Christian Doppler Laboratory for Technology CAD in Microelectronics

The Christian Doppler Laboratory for Technology CAD in Microelectronics focuses mainly on the simulation of the electrical characteristics of modern semiconductor devices. In order to master this task, sophisticated software tools are required, commonly referred to as TCAD tools. Despite the advances made during the last decades, many unresolved issues remain. In particular, the capabilities of commercially available TCAD tools usually lag behind for leading edge applications. This is mainly due to the rapid progress in process technology which enabled the fabrication of extremely small devices, the realization of new device concepts based on quantum mechanical effects, and the introduction of new materials. All these innovations question the reliability of trusted simulation tools and a reassessment, evaluation, and refinement is mandatory.
The main goal of the scientific activities of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Technology CAD in Microelectronics is to find innovative solutions for the problems which cannot be dealt with using commercial simulators. As a result general rules based on scientific research rather than on short term fixes are developed. The acquired knowledge is verified against industry relevant examples using the simulators developed at the Institute for Microelectronics.
This enables our partners Infineon Technologies and austriamicrosystems to estimate the behavior of their devices prior to the finished production cycle. Highly expensive test runs can be eliminated efficiently by deepening the understanding of the physical behavior and using this knowledge to optimize the devices in an early phase.