Official UK procurement notice
Supply and Commissioning of an Inductively Coupled Plasma Etcher
Authority: University of Strathclyde (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis Notice relates to an open tender above the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) threshold for goods related to research and development equipment required by the University of Strathclyde's (Contracting Authority) Institute of Photonics department. The Contracting Authority envisions a single supplier shall undertake the contract for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of an Inductively Coupled Plasma Etcher system at a University of Strathclyde Lab facility, located in the Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) specified cleanroom.
The equipment is grant funded by the Wolfson Foundation to advance scientific investigation in neuro-technology.
CPV: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) · Microelectronic machinery and apparatus
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1The Institute of Photonics is seeking to complement their cleanroom micro-fabrication…AwardedPublished value£425,827
The Institute of Photonics is seeking to complement their cleanroom micro-fabrication facility equipment with an Inductively Coupled Plasma Etcher system
The Technical Team envision that the equipment will process semiconductor materials that will include but not be limited to:
1 Gallium Nitride (GaN) light-emitting diodes
2 Silicon (Si) passive and active devices
The equipment will be used to advance scientific investigation in neuro-technology and operated by PhD students, Postdoctoral Research Associates and Technicians within the Institute of Photonics.
The Contracting Authority anticipates that the contract will be for a duration of twenty (24) months. The Contracting Authority requires a supplier that can fulfil the below non-exhaustive list of requirements:
1 Inductively Coupled Plasma Reactive Ion Etching (ICP-RIE) mode of operation to plasma etch hard materials such as GaN at etch rate of >500nm/min
2 Deep Silicon Etching (DSE) mode of operation to plasma etch high aspect ratio and high-density structures in Silicon at etch rate of >1000nm/min
3 These two modes of operation co-existing within the same equipment within a minimal footprint
4 Low-maintenance, especially with the provision of servicing-free high vacuum pumping systems (magnetic-levitated turbo molecular pump)
Please refer to the full technical and tender information available in the Public Contracts Scotland-Tender.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality: 50
- Price: 50
- Economic & financial standing
4B.1.2 Turnover
Bidders will be required to have an average yearly turnover of a minimum of 850,000.00 GBP for the last 3 years.
4B.5.1a - 4B.5.3 Insurances
It is a requirement of this contract that bidders hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any subsequently awarded contract, the types and levels of insurance indicated below:
Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = 10m GBP
Public and Product Liability Insurance = 10m GBP
Professional Indemnity Insurance = NOT USED
In respect of any one incident and unlimited as to number of claims, and adequate insurances covering all the Contractor's other liabilities in terms of the Contract
- Technical & professional ability
4C.1.2 Previous Experience Minimum level(s) of standards required:
Bidders will be required to provide three (3) examples that demonstrate that they have the relevant experience to deliver the equipment as stated in the Contract Notice.
- Price carries 50 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 11 Mar 2025, 12:09 GMT
- Last source update
- 8 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 14 Jul 2025 – …
- Authority reference
UOS-36338-2025- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-001297- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04eb72Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: (SC Ref:819987)
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/esop/pts-host/public/pts/web/login.html ↗
- Submission deadline
- 14 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 120 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 14 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
Timeline
12 Mar 2025 → 8 Jan 2026 · 4 dates- Next notice expected12 Mar 2025
- Submission deadline14 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Bids opened14 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Notice published288 days ago8 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Jun 2025- Published value published: £425,82711 Jun 2025, 16:49 BST
- Status changed to active11 Jun 2025, 16:49 BST
- Procurement method changed11 Jun 2025, 16:49 BST
- Deadline published: 14 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST11 Jun 2025, 16:49 BST
- Status changed to complete8 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SENTECH Instruments GmbHSME | £375,883 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 001297-2026-UOS-36338-2025-1 · SENTECH Instruments GmbHSME
- Signed
- 16 Dec 2025
- Value
- £375,883
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4bids · 4 electronic · 4 from abroad | 3 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Glasgow Sheriff CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- SENTECH Instruments GmbHAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.