VLSI Standards, Inc. was founded in 1984 in Mountain View, California for the purpose of developing metrology calibration standards and associated services for the semiconductor and related industries. VLSI Standards' first products were a traceable Step Height Standard, and a line of Contamination Standards. Today, VLSI Standards provides dozens of standards, products, and services to address every aspect of instrument calibration in the semiconductor and other industries requiring accurate metrology calibration standards. As always, we will continue the tradition of partnership with our customers for developing the most useful and innovative metrology calibration standard products possible.
VLSI Standards designs and manufactures an extensive array of calibration products and services to assist you with your calibration efforts. Our calibration products and services typically come in the form of calibration standards and references. The primary difference between a calibration standard and a calibration reference is that calibration standards have direct traceability to a higher authority; whereas calibration references do not - often because no official calibration standard exists. Each type of calibration product is made to a rigorous set of internal specifications and serves as an excellent calibration artifact.
With the proliferation of national and international quality calibration standards such as ISO 9000, TS16949, and the APLAC MRA, a company can have a wide spectrum of mandated measurement protocols specifying regular calibrations that require calibration standards that are traceable to a national authority. An effective calibration program will typically use a combination of traceable calibration standards and references, with the traceable reference serving as a daily monitor and the traceable standard used at scheduled intervals or when absolute accuracy is required.
Contamination Calibration Products (Counter and SSIS Calibration)
VLSI Standards' line of contamination calibration products are used for Counter calibration or Scanning Surface Inspection Systems (SSIS) calibration standards. Contamination calibration products can be used to calibrate an instrument for a particular particle size (with Absolute Contamination Standards) or reticle/pellicle (with Reticle Contamination Standard). Other specially developed contamination calibration products provide recleanable surfaces, scanner diagnostics capability, and a method for calibrating mask and pellicle inspection systems.
Contamination products can be used to calibrate an instrument for a particular particle size.
Dimensional Products
Profilometry Calibration
Over our history, VLSI Standards has shipped thousands of Step Height Standards. These versatile profiling standards are useful in any application that requires characterizing a vertical height. Step Height Standards are in use at paper, plastics, and paint companies and data storage industries, and are widely established in the semiconductor industry. Step Height Standards consist of an etched pattern in a quartz substrate and are usually used to calibrate optical or stylus based profilometers.
Profilometry products can be used to calibrate instruments for height.
Surface Topography Products
Surface Topography Standards and References, which may be used to characterize and calibrate scanning probe microscopes, provide for X, Y and Z dimensional calibration. These calibration standards also provide valuable information about sample alignment as well as probe tip integrity and condition.
Surface Topography Standards and References provide x, y and z dimensional calibration.
Traceable Advanced Lithography Products for users of CD-SEM and CD-AFM
VLSI Standards provides a complete offering of Traceable Advanced Lithography products for users of CD-SEM and CD-AFM. Nanolattice Pitch Standards are used to calibrate and monitor the magnification performance of CD-SEMs. The NanoCD product line may be used by CD-AFM users to check tip accuracy and by CD-SEM users to monitor CD measurement accuracy.
NanoCD Standards assist users in monitoring CD measurement accuracy.
Film Thickness Standards
The Film Thickness Standards are designed to calibrate various optical thickness measurement instruments. Film Thickness Standards consist of silicon wafers with a pattern of uniform, thermally grown silicon dioxide, or deposited silicon nitride on the surface.
Electrical Calibration Products
VLSI Standards has developed several different calibration products suitable for calibrating both non contact and contact resistivity and sheet resistance measuring devices. These calibration products have calibrated values for resistivity and sheet resistance.
Additional Calibration Products and Calibration Services
In addition to the range of calibration products and calibration services summarized above, VLSI Standards also provides a Custom Deposition Service for depositing polystyrene latex (PSL) spheres on customer-supplied substrates and a Custom Film Thickness Measurement Service.
Please contact a sales representative for any information concerning custom products.
VLSI Standards also work with equipment or instrument suppliers to design and develop calibration standards or references which are specific to their equipment or application. Some calibration products are mounted on custom assemblies which allow the instrument to be continuously referencing a standard during its operation. Other calibration products are entirely custom designed via a partnership between VLSI Standards and your business.
Silica Contamination Standards (SCS)
An Absolute Contamination Standard, appearing as a bare wafer to the naked eye.
A particle map and histogram of the same wafer acquired with a Scanning Surface Inspection System.
RAISE YOUR GLASS. The Silica Contamination Standard (SCS) is used to calibrate high-intensity UV tools which size and detect silica particles on the surface of bare silicon wafers. Use SCS to characterize particles, before particles characterize products.
Silica Contamination Standards (SCS) Product Description
The Silica Contamination Standard is built by depositing spherical silica spheres which have a very tight monodisperse size distribution. Damage resistant silica spheres are useful for the calibration and monitoring of instruments that measure and count silica particles with UV and DUV illumination. Available for the first time, silica particles retain their calibration properties from prolonged exposure to UV and DUV light, where other materials may degrade or deform. VLSI Standards supplies Silica Contamination Standards with a variety of sphere sizes in the range of 32 nm up to 1.5 micron.
The calibration certificate includes the approximate number of silica particles deposited on the wafer. Background contamination is kept at an extremely low level.
Silica Contamination Standards (SCS) Product Specifications
SEMI Specification Silicon Wafers
300 mm and 450 mm diameter silicon wafers
Silica Spheres
From 32 nm up to 1.5 micron*
*Sizes in other ranges may be available. Please check with VLSI Standards.
