---
title: "3023/JN - Dilution Refrigerator and Magnet System"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-031c6d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-031c6d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031c6d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031c6d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD"
published: "2022-07-04"
---

# 3023/JN - Dilution Refrigerator and Magnet System

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-031c6d

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## Summary

The University of Sheffield is seeking tenders for the procurement of a "Dilution Refrigerator and Magnet System" under an open procedure, aimed at fulfilling a requirement in laboratory and precision equipment. This procurement falls within the goods category and is intended for use in research related to hidden sector dark matter. The tender, currently active, has a bid submission deadline of 4 April 2022, with the contract period scheduled to run from 5 December 2022 to 6 December 2022. The project is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and is located in Sheffield (UKE32).

This tender presents significant business growth opportunities for suppliers in the laboratory equipment sector, particularly those specialising in cryogenics, precision instrumentation, and control systems suitable for scientific research. Companies with capabilities in the development and provision of advanced cooling systems, electronics integration, and software for remote operability would be well-suited to compete for this contract, potentially leading to long-term partnerships in a prestigious research environment.

## Notice

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.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018163-2022 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 4 Jul 2022 |
| Submission deadline | 4 Apr 2022 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 27 Jun 2022 |
| Contract period | 5 Dec 2022 - 6 Dec 2022 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £685,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £700,628 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD |
| Locality | SHEFFIELD |
| Post town | Sheffield |
| Postcode | S10 2TN |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield |
| Local authority | Sheffield |
| Electoral ward | Broomhill and Sharrow Vale |
| Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central |
| Delivery location | TLE32 Sheffield |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | OXFORD INSTRUMENTS NANOTECHNOLOGY TOOLS LTD T/A OXFORD INSTRUMENTS NANOSCIENCE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

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

## Release History

- 4 Jul 2022 at 12:38 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018163-2022
- 1 Mar 2022 at 14:52 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005585-2022

## Notice URLs

- https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sheffield

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-031c6d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-031c6d.json.