characterization, modeling, and design of esd protection circuits

A.7. Input Deck Specifications 185
A.7 Input Deck Specifications
As of September 1994, Tracer works with PISCES-2ET [44], some in-house versions of
Stanford PISCES, and to some extent md3200 or md10000, TMA-MEDICI Version 1.2.2
[29]. 1 Use of MEDICI is not yet robust and thus Tracer may or may not complete a trace
using this simulator; the ability to use MEDICI for simulations with open contacts has not
yet been implemented. If Tracer is to use simulators which cannot perform ac analysis,
the capability for calculating admittances using the difference method must be added (a
previous version of Tracer had this capability, so it should not be hard to implement).
The input deck used by Tracer, inputfile, is a standard PISCES file, but Tracer has
certain requirements. For understanding the basic flow of an input deck, consult the
PISCES or TMA-MEDICI manual. The mesh, region, electrode, doping, and model cards
must already be present in the input deck. Additionally, the Newton solution method must
be specified in the symbolic card. Other requirements are described below.
A.7.1 Load and Solve Cards
In Tracer, the user specifies whether to start with an initial solution or to load a previous
solution (see Section A.6). In either case, the user must mark a line in inputfile where
the solve statement should go by starting the line with “solve”. Any parameter specified in
this solve statement is irrelevant. If Tracer is to start with a previous solution,
inputfile must contain a standard load statement, above the solve line, containing the
name of the input file to be used, i.e., load infil=. In the case of
loading a solution with a zero-current bias condition, “current” should be specified on a
contact card for the open electrode.
A.7.2 Contact Card
Contact cards are optional in inputfile except in the case of electrodes biased with a
current source. The case of the zero-current source is noted in Section A.6 above. If there
are any electrodes with a finite-current bias condition, a contact card with the “current”
option should be placed in inputfile for each such electrode, regardless of whether
Tracer is to begin with an initial solution or a loaded solution.
1. These implementations were developed in connection with Advanced Micro Devices, where
TMA software is used, as part of a summer internship.