Sentaurus Structure Editor Device Editor and ... - Synopsys.com

Data Sheet
Sentaurus Structure Editor
Device Editor and Process
Emulator
Overview
Sentaurus Structure Editor is a device editor and process emulator based on CAD technology. It has three distinct operational
modes: 2D structure editing, 3D structure editing, and 3D process emulation. Geometric and process emulation operations
can be mixed freely, adding more flexibility to the generation of 3D structures. In addition, Sentaurus Structure Editor offers
state-of-the-art visualization. Structures are displayed as they are created and powerful view filters make it possible to select a
subset of regions and to make regions transparent.
Sentaurus Structure Editor is powered by the ACIS® geometry kernel, which is well proven and widely used as the basis of
many different applications.
The graphical user interface (GUI) of Sentaurus Structure Editor
features a command-line window, in which script commands
corresponding to the GUI operations are printed. Script
commands can also be entered directly at the command-line
window. Doping profiles and meshing strategies can be defined
interactively. Placements are visualized as semitransparent boxes
for easy verification.
All doping and meshing options of the Synopsys meshing tools
Mesh and Noffset3D are supported. The meshing tools can be
called from the GUI and the generated mesh and doping profiles
can be automatically visualized in Sentaurus Structure Editor or
Tecplot SV.
Benefits
• Use direct CAD operations and process emulation steps to
create 2D and 3D structures
• Interactive graphical user interface with state-of-the-art
visualization
• User-friendly graphical user interface and front end for Synopsys
meshing engines
• Firmly based on the ACIS® solid geometry modeling kernel
• Scriptable with recording and replaying commands from the GUI
• Versatile and integrated command-line window for script
execution
All interactive operations are recorded and a journal file can
be saved, enabling users to reconstruct device geometries by
rerunning the journaled script file.

Z
Y
X
Figure 1. Main graphical user interface of Sentaurus Structure Editor.
Figure 2. Visualization of three-dimensional grid with associated doping
distribution.
Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Device Editor
Two-dimensional and three-dimensional device models are created
geometrically using 2D or 3D primitives such as rectangles,
polygons, cuboids, cylinders, and spheres. Three-dimensional
regions can also be created by extruding 2D objects or sweeping
2D objects along a path. Rounded edges are generated by
filleting, 3D edge blending, and chamfering. The way in which
the overlap between new and existing objects is resolved can
be explicitly selected, which allows greater flexibility in structure
generation. Complex shapes are generated by performing Boolean
operations (union, subtract, intersect) between elements.
Parametric Device Structures
The script files of Sentaurus Structure Editor use a LISP-like
programming language called Scheme. Scripting makes it easy
to create parametric structures using simple variables or variables
defined as functions of other variables, conditional constructs such
as ‘if’ or ‘do while’ blocks, and loops.
Model Tessellation
Sentaurus Structure Editor models can contain analytic (circular,
elliptical) curves and spline curves in 2D, and analytic (spherical,
cylindrical, elliptical, toroidal) curves and spline curves or NURBS
surfaces in 3D. These curved edges and faces must be tessellated
to generate DF–ISE boundary output. Global and facewise
refinements can be used to specify the required surface resolution
(surface and normal vector tolerance), and the aspect ratio and
maximal edge length of the elements in the surface tessellation.
Mesh and Doping Visualization
From Sentaurus Structure Editor, the Synopsys meshers can
be accessed conveniently. Mesh and Noffset3D can be fully
configured from Sentaurus Structure Editor. The meshing
strategies (local refinements), constant and analytic dopings, and
submesh inclusion can be defined. The generated grid and data
files can be visualized in Sentaurus Structure Editor.
2

Figure 3. Selected steps from a process emulation sequence that Procem typically performs. The final structure is a FinFET.
Three-Dimensional Process Emulator
In process emulation mode (Procem), Sentaurus Structure Editor
translates processing steps, such as etching and deposition,
patterning, fill and polish, into geometric operations. Procem
supports various options such as isotropic and anisotropic etching
and deposition, rounding, and blending to account for specific
processing effects.
Procem is fully integrated into Ligament, which is part of Sentaurus
Workbench. Process emulation flows can be created easily and
conveniently using the Ligament Flow Editor. External layout files
in CIF or GDSII format can be imported into the Ligament Layout
Editor.
Implantation
Doping profile distributions, including shadowing effects and
nonplanar surfaces, can be defined using imp3d – an implantation
engine – thereby emulating in 3D the final distribution of an implant
operation that can include diffusion.
Sentaurus Structure Editor can use imp3d to create a doping
profile in the device, emulating the final profile of doping
implantation and diffusion steps. The result is a distribution
described by a Pearson function whose moment parameters are
defined by the user: standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis.
An additional exponential tail parameter is available.
Mix-and-Match
The (2D and 3D) device editor modes and three-dimensional
process emulation mode can be mixed freely in a script or
interactively by entering Procem Scheme commands at the
command-line window. For example, a geometrically generated
trench can be coated with a thin oxide layer by using a single
deposition step.
3

Figure 4. Local and global tessellation control for polyhedral output.
Features
• Proven CAD technology using ACIS® computational geometry
kernel and interface with CAD file formats (SAT)
• Intuitive graphical user interface
• Immediate visualization of current geometry
• Interactive scripting, including capability to record GUI actions,
and type-and-paste script commands
• Generation of 2D and 3D primitives: rectangles, circles,
polygons, cuboids, cylinders, and spheres
• Rounding of corners and edges by filleting and chamfering
• Extruding and sweeping 2D objects
• Control of overlap resolution
• Assignment of contacts to edges and faces
• Two-dimensional boundary simplification
• Interactive definitions of doping and meshing strategies
• Visual control of doping and meshing placements
• Direct calls to the Synopsys meshing engines
• Patterning with layout and masks (CIF and GDSII formats)
• Deposition and etching: isotropic and anisotropic, and various
blending options
• Fill and polish, and strip
• Implant (analytic profiles)
• Fully integrated into the process simulation environment
Ligament
Supported Platforms
• AMD64 (Opteron) 64-bit
• HP (PA-RISC 2.0) HP-UX 64-bit
• Sun (SPARC) Solaris 64-bit
• x86 (IA-32) Linux 32-bit
700 East Middlefield Road, Mountain View, CA 94043 T 650 962 5000 www.synopsys.com
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© 2005 Synopsys, Inc. All rights reserved. 10/05.RB.WO.05-13604