Advanced discretisation strategies for atomistic nano CMOS simulation
Lead Research Organisation:
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
Department Name: Sch of Engineering
Abstract
Vision: The idea of this proof-of-concept research is to investigatehow recent revolutionary advances in computational mechanics can beleveraged to enhance the modelling of nano complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS).The size of the CMOS devices is aggressively being reduced into thedeca-nanometer range (one hundredth of a micron). It isprojected that mass-produced metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effecttransistors (MOSFETs) will reach gate lengths as small as 7 nanometersby 2018 (2003 edition of the International Technology Roadmap forSemiconductors).Modelling and simulation provides deep insight into the operation ofmodern semiconductor devices and circuits, and dramatically reducesthe development costs and time-to-market.Modelling devices at the deca-nanometer scale face significantdifficulties associated with the statistical variability from onetransistor to another introduced by the granularity of matter at thisscale. The Device Modelling Group (Asen Asenov) in the ElectricalEngineering Department at Glasgow University is the world leader inCMOS variability simulation developing unique computational tools tailored tofacilitate the design the next generation of nano-CMOS.While these techniques are very well suited to simulate the effects ofdiscrete dopants, they involve an unnecessary computational cost byrequiring large numbers of grid points when simulating line edge andinterface roughness. It would be greatly beneficial for the practical use simulations of CMOS atthe nano-scale if this computational cost could be reduced.Stephane Bordas, from the Mechanics and Materials Group of the CivilEngineering Department at Glasgow University has developed efficientnumerical techniques which have the potential to significantlydecrease the computational burden through enrichment of the numericalscheme with a priori knowledge about the solution and by allowing theuse of low quality discretisations without sacrificing accuracy.This proof-of-concept research will investigate how the novelnumerical techniques devised in Bordas' group in the context ofmechanics problems can be generalised to increase the accuracy versuscomputational cost ratio in nano-scale CMOS simulators.
Organisations
Publications
Andrés González-Estrada O
(2012)
On the role of enrichment and statical admissibility of recovered fields in a posteriori error estimation for enriched finite element methods
in Engineering Computations
Chen L
(2014)
Explicit finite deformation analysis of isogeometric membranes
in Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
Ghasemi H
(2015)
Probabilistic multiconstraints optimization of cooling channels in ceramic matrix composites
in Composites Part B: Engineering
Kerfriden P
(2011)
Bridging proper orthogonal decomposition methods and augmented Newton-Krylov algorithms: An adaptive model order reduction for highly nonlinear mechanical problems
in Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
Menk A
(2010)
Numerically determined enrichment functions for the extended finite element method and applications to bi-material anisotropic fracture and polycrystals
in International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering
Menk A
(2011)
Crack growth calculations in solder joints based on microstructural phenomena with X-FEM
in Computational Materials Science
Natarajan S
(2011)
Linear free flexural vibration of cracked functionally graded plates in thermal environment
in Computers & Structures
Natarajan S
(2010)
IUTAM Symposium on Multi-Functional Material Structures and Systems
Description | We devised numerical methods to simulate nano-electronic devices. Those methods were tested on simple electronic components and showed that stable results could be obtained. A second impact was to devise isogeometric boundary element methods in two and three dimensions. This significant breakthrough enables the direct prediction of stresses in linear elastic structures without generating a mesh, directly from the data provided by designers. This work has had impact on simplifying practical engineering simulations, shape optimisation and the simulation of crack propagation and damage tolerance assessment of complex three-dimensional structures without remeshing, directly from the Computer Aided Design model. The work could also have impact to simplify the design and creative process if coupled to real-time simulations developed by the team in other projects. Associated with 3D printing technology, the methodology promises to enable fast prototyping directly from CAD, thereby freeing the designer from many of their usual constraints. |
Exploitation Route | Our findings are already been used by others and are available as open source software on our repository: orbi.lu as well as sourceforge https://sourceforge.net/u/cmechanicsos/profile/ Our codes are downloaded over 7000 times a year. https://sourceforge.net/projects/cmcodes/ |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Communities and Social Services/Policy Construction Creative Economy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Electronics Energy Environment Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | http://legato-team.eu/ |
Description | We devised numerical methods to simulate nano-electronic devices. Those methods were tested on simple electronic components and showed that stable results could be obtained. A second impact was to devise isogeometric boundary element methods in two and three dimensions. This significant breakthrough enables the direct prediction of stresses in linear elastic structures without generating a mesh, directly from the data provided by designers. This work has had impact on simplifying practical engineering simulations, shape optimisation and the simulation of crack propagation and damage tolerance assessment of complex three-dimensional structures without remeshing, directly from the Computer Aided Design model. The work could also have impact to simplify the design and creative process if coupled to real-time simulations developed by the team in other projects. Associated with 3D printing technology, the methodology promises to enable fast prototyping directly from CAD, thereby freeing the designer from many of their usual constraints. Given the number of yearly downloads of our software (around 7,000) it is not obvious to fully quantify the use of the work. But we know it has been used for shape optimisation and crack propagation simulations already. |
First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Creative Economy |
Impact Types | Economic |