Applied Physics · Precision technologies since 1992
Browse PSL, silica, glass and specialized particles for calibration, metrology and laboratory applications. Select the material, nominal size and physical form required by your method.
Particle Size Standards · Selection Guide
The fastest path to the right quote is to specify what the instrument is measuring and the physical form the workflow actually requires.
Choose PSL, silica or another material required by the method.
Provide target diameter or size set and the tolerance/certificate requirement.
Specify suspension, dry powder, deposited wafer or another prepared reference.
RFQ Conversion Checklist
Use the product quote control. Your selected product, variation and quantity will remain attached to the request while you add application and technical details.
Technical FAQ
Material → Measurement Objective
| Material / family | Start here when the requirement is… | Quote variables |
|---|---|---|
| PSL / polystyrene latex | Monodisperse particle-size references, particle-counter/optical calibration, aerosol work, or deposited wafer references. | Instrument/application, nominal size(s), form/concentration, quantity, certificate/traceability. |
| Silica / SiO₂ | Silica reference behavior, contamination-wafer work, optical/material research, or functionalized silica formulations. | Size, surface treatment/functionalization, powder vs suspension, solvent/concentration, quantity. |
| Borosilicate / glass | Powder/particle-size measurement and methods where glass material properties and available size ranges are appropriate. | Method/instrument, nominal size/range, quantity, sample preparation and documentation. |
| Fluorescent / dyed polymer | Imaging, tracking, optical method development, method visibility or research requiring a colored/fluorescent signal. | Size, color/excitation-emission, surface chemistry, dry/suspension form, concentration/quantity. |
| Functionalized / assay particles | Conjugation, binding, lateral-flow, diagnostic or assay-development workflows. | Core material, size, functional group/coating, concentration, conjugation target and assay conditions. |
| Magnetic / metallic nanoparticles | Research workflows where magnetic response, plasmonic/optical properties or specialized surface chemistry are part of the method. | Composition, size, morphology, coating/functionalization, concentration and application. |
Particle Standards & Microspheres
Start with PSL or another method-specified reference size. Capture the instrument/model, channel or target diameter, procedure and documentation requirement.
Use particle suspensions or deposited wafers according to the inspection tool, substrate, recipe and calibration objective.
Separate the particle reference from the aerosol-generation/dilution method. Specify the test method, target size and equipment context.
Choose size plus fluorescent properties, surface chemistry and form around the imaging or tracking method.
Choose functional group, particle size, material and concentration around conjugation chemistry and assay architecture.
Choose core composition, size, coating/functionalization, concentration/form and method-specific documentation.
Applied Physics has overlapping particle families and many individual size SKUs. The correct quote should be driven by the customer’s method and required reference properties—not by whichever product title happens to rank first.
For an accurate quote: use the product quote control so the selected product, variation and quantity remain attached to your request.
REFERENCE SELECTION
The same nominal diameter can serve very different purposes. Start with the instrument and the physical reference it can actually use.
Low-density, optically useful reference spheres available across nanometer and micron-scale families.
Higher-density materials with different optical, surface and handling behavior.
Particles selected by optical response as well as diameter for imaging, flow and tracer work.
Surface-modified particles for coupling, assay, diagnostic and research-development workflows.
Aqueous suspension
Ready for compatible liquid, microscopy, aerosol-generation or deposition workflows.
Dry powder
Requires a defined dispersion, handling and agglomeration-control method.
Deposited wafer
Adds substrate, surface and deposition geometry for SSIS or wafer-inspection work.
Count control
Adds a defined concentration for liquid particle-counter counting or volumetric checks.
ISO 21501-4 addresses calibration and verification of light-scattering airborne particle counters, including size setting, counting efficiency and related performance characteristics. It does not make every microsphere a universal standard.
Confirm the exact instrument, medium, nominal channel, concentration, certificate and acceptance procedure before ordering.
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