Frequently Asked Questions

Covalent provides researchers and engineers with holistic analytical services to empower scientific discoveries and advanced materials and device innovation.

Our materials science experts provide strategic recommendations that help you target the proper techniques to answer your metrology questions. From there, we scope a custom experiment design and execute the measurements and analysis needed to supply accurate, reliable data, insightful models, and actionable results.

Covalent can run over 150+ analytical techniques in-house at our state-of-the-art lab. In addition to the capabilities we provide internally, Covalent partners with qualified and vetted service laboratories around the world to bring you comprehensive testing conveniently from one source.

Our services include:

• Full-suite Failure Analysis and X-ray Imaging.
• Electron Microscopy (both SEM and TEM).
• Analytical Chemistry.
• Optical Profilometry and Microscopy.
• Scanning Probe Techniques for Imaging / Analysis.
• Material Property Testing.
• X-ray Characterization.
• Particle Analysis.
• Surface Characterization.

Covalent’s primary lab is headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley at:

Covalent Metrology
927 Thompson Pl
Sunnyvale, CA, 94085

Our brick-and-mortar laboratory is fully modernized and maximally secure, with RFID sample tracking onsite and over $20M of cutting-edge analytical instruments securely integrated with Covalent’s custom Cloud platform.

Covalent also partners with an expanding global network of qualified service laboratories to better support clients worldwide.

Covalent is committed to making top-quality materials insight as easily accessible as possible. Our competitive pricing varies by technique, and we offer flexible business models that scale with you through short- and long-term projects and service contracts. Discounted rates are available on bulk orders, prepaid contracts, and all internal services ordered through our Nexus membership.

To enquire about the base pricing for our services, contact us online or email us at hello@covalent.com.

For most of Covalent’s in-house techniques and services, full test results are usually available within ~ 5-7 business days (from the date we receive your samples). The particular turnaround time for your project will vary based on the technique(s) used, the number of samples you need tested, and whether or not your project involves additional data processing, interpretation, analysis, and/or reporting.

Raw data, on the other hand, can be made available immediately after measurement via our secure Digital Platform, as all Covalent’s in-house instruments are fully integrated with the Cloud.

For urgent testing needs, Covalent offers *Rush* service for most of our in-house techniques. Our pricing covers standard turnaround, as well as Same-Day, 24-hour, and 48-hour expedited turnaround options.

Yes, for many in-house techniques! Our base pricing assumes standard testing modes with standard turnaround times. If you are flexible about your project’s turnaround, you may be eligible for a discount on many of Covalent’s most popular services.

If you are not in a rush to get your results, let your salesperson know as soon as possible in the scoping process to find out whether your project qualifies for a reduced-rate turnaround.

For jobs requiring any of Covalent’s in-house techniques, please send samples to our headquarters lab and indicate your project’s CM Number (the Order ID found on your quote) in the Attn line. For example:

Attn: CM000012345
Covalent Services
927 Thompson Pl
Sunnyvale, CA, 94085

If you want your samples returned to you after your measurements are completed, please notify Covalent’s sales operations team via email, or submit your request through the Collaboration Chat tool in the Order Portal. One of our operations staff will reach out for more information about how and where you would like us to ship the samples. Please note that outside the range of our Little Blue courier service, you will be responsible for all shipping and handling expenses associated with returning a sample to you after a project is completed.

Unless otherwise agreed upon, Covalent’s policy is to retain samples for up to 30 days after they are received and then dispose of them per safety guidelines and state law.

Yes! Covalent’s Little Blue courier operates throughout the greater Bay Area in California. For qualifying projects, our team will pick up and/or drop off your samples free of charge.

Click the link above or email littleblue@covalent.com to request sample pickup or delivery.

If you are mailing your samples to Covalent, please ensure they are packaged as securely as possible. Covalent is not responsible for any contamination, degradation, or damage incurred during transit.

To ensure your samples are processed as quickly as possible upon arrival, we also ask that you include a shipping note with the following information:

• The Project CM Number / Order ID.
• Your Name and Email.
• Safety Data Sheet/SDS if applicable.

Please send your PO via email to salesops@covalent.com and copy accounting@covalent.com.

You can reach out to salesops@covalent.com with any questions.

Covalent is committed to your success; to deliver the most impactful results, we work to ensure that our technical experts understand the context and objectives of your project as completely as possible, and that they have developed a work plan to get you the insights you really need.

Your quote contains much more detail than a purchase order does! While this does introduce an extra step, we’re big believers in the old adage that ‘it is always better to measure twice before you cut once!’

Your review and approval of all the information in your quote validates our alignment on your goals and our plan to achieve them.

Covalent makes it easy to remit payments. We accept cash, credit cards, money order, cashiers checks, and bank transfers. More instructions on how to pay can be found on your invoice.

At this time, we are not accepting payments through our online platform. Please contact salesops@covalent.com if you encounter any difficulties submitting your payment.

Submit a registration request at: https://portal.covalentmetrology.com/registration

Do not be alarmed if you cannot log in immediately once this form is submitted! To ensure the security of all our customers’ data, our Digital Platform team reviews each request and must approve and activate your account before you can log in. This authorization process may take up to 24 hours but is usually completed within the same business day.

“OTP” stands for “One-time Password” – a security key automatically generated by our secure Cloud portals whenever you try to log in for the first time on a new device or from a new IP address. Your OTP for a given login will be emailed from our servers directly to your registered email address, usually within 0-2 minutes.

If you have received a notification that an OTP was sent, but it is not showing up in your email inbox, please try looking for it in the Spam / Junk or All Mail folders. If you have not received this email after more than 5 minutes, please contact our sales operations specialists at salesops@covalent.com for further troubleshooting assistance.

We prioritize transparency and easy communication. To chat with the Covalent experts on your project in real time, try the Collaboration Chat tool on our Digital Platform. You can access it from your Order Portal by clicking on any of your current or past projects.

You can also contact your technical experts via email or phone or schedule a 15- or 30-minute consultation call to discuss your results, answer any lingering questions, and coordinate the next steps. (Please note that while your first project follow-up call is typically free of charge, if your project requires more extensive support than was initially quoted, then you may need to purchase additional hours with our technical staff).

In the Covalent Order Portal, you can upload supporting documents under the Additional Documents section of your project’s collaboration page. Navigate to this page by clicking the highlighted CM Number (the Order ID found on your quote) for this project. Click the blue “Upload” button to browse for the file you wish to upload.

Please upload supporting safety handling sheets under the SDS designation.

All other supporting materials can be uploaded by clicking the blue “Upload” button under the Supporting subsection of

Additional Documents

(such materials may include project request documents, photos of your samples, part or component specifications or critical dimension measurements, reference data or images, etc).

Your data and reports will be uploaded immediately after collection to your account in Covalent’s secure Data Portal, where you can download a copy to your local system.

Check out the new Solution Portal module in our digital platform to view, analyze, or explore your results online!

Log into your account in Covalent’s Digital Platform. To download project files in bulk, navigate to the Data Portal. You will find your project listed under your company name. Click the right-facing chevron/triangle icon (>) to open a drill-down view of the associated files. To reduce / close the folder, click to toggle the down-facing chevron/triangle icon (∨).

You can select multiple files at once and use the left-hand buttons to download the selected items:

Or you can act upon each file individually using the buttons on the far right-hand of the line:

Once logged in, you can also view, download, and even analyze or annotate your results using Covalent’s new Solution Portal. Select this portal from the header menu to view folders for each of your projects with Covalent (organized by their CM number).

Once you have opened the project folder, you can drill into the particular data you need: files within each folder are grouped first by sample ID, and then by technique. To download a data file, click the down-facing arrow icon adjacent to the file name ().

To share results with your colleagues, or to invite them to collaborate with Covalent experts during project execution, you can invite them to your project from within the Order Portal. First, have your intended collaborators register in Covalent’s Digital Platform by submitting a registration request form.

Log in and open up the project you wish to add team members to. Scroll down to the “Team members” section of the job dashboard. Click “Add team member.” This will open a drop-down menu that lists all registered users from your company. Once your teammate has completed their registration, you can select them from this menu to add them as a collaborator to this CM number.

As a registered team member on the project, they will be able to review all aspects of the project, including the quote and scope of work. They will be able to upload supporting documentation, chat with our Covalent experts using the Collaboration Chat features, and view and download the results of the project.