Tenders/University of Alberta - Advanced Contract Award Notice / Notice of Proposed Procurement - Desktop Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM) with Integrated STEM Capability

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University of Alberta - Advanced Contract Award Notice / Notice of Proposed Procurement - Desktop Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM) with Integrated STEM Capability

University of Alberta

Published: Aug 20, 2026

Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Source: alberta_purchasing

About This Opportunity

This is a consulting contract in the Research and information and communication technology sectors, with a focus on Software and Hardware. Located in Canada, North America, this opportunity is open to firms and consortiums.

Published through Alberta Purchasing Connection, a national government procurement portal. Public procurement tenders follow the country's national bidding regulations and may have specific eligibility and documentation requirements for consulting in the Research sector. Consulting assignments are typically evaluated with a strong emphasis on the technical proposal, including the methodology and qualifications of key experts. Shortlisted firms may be invited to submit financial proposals in a second stage. This is an advance notice — the formal tender is expected to be published shortly. Interested parties can use this time to prepare documentation and identify potential partners.

Description

The sole-source acquisition of the Thermo Scientific Phenom Pharos G2 Desktop Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM) from Systems for Research Corp. is requested due to its unique capabilities. The department operates a shared, multi-user core facility requiring a high-throughput system accessible to non-expert operators. Non-negotiable operational requirements include: ≤ 2 nm SEM resolution, ≤ 1 nm STEM resolution, a 1–20 kV acceleration range, multi-modal detection (SED, STEM, EDS), and sample load times under 40 seconds. Based on the technical justification provided by the department, the Phenom Pharos G2 is the only platform that meets these requirements without requiring additional instruments or third-party software. Its integrated STEM system includes a dedicated holder for 3mm TEM grids and allows instantaneous switching between SEM and STEM modes without detector repositioning, stage adjustments, or manual beam alignments. Combined with integrated optical navigation, the native software performs large-area tile acquisition and stitching directly within the primary user interface, eliminating reliance on external post-processing tools. Additionally, the system embeds real-time elemental mapping directly into the live SEM scanning workflow. This enables non-expert users to observe compositional variations dynamically during acquisition, eliminating separate EDS steps and reducing analysis time. Alternative market options would require the department to purchase multiple instruments or complex floor-standing systems requiring extensive user training and costly facility modifications. Commodity Categories: Computers, Content authoring and editing software Delivery Region: Alberta

Data provenance

This notice is sourced from Alberta Purchasing Connection and was originally published on August 20, 2026. Last refreshed today. BidsFactory mirrors official procurement notices and links back to the source for full legal text.

About University of Alberta

University of Alberta has issued 91 procurement notices on BidsFactory, including 10 currently open and 19 awarded contracts. Activity concentrates in Education & Training, Health & Medical, and Information & Communication Technology. All notices are published for Canada. Notices are distributed via Alberta Purchasing Connection and CanadaBuys - Government of Canada. Most recent publication: August 20, 2026.

Frequently asked questions about this tender

What type of contract is this?

This is a Consulting contract in the Research & Innovation sector. The classification helps bidders match the opportunity to their qualifications and registered scope of supply.

Where will the contract be performed?

The contract is for delivery in Canada. Foreign bidders should review local registration, taxation, and any in-country presence requirements before submitting.

How can I submit a bid?

Visit Alberta Purchasing Connection to access the full notice, required documents, and submission instructions provided by the contracting authority.

Who is the contracting authority?

This notice was issued by University of Alberta in Canada. The authority is responsible for evaluating bids, awarding the contract, and managing performance.