Please refer to our Testing and Simulation Brochure for a quick summary.

Araca Incorporated is the premier provider of experimentally validated simulation services in the world related to planarization and polishing processes. We currently offer simulation services in six basic areas of planarization and polishing for rotary, orbital and linear polishers of any type, and wafers of any diameter (i.e. 100 to 300-mm, along with some limited simulation capability for 450-mm applications).

Analysis of conditioning and removal rates

• Analysis of furrow density uniformity on the pad as a function of conditioning schedule, location of conditioning track, and pad and conditioner rotation rates.
• Determination of the conditioning sweeps that work best with a given conditioner design, and the sweep that provides the most stable polishing pad profile.
• Analysis (experimentally and theoretically) of the furrows and the surface topography produced by the conditioner under different circumstances and in different locations on a specific type of pad.
• Analysis of the effect of conditioned pad topography on slurry flow or retention on the pad and under the wafer.
• Analysis and prediction of the relationships between conditioning tool designs and conditioning strategies to material removal rates, planarization rates, and dishing and erosion for silicon dioxide and copper, and possibly other materials.

Analysis of pad cut rate uniformity during conditioning

• Construction of a detailed numerical model of the conditioner.
• Analysis of the ‘furrowing’ to evaluate the uniformity of cut rate over the pad surface and the dependence of cut rate uniformity on sweep frequency.
• Optimization of sweep schedules for a given sweep track, conditioner size and design.
• Measurement and characterization of ILD, tungsten and copper removal rates.
• Design and execution of polishing experiments under a wide range of conditions to measure material removal rates while simultaneously collecting data on coefficient of friction (COF) and pad heating.
• Execution of heated and chilled platen experiments to measure activation energies.
• Characterization of removal data either with an empirical model or with a more detailed physical model that relates removal rates to processing parameters and consumables characteristics.
• Construction of a map of mechanical and chemical rates.
• Development of specialized chemistry models for slurries that are not well-described by a two step Langmuir-Hinshelwood model CMP topography evolution modeling.

Measurement and characterization of ILD, tungsten and copper removal rates

• Design and execution of polishing experiments under a wide range of conditions to measure material removal rates while simultaneously collecting data on coefficient of friction (COF) and pad heating.
• Execution of heated and chilled platen experiments to measure activation energies.
• Characterization of removal data either with an empirical model or with a more detailed physical model that relates removal rates to processing parameters and consumables characteristics.
• Construction of a map of mechanical and chemical rates.
• Development of specialized chemistry models for slurries that are not well-described by a two step Langmuir-Hinshelwood model.

CMP topography evolution modeling

• Simulation of polishing, dishing and erosion for multiple platen processes using removal rate models that capture the physics of the thermal, chemical and mechanical aspects of polishing (the simulations combine both bulk and surface properties of the pad and are able to capture planarization behavior over scales that range from sub-micron to wafer scale).

Slurry transport and influence of pad texture

• Simulation of the pattern of slurry flow at any flow rate from single or multiple injection points (flow rates at all injection sites can be individually controlled).
• Assessment of the effect of the method of slurry application on its residence time and age (the latter can be estimated using several different methods, including streamlines along the mean flow field).
• Determination of the effect of pad surface texture on slurry transport, slurry thickness, residence times and aging (pad surface texture can either be simulated, if enough information is available, or determined from optical interferometry of an actual pad sample).
• Analysis of the effect of various grooving patterns on fluid pressures.

Pad and wafer heating

• Simulation of the local wafer body temperature as well as pad and slurry temperature as a function of time (pad temperature can be used to partially validate wafer temperature predictions).
• Simulation of a variety of carrier head designs with and without wafer retaining rings and pressure rings.
• Simulation of hydrodynamic and solid contact pressures between the wafer and the pad for flat as well as a limited set of grooved pads.
• Simulation of frictional heating for both solo and stacked pads.