Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
UK Research & Innovation
https://www.ukri.org/, North Star Avenue
Swindon
SN2 1FL
Contact
Elizabeth Gage
Telephone
+44 1793867000
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Other activity
Research
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
UKRI-2434 SemiProbe PS4L FA12 Probe Station
Reference number
UKRI-2434
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 33141641 - Probes
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
The ATLAS UK ITk community presently uses a semi-automatic probe station, located at RAL, to test wafers of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) used in production of the ITk Strip detector. Approximately 250 wafers remain to be tested over the course of the next year. The maximum throughput of this system is approximately two wafers per day, and this requires working times to be staggered such that one wafer may be loaded in the morning, and one in the early evening. Just as the Strip work starts to wind down, deliveries of Pixel wafers will begin, potentially another two years of work.
We wish to reduce the effort burden associated with this process by moving to a fully automatic system, capable of running unattended wafer tests for a batch of up to 50 wafers. As the system will now be able to process wafers 24/7, throughput will be increased by 80%.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: 399,905.6 USD
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance
UNITED KINGDOM
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
We wish to improve the efficiency and throughput of our wafer test processes by purchasing a fully automatic probe station, in which an automated arm can execute the wafer loading procedure unattended, facilitating wafer tests 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
There are multiple technical reasons, firstly -SemiProbe systems present a common programming interface to the companion data acquisition systems used to run the wafer tests, facilitating the easy transfer of projects between the two systems according to demand. Secondly as SemiProbe systems share a common user interface, meaning that operators need only be trained on one machine. Lastly, the modular approach of the SemiProbe company means that they are able to offer extended support for their products.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
16 September 2022
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Inseto (UK) Ltd
Focus 303 Business Centre
Andover
SP10 5NY
Telephone
+44 1264334505
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
National registration number
02096377
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: 399,905.6 USD
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Procurement Contract Transparency Data: Redacted contract documents will be made available within the next 30 days on the UKRI website at: https://www.ukri.org/about-us/procurement-contract-transparency-data/
To view this notice, please click here:
https://ukri.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=722683978
GO Reference: GO-2022923-PRO-21012354
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
UK Research and Innovation
https://www.ukri.org/, North Star Avenue
Swindon
SN2 1FL
Country
United Kingdom