CAN - sSNOM for University of Manchester

CPV: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Goods

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

17 Oct 2022, 11:50 BST

Last source update

20 Dec 2022, 15:34 GMT

FTS notice number

2022/S 000-036071

Classification (CPV)

Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-037636 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons

Published justification

Absence of competition for technical reasons. VEAT ref: 2022/S 000-029139

Attocube is the only company worldwide, who manufactures a scattering-type near-field optical microscope (VIS-neaSCOPE) that enables simultaneous background-free imaging and spectroscopy on nanometre length scales in the visible range. Their exclusive design works with the following patents:

• Patented parabolic mirror design for focusing and collection of light
• Patented dual-port design to allow two beams of light to be focused on the atomic force microscope (AFM) tip for nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy
• Patented signal processing for optical background suppression
• Patented pseudo-heterodyne detection (PsHEt) technology for background suppression
• Patented interferometric design (nano-FTIR) for background-free optical detection technology and simultaneous detection of optical amplitude and phase and hyperspectral imaging
• Patented high speed holography (HSH) for multispectral imaging
• Patend phase shifting (PhS) detection to extract relative phase

These patents and the exclusive design have enabled the VIS-neascope system to conduct amplitude and phase-resolved vector field, reflection and absorption mapping with nanoscale spatial resolution. It is currently the only system on the market that enables dual-port operation combined with a high NA parabolic mirror, which is essential for low SNR pump-probe measurements in the visible range. The VIS-neascope system is also the only system offering pseudoheterodyne background-free detection of the amplitude and phase of the near-field signal up to the 5th harmonic order, which is another essential requirement for s-SNOM in the visible range.

In addition, the vis-neaSCOPE offers the following unique technical specifications:

• Optimised scanning probe microscope system that can be combined with mechanical and electrical measurements
• Built-in optical imaging and spectroscopy software modules, as well as data visualisation and analysis software
• Position sensors for motorised parabolic mirror axes to enable alignment-free focusing of a laser beam to the AFM tip
• Visible and NIR illumination units, which can be integrated and coupled into both the room-temperature and cryogenic temperature s-SNOM system.

The system is also flexible and can be upgraded to operate in other wavelength ranges (out to THz range), perform electrical measurements, nano-PL, nano-Raman and photothermal expansion mapping in the future.

In particular, neaspec is the only company who can upgrade the existing cryogenic s-SNOM system (cryo-neaSCOPE) based at University of Manchester and integrate a visible illumination unit to perform nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy at low temperature.

• attocube system AGAwarded supplier nanoscale analytics, Eglfinger Weg 2,, Haar, DE, 85540
• attocube systems AGAwarded supplier Eglifinger Weg 2, Haar, Bayern, 85540, Germany, Haar, DE, 85540

No document links were published on the notice.