The ability of semiconductor process simulation to analyse the physical effects of individual fabrication steps and their interaction within an entire process has gained increasing recognition within the industry. Simulation has been applied to the synthesis of nominal operating points and has offered substantial reductions in both time and expenditure when compared to experimental runs for this role. Semiconductor companies are also realising that both performance and manufacturability must be designed into new technologies from their inception. This concept of Design for Manufacturability (DFM) can be implemented by linking process simulation with statistically based experimental design and analysis tools. However, neither the software framework nor the underlying computational resource currently exist to provide the level of system integration required to support DFM within a commercial environment. The Thesis first introduces a method for enhancing the performance of process simulation software by utilising the power of parallel computing offered by the INMOS transputer. A parallel implementation of the one-dimensional simulator SUPREM-II has been developed which demonstrates the computational performance that is economically attainable and readily scalable using this technology. The system has then been extended to provide a fully functional DFM environment by automatically integrating the parallel process simulation capability with the experimental design and analysis software, RS/1. A review of parallel computing systems, semiconductor fabrication control, process simulation and experimental design/analysis is also provided to complement the presentation of the original contributions outlined above.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:640354 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Alexander, Walter James Cunningham |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/14576 |
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