SEM Technology Measures Wiping Material Particles

Upper Saddle River, NJ–The Texwipe Co. is pioneering use of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for measuring submicron particles released from cleanroom wiping materials. “SEM technology permits more accurate and versatile measurements than traditional liquid particle counting (LPC) techniques,” says Steve Paley, executive vice president of Texwipe.

SEM measurements have the benefit of direct visualization of particles for counting, with few, if any, of the drawbacks of LPC–calibration with non-representative spheres, particle coincidence problems, counting of bubbles as particles, low signal-to-noise, inability to detect films on wiping materials.

The technology has been under development by Texwipe for the last three years, and the company has recently certified third-party laboratory McCrone Associates (Westmont, IL) to perform the measurements.