The pairing of the lock-in amplifier with our custom microwave acoustic resonators will provide unprecedented measurement clarity and time resolution, making the approach invaluable for future ALD process development. Fabrication of the microwave acoustic resonators will be completed within the second quarter of FY26. The lock-in amplifier must be purchased in FY26 to meet the milestone of demonstrating of our new measurement method by the end of FY26. The minimum requirements are outlined below. Line Item 0001: Microwave digital lock-in amplifier Quantity: 1 Key Capabilities A digital lock-in amplifier that works at frequencies up to 1.8 GHz. Operation with the Zurich Instruments LabOne software. Technical Specifications Number of independent lock-in channels: 2 Frequency range: DC to 1.8 GHz or greater Lock-in input maximum analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) rate: ? 4 GSa/s Lock-in input ADC resolution: ? 14-bit Lock-in input voltage range: ? 10 mV to ? 1 V Lock-in input voltage noise below 800 MHz: ? 3.5 nV/rt-Hz Dynamic reserve: ? 100 dB Output signal frequency range: DC to 1.8 GHz or greater Output signal maximum digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) rate: ? 6 GSa/s Output signal DAC resolution: ? 14-bit Output signal voltage range: ? 10 mV to ? 0.5 V Input and output signal connectors: Lock-in input connector: SMA or 2.92 mm, 50 ohm Number of dual-phase demodulators: ? 8 Demodulator filter bandwidth: selectable from ? 5 mHz to ? 10 MHz Demodulator filter slope: selectable from 6 to 24 db/octave Frequency reference resolution: 50 microHz Auxiliary signals: 4 output channels, 2 input channels Auxiliary output channel specification: ? 14 bit, ? 50 MSa/s Auxiliary input channel specification: ? 14 bit, ? 4 GSa/s Internal clock short term stability: ? 0.05 ppm deviation Internal clock aging: ? 0.3 ppm/year Software: Run using LabOne software platform for interoperability with existing lock-in instruments 4 independent proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers and phase locked loops with at least 1 MHz bandwidth must be included The instrument must be able to measure the amplitude and phase of up to 8 different independent frequencies simultaneously The instrument must be able to perform amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) and demodulate the modulated signals Computer interface: USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet Line power: 120 V AC, 60 Hz Multiple companies were found through market research that could possibly meet our needs and were contacted; however, it was found that only Zurich Instrument�s GHFLI lock-in amplifier can meet NIST�s technical specifications. In particular, it is the only lock-in amplifier on the market that can measure radio frequencies up to 1.8 GHz while meeting our voltage noise and voltage amplitude requirements. The requirement of the measurement of signals up to 1.8 GHz is a direct result of the microwave acoustic resonators that we have developed. The resonators vibrate due to the use a piezoelectric film that is only 1 micrometer. This small thickness results in resonance frequencies that range from 500 MHz to 1.8 GHz (resonance frequencies are inversely proportional to the piezoelectric film thickness). Further, NIST currently uses other lock-in amplifiers from Zurich Instruments and they all use the same interface software, LabOne. NIST has developed code for data acquisition and system control with LabOne and it will provide considerable time and cost savings to the government to use this code with the lock-in amplifier purchased here. Use of another vendor's lock-in amplifier would result in several weeks of code development and testing with unknown outcomes. As stated above, no other manufacturer can provide a lock-in amplifier that meets all of our specifications. Zurich Instrument GHFLI can go up to 1.8 GHz while meeting all of our other specifications. NIST conducted market research from September 2024 � December 2025 by conducting online searches, discussions with sources, and discussions with colleagues to determine what sources could meet NIST�s minimum requirements. The results of that market research revealed that only Zurich Instruments, TECHNOPARKSTRASSE 1, ZURICH, 8005 CHE, UEI: WXNAU91NVWB6 appears to be capable of meeting NIST�s requirements. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS NOTICE In responding to this notice, please DO NOT PROVIDE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. Include only the following information provided below. Submit the response by email to the Primary Point of Contact and, if specified, to the Secondary Point of Contact no later than 1/7/25, 5:00pm ET. Provide the complete name of your company, address, name of contact for follow-up questions, their email, their phone number and, if your company has an active registration in https://sam.gov, your com