Published date: 4 July 2022

Awarded contract - This means that the contract has been awarded to a supplier.


Closing: 4 April 2022, 12pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) - 38000000

Location of contract

Yorkshire and the Humber

Value of contract

£685,000

Procurement reference

3023/JN

Published date

4 July 2022

Closing date

4 April 2022

Closing time

12pm

Contract start date

5 December 2022

Contract end date

6 December 2022

Contract type

Supply contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (above threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements above the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes

Description

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Sheffield, with funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) requires a dilution refrigerator and magnet system for use in a search for hidden sector dark matter. The dilution refrigerator will be appropriate for cooling a two-component payload, consisting of (i) An electromagnetic resonator, such as a conducting-wall resonant cavity; and (ii) Ultra-low-noise readout electronics in as close proximity as possible to the resonator, allowing them to be coupled together. The space for the electromagnetic resonator should be threaded by a static magnetic field of nominal magnitude 8T, The ultra-low-noise readout electronics should be in a magnetic-field-free region, with magnetic field exclusion achieved via a combination of a field compensation coil and passive normal-conducting and superconducting shields mounted in the bore of the compensation coil. The operating base temperature of the refrigerator should be not more than 10mK at the mixing chamber plate, where the cooling power should be at least 12 microwatts at 20mK and at least 400 microwatts at 100mK. The experiment will run cold and at with the magnetic field threading the cavity for at least 6 months at a time without need to be warmed up. The refrigerator should utilize mechanical pre-cooling to a sufficiently low temperature for the dilution refrigerator to operate, so that the only liquid cryogens that are required are the helium3/helium4 mixture in the closed cycle dilution refrigerator unit and some liquid nitrogen that may be required for a cold trap in the gas handling unit. The system should incorporate its own reliable control system and software for ease of control, and this control system should also be remotely operable from the data acquisition system of the experiment, via an appropriate cable interface. A schedule of tests required to demonstrate function upon delivery of the apparatus are supplied in the technical specification.

This is an FTS open exercise. The ITT can be downloaded by registering and expressing your interest on the University`s e-tendering system https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sheffield

If you have any questions or comments in relation to this tender they must be submitted via the In-tend system, this can be accessed at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sheffield

Completed tenders must be returned through the same e-tendering system.

More information

Previous notice about this procurement

3023/JN - Dilution Refrigerator and Magnet System

  • Opportunity
  • Published 1 March 2022

Links

Award information

Awarded date

28 June 2022

Contract start date

5 December 2022

Contract end date

6 December 2022

Total value of contract

£700,628

This contract was awarded to 1 supplier.

Oxford instruments nanotechnology tools Ltd T/A Oxford Instrumen

Address

Tubney Woods, Abingdon
Oxon
OX13 5QX

Reference

Companies House number: 00704320

Supplier is SME?

No

Supplier is VCSE?

No

About the buyer

Contact name

James Noble

Address

Western Bank
SHEFFIELD
S102TN
England

Email

james.noble@sheffield.ac.uk