SDI's patented SPV technique is the established world leader for non-contact, non-destructive measurements of heavy metal contamination in silicon. SPV gives extremely fast, reliable measurements of minority carrier diffusion length, at low injection level. Together with proprietary activation techniques, it allows for identification of Cu and Fe contamination with unsurpassed sensitivity.    

The latest generation of FAaST SPV tools have improved sensitivity to Fe in the sub E8 atoms/cm3 range, surpassing all other techniques for measurements in silicon. The tool design includes:
  • Real-time heavy metal contamination monitoring in silicon wafers, with automated identification of Fe and Cu - sensitivity for Fe 1E8 cm-2
  • Full wafer imaging in minutes (>6000 points in <3 minutes for DL).
  • Fully automated operation, with multiple security levels designed for the manufacturing environment.
  • Options such as SMIF / FOUP loadports, automatic lot ID, wafer OCR, and fully SEMI compliant automation for data upload and remote system control.
  • Automatic internal multi-point calibration.
The FAaST 200 series can be configured for multiple wafer sizes from 100mm to 200mm, and FAaST 300 series for 200mm-300mm wafers. These tools have fully automated robotic wafer transfer, with options for edge grip handling, and wafer flipping for back side measurements. Manual load systems are also available for Lab type applications.

The current installed base is >350 systems worldwide. SPV tools can also be combined with SDI’s other technologies, such COCOS / CV / or SL, to minimize overall footprint required in the Fab.
FAaST 330


Fe concentration map
Fe concentration map