Coventor Announces SEMulator3D 6.0 and New Electrical Analysis Capabilities

Published by Coventor at June 7, 2016

Coventor’s Virtual Fabrication Platform Addresses Increasingly Complex Semiconductor Process Design Challenges

CARY, NC– June 6, 2016 – Coventor^®, Inc., the leading supplier of automated software solutions for semiconductor devices and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), today announced the availability of SEMulator3D^® 6.0 – the latest version of its semiconductor virtual fabrication platform. This new version further increases the accuracy of the process simulation, geometry and modeling of advanced semiconductor processes with new features, usability enhancements and a new add-on capability for electrical analysis. Along with SEMulator3D 6.0, Coventor is releasing an all-new SEMulator3D Electrical Analysis add-on component that allows seamless resistance and capacitance extraction directly from SEMulator3D process-predictive 3D models.

SEMulator3D Electrical Analysis

In semiconductor device fabrication, the various processing steps have grown increasingly complex as smaller semiconductor feature sizes and nodes are developed. With shrinking process technologies, parasitic effects of devices and interconnects have a significant impact on circuit performance. SEMulator3D Electrical Analysis builds in new features and solvers so that users can better understand resistance and capacitance impacts of design and process variation.

“The real break-through here is our ability to solve for resistance and capacitance dramatically faster than any other software, without ever leaving the SEMulator3D environment. There is no meshing or data export required,” said David Fried, CTO – Semiconductor for Coventor. “Now, our users can link the process variations in the fab and the design choices of the product to real electrical impact, through process-predictive structural modeling and our new advanced Electrical Analysis tool.”

SEMulator3D 6.0 Productivity Enhancements

SEMulator3D 6.0 enables accurate modeling and performance prediction for next-generation processes including FinFETs, 3D NAND Flash, BEOL, Nanowires, 3D-IC, FDSOI, and DRAM. The new version includes the following usability enhancements:

New Analysis Editor environment

The tool now separates analysis steps, such as metrology, structure search and parasitic extraction from the process sequence for improved usability, faster analysis run-times and simpler collaborative deployment.

Tracking virtual defects

Defect insertion and placement has been enhanced to allow for random, systematic and arrayed defectivity, reflecting the various sources of possible manufacturing issues in the fab. This diagnostic improvement enables a known defect to be traced back to the originating process step or tool that may have created it.

Support for additional structural export formats

SEMulator3D now allows users to export meshes to additional file formats, including dopant concentrations, for use in 3^rd-party FEA/BEA software. This provides users the benefit of having the accuracy of the SEMulator3D process simulation and geometry along with the ability to model additional complex physical phenomena using other tools.

About Coventor

Coventor, Inc. is the market leader in automated design solutions for developing semiconductor process technology, as well as micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Coventor serves a worldwide customer base of integrated device manufacturers, memory suppliers, fabless design houses, independent foundries, and R&D organizations. Its SEMulator3D modeling and analysis platform is used for fast and accurate ‘virtual fabrication’ of advanced manufacturing processes, allowing engineers to understand manufacturing effects early in the development process and reduce time-consuming and costly silicon learning cycles. Its MEMS design solutions are used to develop MEMS-based products for automotive, aerospace, industrial, defense, and consumer electronics applications, including smart phones, tablets, and gaming systems. The company is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina and has offices in California’s Silicon Valley; Waltham, Massachusetts; and Paris, France. More information is available at https://www.coventor.com.

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