FabViewer is a new module in IntelliSense’s Clean Room suite of process simulation and visualization tools. After building up a process flow in IntelliFab, users can visualize the process simulation and final MEMS device in FabViewer. High-resolution JPEGs and movie files are easy to export for use in technical papers and presenations. A dynamic cross-sectioning feature allows for easy process debugging or failure analyses. Shown below is a cross-section of a device constructed with FabViewer.
IntelliEtch is a brand-new atomistic etch simulator with several powerful capabilities. Users can take into account ab initio effects and predict evolving surface morphologies. Wet and dry etching can be performed on high order planes or non-flat substrates. An etched structure can also be exported as an FEA model for further analysis. The figure below shows the development of silicon microneedles in IntelliEtch compared with experimental SEMs. This model demonstrates several of IntelliEtch’s advanced capabilities, including multi-step mask transfers and wet/dry combination etching.
One major feature in IntelliSuite v8.5 is the capability to simulate advanced fluid-structure interaction. And unlike other tools that can only handle rigid body simulations, IntelliSuite fully supports interactions with deformable, non-rigid bodies. Full coupling with the PiezoMEMS module makes it easy to analyze devices such as a piezoelectrically-actuated micropump, shown below.
Piezoelectrically-actuated micropump in IntelliSuite
In this recent paper in IEEE Electron Device Letters, IntelliSuite is used in the development of a single-crystal-silicon micromechanical resonator. This bulk-mode resonator was designed to have a Q factor of 1.16 million for high frequency stability at a resonant frequency of 2.18 MHz. IntelliSuite was used to validate this behavior for the specific resonator design. Shown below is a schematic of the resonator and a contour plot of the displacement taken from the simulation in IntelliSuite.
Schematic and displacement results for resonator
Students at UC-Santa Cruz will be designing and fabricating MEMS devices in an upcoming Intro to MEMS Design course taught by Prof. Joel Kubby. The students wil use IntelliSuite to design and model their MEMS devices.
Prof. Kubby is currently looking for industry sponsors who will specify the device to be fabricated and will have access to student papers and presentations describing the device design. For more information, contact Prof. Kubby at jkubby@soe.ucsc.edu.
RECIPE, IntelliSense’s RIE/ICP etch simulator, now has the capability to simulate wet and dry etching in 3D in IntelliSuite v8.5. This tool can simulate RIE, DRIE, ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma), and Bosch etching, as well as combinations of these processes. Combinations of anisotropic, isotropic, and directional processes can also be etched. RECIPE can help to predict etch lead and lag as shown in the picture below.
RECIPE can also be used to predict sidewall scalloping, footing, etch profiles, and sidewall angles. The Response Surface Methodology-based etch database and ability to account for machine and chamber variations ensure accurate results for any simulation.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge recently used IntelliSuite to assist with the design of a micromachined electrostatic charge sensor. The group used IntelliSuite to simulate various designs of the device and determine which design would give them the desired resonant frequency. An SEM of the variable capacitor used in the device is shown below.
SEM of variable capacitor
The paper, “A Resonant Micromachined Electrostatic Charge Sensor”, is part of the September 2008 edition of the IEEE Sensors Journal and can be downloaded here.
In “A Novel Design Methodology for MEMS Device“, a paper submitted to the 2007 IEEE Conference on
Micropump modeled in IntelliFAB.
Nanotechnology, researchers from Nankai University discuss virtual modeling and simulation of MEMS devices. As part of the paper, the group uses the IntelliFab/FabViewer module of IntelliSense’s Clean Room package to simulate the fabrication process of a thermally-actuated micropump. The figure on the right shows the entire device including the bimetallic membrane and microvalves.
Shown below is the process flow used to construct the bimetallic membrane of the micropump. The bimetallic strip is electro-thermally actuated (passing a current heats up the bimetallic strip causing the membrane to deflect up and down). The group also plans to substitute the bimetallic actuator with a piezoelectric actuator.
SYNPLE, IntelliSense’s system-level simulator, includes some major upgrades in the latest version of IntelliSuite. The new bus-based auto-wiring feature makes it easy to wire up multiple elements and create schematics from the bottom, up. Users can also import finite element models to develop complex systems from the top, down.
SYNPLE now allows you to visualize your results in 3D, so that you can visualize the system response including the MEMS and electronics in 3D. Shown below is an animation of a micromirror modeled in SYNPLE.
We’re proud of the fact that SYNPLE is the first schematic tool specifically designed for MEMS, and we’re currently working hard on more upgrades to be included in IntelliSuite v8.6. Watch out for more new features coming soon!
IntelliSuite v8.5 was officially released today! News outlets around the globe have begun picking up the story. Here are links to a few of them:
Well Designed 
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