CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

17 March 2009

Product News

Mentor Graphics Provides Complete 3D Variability Solution Addressing Density and Thickness Challenges

Mentor Graphics Corporation announced new capabilities that extend the Calibre® platform to provide a complete solution for the control of thickness variability due to Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) at advanced nodes. An industry first, the Calibre solution provides a way for customers to transition from dummy fill to density-based fill, or to full model-based fill, depending on the demands of their designs and target manufacturing process.

Enables Seamless Transition to More Advanced Filling

Because the percentage of total thickness variability per layer has increased at each node, CMP variations are much more significant below 65nm, and traditional dummy fill approaches are no longer adequate. The SmartFill capability of the Calibre YieldEnhancer tool extends the capabilities of the Calibre platform, the industry standard for insertion of dummy fill, to enable fill based on complex three-dimensional rules or density and density gradient measurements.

“The ability to control thickness variation with precise fill insertion is critical for achieving successful high performance designs,” said Norma Rodriguez, Senior Member of Technical Staff at AMD. “Our experience with the Calibre SmartFill solution shows significantly better results than we could achieve with dummy fill.”

Provides Full CMP Simulation with Unique Model-building Capability

Achieving even greater accuracy for thickness variability control requires detailed simulation of the CMP process. The Calibre solution now provides its own CMP simulator with models for leading fabs validated against silicon. Because the rapidly changing CMP process often requires CMP model updates, the Calibre solution also allows users to create and calibrate their own thickness models, a capability that is unique in the industry.

“Today Mentor Graphics is announcing the availability of a CMP model specifically calibrated to Chartered Semiconductor’s 45nm process,” stated Walter Ng, Vice President of Design Enablement Alliances at Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing. “We have worked closely with Mentor to verify model accuracy with silicon data. Equally as important for Chartered, the Calibre toolset allows us to build, calibrate and update our own CMP model.”

The Calibre SmartFill facility is fully integrated with the CMP simulator and customer-owned CMP models to enable optimized automated fill driven by signoff-quality CMP simulation and analysis, providing a single solution for any technology environment.

“Collaboration with customers at the leading process nodes helped us to identify the real issues of thickness variability, and the most effective ways of dealing with them,” said Joseph Sawicki, vice president and general manager for the design-to-silicon division at Mentor Graphics. “The adoption of SmartFill signals the start of a transition from dummy fill to a more optimized approach based on density measurements or full-blown CMP simulation. We’re excited to be the first EDA vendor to offer a comprehensive, integrated solution that meets the industry’s complete needs, including the ability to create and maintain their own CMP models.”

Availability

The complete Mentor 3D variability solution is available now and it includes the Calibre YieldEnhancer product with SmartFill, and the Calibre CMPAnalyzer product. The model building capabilities are part of the Calibre WORKbench™ product. The new built-in CMP simulator capability enables broader support by additional fabs and technologies. The Calibre CMP flow has been certified for TSMC’s 8.0 and 9.0 Reference Flows.

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