Official name: Aarhus Universitet
National registration number: 31119103
Postal address: Nordre Ringgade 1
Town: Aarhus C
NUTS code: DK Danmark
Postal code: 8000
Country: Denmark
Contact person: Martin Winther Bolet
E-mail: udbud@au.dk
Telephone: +45 93521783
Internet address(es):
Main address: https://www.au.dk/

Body governed by public law

Education

Single Crystal X-Ray Diffractometer

Reference number: 2021-0245684

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

Supplies

Aarhus University intends to buy a Rigaku Single Crystal X-Ray Diffractometer (SCXRD) for advanced research purposes. The SCXRD instrument will be employed to measure extremely accurate single crystal X-ray diffraction data, up to the highest attainable resolutions. It is of particular importance to be able to measure at the same time both the weakest and the strongest X-ray scattering intensities accurately and to have an extremely low background intensity.

This contract is divided into lots: no

Value excluding VAT: 354 847.00 EUR

33000000 Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products

NUTS code: DK042 Østjylland

Main site or place of performance:

Aarhus.

The Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University is an internationally recognized leader in extremely accurate high-resolution single crystal diffraction data collection and analysis. Our research on SCXRD is two-fold: We utilize the technique to study novel materials and we are active in research on data processing. On the materials side, one particularly important research focus has been the experimental studies of the solid-state electron density distributions in order to investigate the chemical bonding in materials. More recently, it has involved the studies of diffuse scattering to investigate the local order of materials. On the technical side we are active in developing novel strategies for raw data handling, data reduction, and new data refinement strategies. This research has been the center of several projects at the Department of Chemistry, and has involved substantial activities at advanced synchrotron facilities. However, in order to also participate in further developing these techniques to carry out extremely accurate experiments using lab-based experiments, we require access to new state-of-the-art instrumentation. The research samples to be investigated are single crystals. Many of the materials to be studied are heavy element containing inorganic crystals that are very strongly X-ray absorbing. For these materials, the most reliable data can be collected with the short wavelength X-ray sources, either Mo Kα or Ag Kα, depending on the specific crystal. To further minimize the systematic errors in the data caused by crystal absorption effects, deliberately the smallest crystals of the material of interest are chosen. In other cases, e.g. organic or organometallic materials, the X-ray scattering is much weaker; however, only the very tiniest of crystals are available. For all material types it is thus required to collect the best quality data from weakly scattering crystals, and therefore ultra-high brightness X-ray sources are needed with both Mo Kα and Ag Kα X-ray wavelengths.

Even with a bright and tunable X-ray source, the scattered intensity will be very low, e.g. for organic crystals or diffuse scattering, or contain a mixture of high and low intensity scattered signals, e.g. for inorganic crystals and diffuse scattering experiments. To obtain data of sufficient quality in both cases, we require a detector capable of providing essentially background and distortion-free images and measure both low and high intensity signals with low statistical uncertainty in a single frame. To reduce errors from frame scaling and avoid parallax type distortions in the reflection profiles towards the edge of the detector, we further require a curved detector covering a large range of diffraction angles. For benchmarking and comparing data processing strategies, it is also of vital importance that the uncertainty in the measured signal is well-described by standard counting statistics. Consequently, it is also of vital importance that the subtracted background intensity is a tiny fraction of the total measured intensity, even for the smallest signals. This combination of requirements is only achieved by a direct photon counting detector that utilizes a semiconductor pixelated sensor to directly detect X-ray photons. This must be essentially free of dark-current/background or read-out noise as well as streaking, blooming or afterglow effects in the images. It must also be capable of simultaneous readout of all pixels to prevent rolling shutter geometrical distortion in the images. X-ray photon energy discrimination must be employed to exclude X-ray fluorescence effects in the image. This combination of requirements ensures a low background intensity, reduces carry-over of background-intensity to the next frame, and the high dynamic contrast necessary to measure a broad range of intensities in a single frame.

Price

Options: no

The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no

Negotiated procedure without prior publication

Explanation:

In conclusion, we require a bright and tunable X-ray source with both Mo and Ag radiation and a direct photon counting detector with large diffraction angle coverage and a curved profile. This is only provided by the Rigaku XtaLAB Synergy-S diffractometer with a PhotonJet-S Mo and Ag source and HyPix-Arc 100^o detector. We thus intend to proceed with purchasing this instrument. After an exhaustive market analysis we conclude that only 1 manufacturer can deliver the essential curved direct photon-counting detector of large surface area. AU has been in contact with several manufacturers of diffractometers, but due to the special demands, the only system satisfying all of our demands can be obtained from Rigaku.

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes

27/05/2021

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: no

Official name: Rigaku Europe SE
Town: Neu-Isenburg
NUTS code: DE Deutschland
Country: Germany

The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: no

Total value of the contract/lot/concession: 354 847.00 EUR

Official name: Klagenævnet for udbud
Postal address: Toldboden 2
Town: Viborg
Postal code: 8800
Country: Denmark
E-mail: klfu@naevneneshus.dk
Telephone: +45 72405708
Internet address: https://erhvervsstyrelsen.dk/klagenaevnet-for-udbud

Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:

Please contact Aarhus University, if you have a comment about this notice — udbud@au.dk

Following the notification, a standstill period of 10 calendar days will be held in accordance to paragraph 3 of Act No 593 of 2 June 2016 on the Danish Act on the Complaints Board for public Procurement. This implies that the Contracting Authority cannot sign the Contract with the winning Tenderer before the standstill period has expired.

In case of complaints about tenders or decisions, e.g. award of contracts covered by Section II or III in the Danish Public Procurement Act must be submitted to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (Klagenævnet for Udbud) within 45 calendar days from the day after the contractor published a notice in the Official Journal on the conclusion of a contract. At the latest concurrently with submission of an appeal to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement, the complainant must inform the Contracting Authority of the alleged infringement, and whether the appeal is to be referred to the board.

Official name: Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen
Postal address: Carl Jacobsens Vej 35
Town: Valby
Postal code: 2500
Country: Denmark
E-mail: kfst@kfst.dk
Telephone: +45 41715000
Internet address: www.kfst.dk

27/05/2021