College of Engineering

The University of Texas at Austin

Topics in Semiconductor Circuit, Device, and Process Simulation
November 11-13, 1996

Presented by

Texas Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics and
The Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Department

Administered by
Continuing Engineering Studies

Overview

OBJECTIVE: Participants who attend this course will be able to understand the models for circuit, device, and process simulation in microelectronics, appreciate the use and limitations of present day simulators, and be aware of the current state of simulator development and application. The course will emphasize simulation methods for circuit analysis, semiconductor devices, and process modeling: mathematical models, numerical techniques, simulation `pitfalls', applications studies, and solution strategies of current simulators.

PREREQUISITES: Applicants to this course should possess a bachelor's degree in engineering or its equivalent in engineering practical experience and be involved directly or indirectly in semiconductor circuit, device or process analysis or design.

DESCRIPTION: The course will consist of approximately 20 hours of lectures and discussions. The educational materials used will consist of: (1) A new book co-authored by the lecturers, Circuit, Process, and Device Simulation: Numerical and Mathematical Aspects, J. Wiley, 1996 (ISBN 0-471-96019-5). A copy of the book will be provided to each short course participant. (2) Copies of transparency material.

Course Topics

CIRCUIT SIMULATION

Circuit modeling concepts and problem scale; large coupled system of ODE's; the outer loop - trapezoidal and multistep integrators, adaptive step size, error control; inner loop - Newton's method, up-dating the Jacobian; linear systems - sparse matrix technology, relaxation methods, projection methods; state of the art circuit simulators (SPICE), problem areas and pitfalls. (Lecturers: Mulvaney, Richardson, Carey)

DEVICE SIMULATION

Governing equations; drift-diffusion; numerical pitfalls; finite difference and finite element methods; Gummel decoupling; gradient iterative solution; adaptive grids and flux upwinding; MOSFET application; continuation of IV characteristics. Hydrodynamic equations. Fundamentals of Monte Carlo techniques. Applications to hot carrier phenomena. Limitations and advantages of MC over alternatives and state of the art MC codes. (Lecturers: Carey, Maziar, Bova, Pardhanani)

PROCESS SIMULATION

Ion Implantation: analytical distributions (Gaussian, Pearson IV), Monte Carlo techniques for irregular geometries in higher dimensions; Diffusion: intrinsic and extrinsic regimes, Fair-Tsai phosphorus model, point defects, multiple species models, oxidation enhanced/retarded effects, rapid thermal annealing, reaction-diffusion PDE's, numerical method of lines, finite difference method, variable order-variable step integrators; Oxidation: Deal-Grove formula in 1-D, creeping flow Navier-Stokes in higher dimensions, viscous layers and reaction-diffusion coupling, moving boundaries, "birds beak" solution, trench isolation. Survey of current software. (Lecturers: Mulvaney, Richardson, Carey)

Faculty

Dr. Graham F. Carey (UT-Austin) is a member of the Texas Institute for Computational Mechanics. He has been involved in developing models for oxidation and numerical methods for device simulation, with his primary research being in the area of finite element modeling.

Dr. Walter B. Richardson (UT-San Antonio) is a member of the Mathematics Department at UT San Antonio. Previously he worked in the process and device simulation group at MCC in Austin, co-authored the process simulator PEPPER, and currently works on numerical methods for reaction-diffusion PDE's.

Dr. Brian J. Mulvaney (Motorola) is a member of the Advanced Design Technology group. He has worked in the areas of ion implantation, general process simulation (PEPPER), circuit simulation, and timing analysis. Prior to Motorola, he was with MCC in Austin and at ATT Bell Labs, Allentown.

Guest Lecturers

Dr. Christine Maziar and Dr. Al Tasch are members of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UT Austin. Their primary research interests are in Monte Carlo techniques for modeling carrier transport and in semiconductor device physics.

Dr. Steve Bova and Dr. Anand Pardhanani are research faculty at UT working on finite element and finite difference simulation of semiconductor devices.

Arrangements

Registration:Although enrollment is not limited, early registration is urged. You can register via email (postmaster@cesmail.utexas.edu) using an internet form, or via telephone at (512) 471-3506 or (512) 471-3396.

Tuition:The fee of $795 covers all educational materials, a copy of Circuit, Process, and Device Simulation: Numerical and Mathematical Aspects, , and refreshments during breaks. Those who must cancel and do so 10 days prior to the workshop will be refunded all but $50. of the tuition. There is also a discount available for students.

Continuing Education Units: These have been approved and will be issued upon completion of the course. The CEU is a nationally recognized uniform unit for continuing education courses, which can be accumulated for professional development.

Location:Classes will be held at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center on The University of Texas at Austin campus.

Transportation:Robert Mueller Municipal Airport is serviced by all major airlines. Complimentary parking is available at the conference center. For flight schedules browse airlines under Yahoo Travel Info . Note that the course will finish at 3:00 PM on Wednesday so that those catching late flights can make their planes.

Recreational Facilities: The University has outstanding recreational facilities which are available to participants in the short course at a nominal fee. Further information will be available the first day of the course.

Weather: During November, night lows in Austin average 48 degrees Fahrenheit while daytime highs average 69 degrees (F). Informal attire is appropriate in the classroom.

Lodging: Listed below are several hotels which are in close proximity to the University. For additional information on lodging and restaurants in the Austin area see the Continuing Engineering Studies home page (ceswww.utexas.edu).