The PHD – 100 is an ultra-compact, fully-instrumented, pad sample holder for laser confocal microscopy.

The holder is used for imaging static pad-wafer contact area and contacting summit densities under dry conditions at known applied loads. Nominal contact pressures are measured with a miniature load cell and may range from 0 to 11 PSI over a half-inch diameter contact zone. Samples may be irregular in shape and do not require excessively careful preparation.

The sample holder is compatible with both upright and inverted Zeiss laser confocal microscopes using 10X or 20X objectives. Custom sample holder designs compatible with other confocal microscope brands are also possible.

Pad contact area and area density of pad asperities contacting the wafer surface have been identified as critical pad design and CMP process factors as they affect the kinetic, thermal, and tribological attributes of the process. Additionally, wafer-level defectivity is affected by the extent of the contact.

Araca Incorporated has developed the technology to measure pad-wafer contact area as a function of load and to process the resulting images to extract the contact area fraction, contacting summit densities, contact shapes, contact area histograms and other key information.

Due to various pending IP sensitivities relating to the PHD – 100 system, additional information will be furnished to interested parties only after the execution of Araca’s standard NDA. Please Contact Us for details.