Scientists at Araca, Inc. have been teaching several courses in the area of CMP. The classes are designed to be most suitable for individuals with graduate or undergraduate degrees in the sciences and engineering. However, evaluation results over the years have indicated that legal, commercial, and business folks, as well as equipment and process technicians, have also benefited immensely by attending.
Courses currently being taught include:
- CMP Fundamentals by Prof. Ara Philipossian (16 hours),
- Silicon Carbide Technology by Profs. Keleher and Philipossian (4 hours),
- Wafer-Level and Nanoparticle-level Surface Chemistry as they Relate to CMP Fundamentals by Prof. Keleher (4 hours), and,
- Advanced Slurry Additives and Formulations and Their Effects on Pad and Disc Longevity by Prof. Keleher (4 hours).
All courses can be delivered in person or virtually, depending on customers’ needs, over a period of several weeks. There is no limit to the number of attendees for each course. The customer is welcome to videotape the courses for future playback to their employees.
Course on Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Fundamentals
- Historical overview – Why and how CMP came about, and a look into the future
- Definitions of terms
- Review of selected experimental evidence of introducing and discussing observations that form the basis for a conceptual understanding of CMP phenomena and removal rate models
- Bulk polishing theory of applying a proper model for oxide and metal removal
- Fundamentals of Pads
- Tribology of CMP and nanoparticle settling in slurries
- Advanced topics in CMP
- Reactor design and modeling
- Fundamentals of gritted diamond and CVD-coated discs for pad conditioning
- Fundamentals of retaining rings
- Fundamentals of post-CMP cleaning
For more details on the above individual topics, please click here. A formal certificate of professional achievement will be presented to all participants who complete the course.
Course on SiC Technology
- Wide bandgap materials
- Why silicon carbide?
- Silicon vs. silicon carbide crystal growth methods
- The Si-face and C-face of SiC wafers
- Crystal growth failure modes and types of defects
- Defect transference into Epi Layers
- The primary unit operations in SiC wafer manufacturing
- CMP causes surface and subsurface damage
- Benefits and challenges in going from 150-mm to 200-mm SiC wafers
- Case Study No. 1 – Effect of conditioner type on bulk SiC polish performance
- Case Study No. 2 – A new method for final epi-ready SiC polish
- Silicon carbide epitaxy
- SiC CMP challenges and material durability – Understand how slurry chemistry affects pad and disc performance
- Fundamentals of SiC Removal (role of step edges and defects, and surface termination effects)
- Oxidizers in CMP (KMnO₄, H₂O₂, and ozone – Mechanisms and comparisons, Redox-driven surface modification)
- Abrasive-Oxidizer Synergy (enhancing removal rate and surface quality, DOE and surface energy insights)
- Pad Interaction and Degradation (chemical-mechanical breakdown mechanisms, effects of pH, temperature, and oxidizer concentration)
- Mitigation Strategies (pad coatings, chelators, and formulation controls)
- Emerging Additives (organometallic complexes, reactive oxidizing species tuning, and particle clustering effects)
- Flucto-CMP® Integration (sono-chemical enhancement of redox chemistry, pot life, and inline mixing optimization)
- Summary and Outlook (key formulation principles, application-specific design strategies)
A formal certificate of professional achievement will be presented to all participants who complete the course.
Course on Wafer-Level and Nanoparticle-level Surface Chemistry as they Relate to CMP Fundamentals
- Pad and Contact Mechanics (particle entrapment, defect sites, pad conditioning, and the modification of surface response)
- Slurry and Substrate Complexity (Cu, STI, WBG – oxidation states, ligand chemistry, different chemistries require tailored cleaning)
- Defect Formation Mechanisms (organic residues, galvanic corrosion, hydrophobic debris, 3-body interactions drive complex defect modes)
- Cleaning Approaches (brush scrubbing vs. megasonic, supramolecular, and SC-1 mimic chemistries)
- Emerging Concepts (residue as activator, surface energy tuning to boost removal)
- Flucto-Clean® Case Study (enhanced PRE, lower shear force, dynamic vs. static cleaning synergy)
- Takeaways (match surface chemistry to cleaning design, minimize stress, maximize selectivity, cleaning is not passive, it’s chemically active)
- Asperity Dynamics (asperity reduction means increased pad wear, diamond shape, and orientation, and their impact on asperity interactions)
- Debris Generation, Pad Damage (catching vs. tearing, pore structure, micro-delamination and rupture zones, diamond edge and sidewall whittling effects)
- Thermal and Mechanical Effects (friction-induced heating and material loss, thermomechanical deformation, viscoelastic rebound)
- Conditioning Consequences (pad thinning and slurry transport, and non-uniform conditioning)
A formal certificate of professional achievement will be presented to all participants who complete the course.
Course on Advanced Slurry Additives and Formulations and Their Effects on Pad and Disc Longevity
- Introduction and Scope – CMP as an enabling process (FEOL, BEOL, and advanced packaging).
- Slurry Components and Functions – Abrasives, oxidizers, inhibitors, surfactants.
- Abrasive Chemistry – Silica, ceria, alumina, zirconia, diamond.
- Surface Functionalization Strategies (e.g., silane and photo-activation).
- Additive-Pad Interactions – Complexing agents, pH effects, adhesion, tribology.
- Oxidative and thermal degradation mechanisms – Case Study – Copper CMP
- Slurry formulation, additive impact, electrochemical behavior.
- Pad and disc longevity impacts – Conditioner wear, fouling, and surface energy effects.
- Barrier Slurry Design – Selectivity, dual-inhibitor systems, low-stress processing.
- Future topics – W CMP, STI, pad-conditioner synergies, advanced nanoparticles.
- Cu CMP Chemistry and Slurry Filtration (oxidation states, complexation, Fenton-like reactivity, nanoparticle stability, glycine adsorption, and corrosion current tracking)
- Case Studies in CMP (W CMP – wear dynamics, conditioner fouling, STI – CeO₂ abrasives, redox reactivity, and pad damage)
- Emerging Additive Strategies – Functionalized particles, biomimetic additives, filtration, and redox modulation effects
- The Flucto-CMP® Innovation (sono-activated polishing chemistry, megasonic frequency, power, and slurry flow rate tuning, redox control, ROS generation, and removal rate gains)
- Mechanistic and Surface Characterization (ORP and DO monitoring, contact angle, interferometry, film thickness, and surface roughness)
- Future Directions (redox-smart nanocomposites, low-wear and high-efficiency CMP formulations)
A formal certificate of professional achievement will be presented to all participants who complete the course.
Bio – Dr. Philipossian has been a professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arizona since 2001 where he holds the Koshiyama Chair of Planarization. Since its establishment in 2004, he has also been the Co-Founder, President and CEO of Araca Incorporated, the premier provider of services and equipment to the polishing and planarization industry worldwide. He received his BS, MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University in 1983, 1985 and 1992, respectively. From 1992 to 2001, he was the Materials Technology Manager at Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA USA) responsible for development, characterization, implementation and sustaining of new and existing CMP and post-CMP cleaning consumables, low k dielectrics and electroplating chemicals. From 1986 to 1992, he worked at Digital Equipment Corporation (Hudson, MA USA) as a process development manager focusing on thermal silicon oxidation, diffusion, LPCVD of dielectric and gate electrodes, and wafer cleaning technology. Dr. Philipossian has authored approximately 180 archival journal publications and about 210 articles in conference proceedings. He holds 36 patents in the area of semiconductor processing and device fabrication.
Bio – Prof. Keleher is a leading surface and interface science researcher, focusing on Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP), the development of advanced materials, and sustainable semiconductor processing. Jason received his Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry) from Clarkson University (New York) in 2004 under the guidance of the late Dr. Yuzhuo Li, working on developing next-generation consumable technologies for chemical mechanical planarization of Cu/Low-K devices. Jason was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Komag Inc. (now Western Digital Inc.), a Senior Research Scientist at Cabot Microelectronics Corporation (now Entegris Inc.), and is currently the Professor and Chair of the Chemistry Department at Lewis University. He leads an active research group that combines fundamental molecular mechanisms with applied engineering challenges to drive the design of advanced slurries/cleaning chemistries for CMP and post-CMP processes. Their research emphasizes real-time monitoring of critical redox and interfacial phenomena, the application of predictive models to enhance performance, and the development of low-stress and sustainable CMP and p-CMP solutions. The Keleher Research Group’s work has resulted in 50 publications, 25 U.S. patents, and over 500 presentations. One hallmarks of his team is the numerous collaborations with industry partners to advance fundamental understanding relevant to the semiconductor industry. In addition to his research accomplishments, Jason is deeply committed to undergraduate and graduate education and mentoring. He is passionate about creating hands-on, research-driven learning environments that empower the next generation of scientists and engineers to solve real-world problems at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, and sustainability.
