SAMPLE
Available in versions 1.7 and 1.8, SAMPLE simulates the time evolution of topographical features of integrated-circuit devices during multiple process steps. The basic process steps simulated by SAMPLE are optical, E-beam, X-ray, and ion lithography; wet and dry etching; and insulator and metal deposition. SAMPLE includes contrast enhancement layers and inorganic resists, etching of nonplanar layers, and links to the two-dimensional optical image simulator SPLAT.
Except for the PC version, the distribution media also contain several other software tools from the SAMPLE group on an as-is basis. These include graphic routines suitable for displaying SAMPLE curves and profiles, as well as other graphic functions as used on VAX/UNIX with HP2648 terminals. Other software includes EEDP, which generates the Monte Carlo data for E-beam lithography routines; BSE (Back-Scattered Electron) program, which calculates the electron distribution from a resist-covered silicon step; RACPLE, which calculates the approximate number of lateral squares from one end to the other of a profile generated by SAMPLE; REFLOP, which calculates the optical reflectivity of a thin-film structure; and SPLAT (version 2.0 for SAMPLE 1.7 and version 3.0 for SAMPLE 1.8), an optical imaging program that simulates two-dimensional, aberration-free projection printing with partial coherence.
The IBM-compatible PC version, SAMPLE 1.7-PC, includes an interactive, menu-driven graphics plot program, F77PLOT. Typical CPU times on a PC/XT are about three to five times those for a VAX 11/780 running UNIX.
Version 1.8 adds the simulation of Shipley SNR 248 (or XP-8843) deep-UV acid hardening resist, new options, and several bug fixes. A PC version of SAMPLE 1.8 is now available.
Documentation Included with the Program:
- User's Guide and Installation Notes. Available separately for $15.00