CD Laboratory for High Performance TCAD

Numerical simulations in TCAD (Technology Computer-Aided Design) are accelerated and improved to minimise costly experiments to ultimately reduce the time-to-market of modern electronic devices.

TCAD consists of various computer simulation processes that simulate the complex physical processes that occur in electronic components in models and use these findings to calculate optimal designs for new components. The aim of the CD Laboratory is to develop high-performance TCAD modules that significantly reduce simulation times and thus time-to-market. In particular, efficient parallelisation approaches are to be investigated and new types of models developed in order to gain the ability to calculate cutting-edge components faster and better in advance.

Key aspects of TCAD simulations are the physical models used to simulate manufacturing processes, such as the silicon oxidation of semiconductors. However, these models often lack a theoretical basis and therefore lag behind experimental research. In the field of silicon carbide technology for fast high-temperature or high-voltage power electronic devices, for example, the theoretical foundations and corresponding modelling approaches are lacking, although products using this technology are already on the market. However, the lack of theoretical foundations and thus of precise simulation software is preventing a broader application of this technology.

The initial research problems of the CD Laboratory will therefore focus on the challenges of high-performance process simulations. With regard to performance optimisation and parallel implementations, particle transport, which is used in plasma etching, as well as silicon oxidation, electroplating transport and redistancing algorithms, which are necessary for level-set topography simulations, will be investigated. Furthermore, macroscopic models for silicon carbide technology, e.g. oxidation, as well as for epitaxy simulations aiming at highly non-planar structures are developed.

The CD Laboratory's research work will significantly refine and refine the simulation capabilities relevant to TCAD and thus significantly improve future generations of electronic devices.