Synthesizing semiconductor process flow models

• Main Author: MOULI CHANDRA V
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.12.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CALCULATING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; COMPUTING; CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; CONTROLLING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS ORELEMENTS; PHYSICS; REGULATING; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE

Systems and methods of modeling a best-guess semiconductor process flow for fabricating a desired semiconductor device are provided. The best-guess process flow is modeled using an inverse modeling technique. This technique reverse engineers a desired semiconductor device to synthesize a model of a fabrication process that is likely to produce the desired semiconductor device. First, a desired device having one or more desired characteristics is modeled. Then, various process and material parameters, constraints, and actual measured data are used to synthesize one or more unique software models that represent a process flow likely to fabricate the desired device. If more than one process flow is modeled, various parameters are modified iteratively until a unique process flow model is synthesized.