Calibration Standards

Accuracy You Can Trust. Performance You Can Measure.

NIST Traceable PSL Wafer Standards (Calibration Standards)

Brumley South provides NIST-traceable polystyrene latex (PSL) sphere wafer standards used to calibrate wafer inspection systems—also known as Scanning Surface Inspection Systems (SSIS). These PSL wafer standards are prime silicon wafers deposited with PSL spheres to help verify tool performance and measurement accuracy.

What PSL Calibration Standards Are Used For

Wafer inspection tools are designed to inspect the cleanliness and defectivity of 300 mm, 200 mm, and 150 mm wafers, including bare silicon and film-deposited surfaces. Using PSL standards helps confirm that your inspection system is correctly detecting and sizing defects across the wafer surface.

A properly calibrated SSIS can:

Identify X/Y defect location
Report defect size
Provide total defect counts and distribution trends

Our standards are commonly used with wafer inspection platforms from KLA-Tencor and other manufacturers, including systems such as Surfscan and SP-series tools, as well as additional industry inspection platforms.

Deposition Options (Choose the Standard That Matches Your Tool)

We offer multiple deposition patterns so you can match your calibration standard to your inspection method, recipe, and tool requirements. Sphere density can be specified by the customer.

Full Deposition PSL Calibration Standards

PSL spheres are deposited across the entire wafer surface. Brumley South standards are produced to support random distribution and non-clumping for consistent results.

Typical sphere counts:

⦿ Unpatterned inspection tools: ~6,000–12,000 PSL spheres
⦿ Patterned inspection tools: ~20,000–30,000 PSL spheres

(Other densities available on request.)

Half Deposition PSL Calibration Standards

PSL spheres are deposited across half of the wafer.

This option is ideal for:

⦿ Checking size accuracy
⦿ Diagnosing optical orientation issues
⦿ Using the clean half as a control/reference surface

Circle (Spot) Deposition

Circle deposition provides six spot depositions of the same PSL size on a single wafer. Need multiple sizes? With our custom deposition service, we can provide up to six different PSL sphere sizes on one wafer.

Double Deposition PSL Calibration Standards

PSL spheres are deposited across approximately three-quarters (3/4) of the wafer surface, providing a larger active area while still leaving a clean region for comparison.

Additional Standards & Custom Capabilities

In addition to standard PSL wafer deposition, we support specialized calibration needs, including:

⦿ Backside and edge PSL calibration standards
⦿ PSL deposition on custom films and substrates
⦿ Pellicle and reticle custom standards produced in-house

Traceability & Documentation

All standards are supplied with a Certificate of Traceability to NIST, supporting quality systems and calibration documentation requirements.

Get Pricing or Place an Order

Email orders@brumleysouth.com or call 704-664-9251 to discuss:

⦿ Wafer size (150/200/300 mm)
⦿ PSL sphere size(s)
⦿ Deposition pattern (full/half/circle/double)
⦿ Target sphere density
⦿ Substrate/film requirements (if custom)

What Part Do You Need?

If you need it, we have it. If we don’t have it, we will make it. It’s that simple.