EVOLVE 5.1

EVOLVE was developed to fill the need for physically based feature scale simulations in the microelectronics industry. EVOLVE simulates several processes that affect surface topography during IC fabrication; deposition, etch and thin film flow processes. EVOLVE 5.1 was released in the second quarter of 2000.

There are four main parts to the EVOLVE 5.1 simulation package.  Each part of EVOLVE is a process simulator that is based on a "first principles" model. The low pressure transport and reaction part of EVOLVE is based on the "ballistic transport and reaction model" (BTRM). It is used to simulate low pressure deposition and etch processes; i.e., sputtering or physical vapor deposition (PVD), low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), and plasma etching. The high pressure transport and reaction part of EVOLVE is based on the "continuum transport and reaction model" (CTRM). It is used to simulate high pressure CVD (HPCVD). Surface diffusion can be included in either of the above parts of EVOLVE. The thin film flow simulator is based on the "viscous thermal flow model" (VTFM). This part of EVOLVE is used to simulate flow or "reflow" processes. A new part of EVOLVE is an electrochemical deposition process simulator.

EVOLVE is designed for process engineers and technology CAD (TCAD) engineers who need to determine the conformality and/or composition of deposited films, and/or the anisotropy of etched features. Selectivity issues can also be addressed, because of the material dependent chemistries allowed in EVOLVE. In addition, the models used in EVOLVE allow users to include information that is known about the chemistry and transport appropriate to a given process; i.e., EVOLVE is a "physically based" process simulator. It has been used successfully to develop and validate chemistry and transport models, as well as to study issues associated with geometric scaling and process integration. EVOLVE has been coupled with reactor scale simulators to form multiscale simulators; e.g., complete integration has been achieved for thermal CVD processes.  Model, simulator and application details are described in material linked to in the left frame.

EVOLVE 5.1 was developed by Timothy S. Cale at Process Evolution Ltd. and by members of the Process Modeling and Simulation Research Laboratory in the Focus Center - New York, Rensselaer; Interconnections for Gigascale Integration at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Version 5.1 is an extension of EVOVLE 5.0i that was released by Process Evolution in the summer of 1999.  Version 5.0i was based largely upon work done by Process Evolution and members of the Process Simulation Laboratory at Arizona State University. The development of EVOLVE has been funded largely by MARCO, DARPA, SRC, NSF, Motorola, DEC (now part of Compaq), MRC (now part of TEL) and SEMATECH.  Considerable input was provided  by colleagues at a number of companies; particularly, Motorola, DEC, LSI Logic and Intel.

For more information about EVOLVE (this version, earlier versions, plans, etc.) contact Timothy S. Cale.