I think some work has been done in terms of CFD simulations of the polishing process. I think a good understanding of slurry for at the asperity level would be interesting. Specifically, as the lubrication regime changes from diect-->mixed-->hydroplaning, how does the slurry flow through the asperities.
Most of the CMP computer models that I am aware of are far from real-world and have limited utility. I do not think that a process dominated by art can be simulated accurately. Of course, the more terms one puts into a model can allow one to predict nearly anything. Diagonalizing a 10,000 by 10,000 matrix can yield a great simulation for almost anything depending on the eigenvectors that are input. Good models have as few terms as necessary. For CMP that requires terms that one can relate to a mechanical or chemical process - not adjustable empirical terms to make the model output closer to observation. More knowledge of the fundamentals of the basic process is necessary prior to building a meaningful computer model. I believe there are several groups working in this direction and making progress. Fred Higgs’ group is doing work to extend their CMP model.
We're now (January 20th, 2010) past the
official ending (the 18th) of this virtual roundtable discussion, after 4695 views of 129 replies to 18 questions. I'll
edit together Interesting discussions from most of the topics into a
summary document that will be posted to the Planarization Lounge.
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Most of the CMP computer models that I am aware of are far from real-world and have limited utility. I do not think that a process dominated by art can be simulated accurately. Of course, the more terms one puts into a model can allow one to predict nearly anything. Diagonalizing a 10,000 by 10,000 matrix can yield a great simulation for almost anything depending on the eigenvectors that are input. Good models have as few terms as necessary. For CMP that requires terms that one can relate to a mechanical or chemical process - not adjustable empirical terms to make the model output closer to observation. More knowledge of the fundamentals of the basic process is necessary prior to building a meaningful computer model. I believe there are several groups working in this direction and making progress. Fred Higgs’ group is doing work to extend their CMP model.
We're now (January 20th, 2010) past the official ending (the 18th) of this virtual roundtable discussion, after 4695 views of 129 replies to 18 questions. I'll edit together Interesting discussions from most of the topics into a summary document that will be posted to the Planarization Lounge.
We'll leave the topic posting open in case there are additional comments...but they would not be included in the summary.
Happy planarizing.