Official UK procurement notice
Silicon Wafers for Test Chips
Authority: OPEN UNIVERSITY(THE) (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAs part of the existing Technology Development Element (TDE) contract with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Open University (OU), in company with Teledyne-e2v, are required to procure and test three experimental test chips for characterisation and testing.
Phase 1: To procure Silicon wafers for the manufacture of Front Side Illuminated (FSI) soft X-ray Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) imaging detectors to characterise their Electro Optical (EO) performance both pre and post irradiation.
Phase 2: A potential second phase subject to funding to process any remaining Silicon wafers from the first phase for the manufacture of Back Side Illuminated (BSI) soft X-ray CMOS imaging detectors to characterise their EO performance both pre and post irradiation.
Phase 3: A potential third phase subject to funding to procure Silicon wafers to manufacture another batch of either FSI or BSI soft X-ray CMOS imaging detectors for further characterisation of their EO performance both pre and post irradiation.
Cost
Phase 1: £220,000
Phase 2: £250,000
Phase 3: £350,00
Total: £820,000
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 4 Jul 2025, 15:42 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Aug 2025, 15:27 BST
- Authority reference
OUPA11504- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-049225- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-055960Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract-
a) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and
b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.
Teledyne-e2v have previously performed a competitor analysis and based on a comparison of price and technical performance, XFAB were selected as the preferred supplier for all their silicon chip products. As a result, Teledyne's CMOS imaging device design and manufacturing plans for this project have been developed to align with XFAB's design rules and processes. Consequently, in order to meet the requirements of the ESA agreement the OU must procure wafers from XFAB to ensure compatibility with Teledyne's design and manufacturing standards.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
16 Jul 2025 → 15 Aug 2025 · 2 dates- Standstill ends16 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
- Notice published15 Aug 2025, 15:27 BST
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 4 Jul 2025- Transparency notice published4 Jul 2025, 15:42 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published4 Jul 2025, 16:22 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected17 Jul 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published15 Aug 2025, 15:27 BSTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-FAB Sarawak Sdn. Bhd.18 Jul 2025 – 31 Jan 2026 · up to 1 Oct 2029Extensions: Extension End Date: Phase 2: March 2028 Phase 3: September 2029 | €220,000 | 4 Jul 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Silicon Wafers for Test Chips · X-FAB Sarawak Sdn. Bhd.
- Signed
- 17 Jul 2025
- Value
- €220,000
- Period
- 18 Jul 2025 – 31 Jan 2026 · up to 1 Oct 2029 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- Extension End Date: Phase 2: March 2028 Phase 3: September 2029
No agreed KPIs: Not applicable.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- X-FAB Sarawak Sdn. Bhd.Awarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender