Official name: Aarhus Universitet
National registration number: 31119103
Postal address: Nordre Ringgade 1
Town: Aarhus C
NUTS code: DK042 Østjylland
Postal code: 8000
Country: Denmark
Contact person: Ann Sophie Steffensen
E-mail: asst@au.dk
Telephone: +45 23382421
Internet address(es):
Main address: https://www.au.dk/

Body governed by public law

Education

SQUID magnetometer for use in materials research

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

Supplies

Aarhus University intents to buy a SQUID magnetometer for use in materials research. The magnetometer will be used in a wide range of research fields, such as determining critical temperatures of superconductors, identifying transition temperatures between different magnetic phases, measuring hysteresis curves of ferromagnetic and molecular magnetic materials, and measuring the AC susceptibility of coordination complexes to extract information about magnetic relaxation dynamic effects.

This contract is divided into lots: no

Value excluding VAT: 450 000.00 EUR

NUTS code: DK042 Østjylland

The Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University intents to buy a SQUID magnetometer for research purposes. The magnetometer will be used for characterization of magnetic properties of materials in a broad range of research fields. The primary focus will be both AC and DC magnetization measurements at cryogenic temperatures with measurements as a function of temperature, magnetic DC field strength, and AC frequency and field strength. The system must provide a high degree of control over these parameters and provide a high data density (i.e. continuous measurements with <10 s integration/averaging time) while still providing the accuracy, precision, and sensitivity expected of a SQUID magnetometer.

As temperature is a parameter in all measurements, it is extremely important to have accurate and continuous control over the temperature anywhere from 2 K or less to room temperature or more. This includes highly accurate temperature measurements; high accuracy, stability, and repeatability of the actual temperature for a given set point; and a high degree of accuracy and control over temperature ramp rates. Some measurements are done at a large series of fixed temperatures while varying other parameters. The system must thus be able to quickly reach a given set point with an accuracy of less than 0.5 K at room temperature and 20 mK at 2 K and maintain that temperature stably. Other measurements will be done by continuously varying the temperature with other parameters fixed. Some features in the data have a very small extend in temperature and/or are located at an unknown temperature, requiring high data density to adequately resolve these features. We thus require to continuously ramp the temperature, typically at 2 K/min or less, while continuously recording the measured magnetization with less than 10 s separation. This will be done during both heating and cooling and often for several cycles (such as field cooled and zero-field cooled measurements). Since variations in temperature ramp rate can result in artefacts in the data, the ramp rate must be accurately controlled and extremely stable to prevent erroneous conclusions based on such artefacts.

Magnetization measurements, i.e. measurements of magnetic moment as function of applied magnetic field, is another important measurement type. To accurately determine the coercivity and remanent magnetization of ferromagnets, we must be able to slowly ramp the magnetic field while continuously measure the magnetization. To achieve the required data density of between 0.1 and 1 data points per Oersted, we need to be able to ramp the field at less than 1 Oe/s for very steep magnetization curves or long integration times for very small samples. This must be possible at any magnetic field, including around 0 Oe to probe soft ferromagnets for any hysteresis.

AC magnetization measurements will be used for probing the magnetic relaxation dynamics of coordination complexes with magnetic ions. These measurements are usually conducted as a matrix with a number of AC field strengths and frequencies at a series of fixed temperatures. Many complexes of interest exhibit peaks in dissipation in the 500-1000 Hz range, and we must thus be able to use frequencies from 1 Hz to at least 1 kHz.

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:

After an extensive market analysis, we conclude that only one manufacturer can deliver a magnetometer that fulfills all our requirements.

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes

02/11/2021

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

Official name: Quantum Design GmbH
Town: Darmstadt
NUTS code: DE Deutschland
Country: Germany

The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: no

Total value of the contract/lot/concession: 450 000.00 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

08/11/2021