Proceedings Article | 13 September 1996
KEYWORDS: Computer aided design, Microsystems, Etching, Electronics, Bulk micromachining, Silicon, Sensors, Device simulation, Microelectronics, Anisotropic etching
Besides foundry facilities, Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools are also required to move microsystems from research prototypes to an industrial market. This paper describes a Computer-Aided-Design Framework for microsystems, based on selected existing software packages adapted and extended for microsystem technology, assembled with libraries where models are available in the form of standard cells described at different levels (symbolic, system/behavioral, layout). In microelectronics, CAD has already attained a highly sophisticated and professional level, where complete fabrication sequences are simulated and the device and system operation is completely tested before manufacturing. In comparison, the art of microsystem design and modelling is still in its infancy. However, at least for the numerical simulation of the operation of single microsystem components, such as mechanical resonators, thermo-elements, elastic diaphragms, reliable simulation tools are available. For the different engineering disciplines (like electronics, mechanics, optics, etc) a lot of CAD-tools for the design, simulation and verification of specific devices are available, but there is no CAD-environment within which we could perform a (micro-)system simulation due to the different nature of the devices. In general there are two different approaches to overcome this limitation: the first possibility would be to develop a new framework tailored for microsystem-engineering. The second approach, much more realistic, would be to use the existing CAD-tools which contain the most promising features, and to extend these tools so that they can be used for the simulation and verification of microsystems and of the devices involved. These tools are assembled with libraries in a microsystem design environment allowing a continuous design flow. The approach is driven by the wish to make microsystems accessible to a large community of people, including SMEs and non-specialized academic institutions.
