You are on page 1of 66

The Art of MEMS+IC Simulation

MEMS+ 2.0: Enabling System-level Design with Matlab, Simulink and Cadence Virtuoso

Angela Chao, PhD / Technical Manager / www.apic.com.tw


SEMICON Taiwan, September 2011

Introduction
MEMSaremicro ornanoscaled devices TypicallycompriseaMEMS sensingoractuationdeviceand integratedelectronics DisconnectbetweenMEMSandIC designflowsleadstolong developmentcyclesandhighcosts Minimaldesignreuse

Digital micro-mirror device (DMD) by Texas Instruments

MEMSProductDesignRequires Collaboration
ICandlayoutdesignersrequireaMEMScomponentfortheirICdesign environment
MEMSDesignandSimulationTools ICDesignandSimulationTools

TheCollaborationChallenge
Howcananaccuratecircuitorsystemmodelbecreatedconsideringthe complexityofstateoftheartMEMSdevices?

Analog Devices, Inc. All rights reserved

ReducedOrderModeling
ReducedOrderModelingyieldsasystemorcircuitmodelstarting witha classicFEelementmodel:

+Flexibleapproach,onlylimitedbywhatcanbe modeledwithFEA Nonparametric Hardtoincludemechanicalnonlinearitiesandcontact models Timeconsuming/hardtoautomate RequiresindepthFEAknowledge

Whyparametricmodelsare needed
RequestsleadingMEMSmanufacturers forparametricmodels EverytimemyMEMSteamchangesthedevicegeometry,theynotonly havetoreextract,butalsorevalidatethemodel,whichlimitsourabilityto quicklycodesignwithourcircuitteam Itsimportanttogivethecircuitteamafewgeometricparameterstovary sotheycanoptimizethesystemcharacteristics. Toimproveyieldoftheentiresystem,weneedtheentiremodeltobe sensitivetomanufacturingvariationsinthegeometry.

BehavioralModelingApproach
Circuitsimulatorcompatiblelumpedmodelsofnonelectricalcomponents suchasplates,beams,electrodesetc:
kz k z kz k z

FMR

FE

+ Parametric,enablingyield,parameterandMonteCarlostudies + Canhandlemostformsofnonlinearities Flexibilityandapplicabilitydependsonthequalityoftheavailablemodelwritingskills orexistingcomponentlibraries

CoventorWareArchitect
Ourfirstanswer:CoventorWareArchitect,aschematicbasedapproachto MEMS+IC/Systemsimulation:

SchematicModel Parameterization
Everyschematicmodelhadarichsetofparametersinordertoenableamaximumof designflexibility:

3DModelwithScene3D
Schematiccreationwasoftenperceivedaslaboriousandnonintuitive Scene3Dbroughtsomerelief

Simulation Speed
Userswereoftenimpressedbythesimulationspeedbuthadahardtimeto appreciatethecomplexityofArchitectsimulations

More the 10000 time steps in only 7min on a standard laptop!

soweadded3Dresultvisualization

Theanimationisgreatly exaggeratedinvertical direction

Architect Examples
Withcontinuingimprovementstoourcomponentlibrary,ARCHITECT could handleanincreasingvarietyofdesigns
DLPMirrors Accelerometer RingGyros

Resonators

RFSwitches

andArchitectwasnolongerjustaboutMEMS+ICdesign.FullMEMSdevice designcouldbedoneinminutes

Remaining Caveats
Schematicbasedmodelcreationwasstillunnaturalformostmechanical engineerswhopreferCADtoolsoratleastlayouteditorsfordesigninput MostICandsystemdesignerspreferMATLABSimulink,Cadence,Mentor Graphics,Synopsys(ratherthanSABER!)

Ourmostvaluableasset,ourmodellibrary wastrappedinsideSABER

Behavioral Model Library in C++


> 15 Years > 15 Man Years Saber -Mast

OurNewApproach MEMS+

SEMulator3D

AlgorithmLevelDesign

ProcessEmulation

FEMDampingandStressAnalysis

StructuralLevelDesignandPCellGeneration

CoventorMEMS+ forMatlabSimulink
+ 1 CoventorMEMS Assembledesignin3D

2 ImportMEMSModel

3 InsertMEMSmodelinschematic

ParameterizedMEMS ComponentLibrary (.lib)

Symbol

4 Simulate

SFunctionInterface
5 Visualizesimulationsin3D

CoventorMEMS+ forCadenceVirtuoso
+ 1 CoventorMEMS Assembledesignin3D

2 ImportMEMSModel

3 CadenceVirtuoso InsertMEMSmodelinschematic

Symbol ParameterizedMEMS ComponentLibrary(.lib) 4 Simulate Netlist PCell Spectre/UltraSim

6 Visualizesimulationsin3D

5 PlaceMEMSpCellinlayout

MEMS+ PDKand3Ddesignentry

3DMEMS+ modelbasedonAnalogDevicesADXL202 designdataavailabletothepublic

FoundryDataPDK
Allfoundryrelevantdataisstoredintwodatabases,whichareeither providedbyanexternalfoundryorbythetechnologygroupwithinthe company

VariableAssignment
Materialpropertiescanbedefinedasvalues,variablesoralgebraicequations

ProcessEditor
TheProcessEditordetailsthesequenceofMEMSfabricationsteps Itholdslayernames,thicknessesandsidewallangles

LayerMaterialSelection
EachlayerisassociatedtooneofthematerialsfromtheMaterialDatabase

ExposingVariables
VariablesdefinedintheMaterialDatabaseorProcessEditorcan beexposed totheMEMSdesigner

Innovator
TheMEMSdesignerstartswithablank,3DcanvasontheInnovatortab

PDKVariableImport
ExposedvariablesfromtheProcessEditororMaterialDatabaseare automaticallyimportedintoInnovator

ParametricComponentLibrary
MEMSdevicemodelsarecreatedwithalibraryofparametriccomponent generatorsforsuspensions,plates,combsandelectricalpads

AddingComponents
TheMEMSdesignerpickscomponentsfromthelibrarytoassemblethe desiredstructure

LayerAssignment
Eachcomponentcanbeassignedtooneormultiplelayersofthe correspondingprocessfile

ComponentParameters
Componentparameterscanbedefinedasvalues,variablesoralgebraic equations

ComponentTree
Thecomponenttreehighlightsthecomponentnamesandthehierarchical structureofthe3Ddeviceschematic

MechanicalConnectorView
Themechanicalconnectortreeandviewingmodehighlightswhich componentsarelinkedtogether

ElectricalConnectorView
Theelectricalviewingmodehighlightselectricalconnectivitywithcolorsand transparencyinthecanvas

Only electrical layers are shown as solid

MatlabSimulinkModelImport
3DInnovatordesignscanbeimportedintoMatlabSimulinksmodeleditor usingtheMEMS+importtool

ModelParameters
TheMEMSdevicemodelinMatlabSimulinkfeaturesallparameters that wereexposedinMEMS+Innovator

ExposedPorts
Thesymbolviewfeaturesallexposedelectrical,mechanicalandcapacitance ports

Input/OutputPorts
Exposedelectricalportsappearasvoltageinputs Exposedmechanicalportsappearasforce/torqueinputsandposition/angle variationoutputs Exposedcapacitanceportsarepureoutputs
Reference Frame motion Inputs Force Inputs Position Outputs

Capacitance Outputs

Voltage Inputs

SystemSchematic
TheMEMSsystemdesignercompletesthefeedbackorpostprocessing circuitusingmodelsfromthestandardlibrary

MEMSDeviceSimulation
TheMEMSsystemdesignerconfirmsthedeviceperformancerunning simulationsintheMatlab/Simulinkenvironment

AdditionallySupportedAnalysis
AdditionalanalysisareaccessiblefromtheMEMS+menu

DCAnalysis
TheDCAnalysisisaconvenientwaytocreateoperatingpointsfortransient andfrequencyanalysis

ModalAnalysis
TheModalAnalysiscalculatesEigenmodesandEigenfrequenciesofthe completesystem

ACSmallSignalAnalysis
TheACAnalysisperformsfrequencysweepsofthecompletesystem

SimulationResults
AllsimulationresultscanbeloadedbackintoMEMS+andanimatedinthe3 Dcanvas

MEMS+Workflow forCadenceVirtuoso
+ 1 CoventorMEMS Assembledesignin3D

2 ImportMEMSModel

3 CadenceVirtuoso InsertMEMSmodelinschematic

Symbol ParameterizedMEMS ComponentLibrary(.lib) 4 Simulate Netlist PCell Spectre/UltraSim

6 Visualizesimulationsin3D

5 PlaceMEMSpCellinlayout

DLPMirror DesignExample
TexasInstrumentsdigitallightprocessing[DLP]projectionsystemisbuild aroundadigitalmicromirrordevice(DMD)ontopofaSRAMcell
2 DLPmirrorinMEMS+ 4 Schematicofthe combineddeviceand memorycellmodel 5 Hierarchicalsymbol ofaDLPmirrorwith memorycell

1 DLPmirrorwith memorycell

3 Memorycellschematic

CompleteDeviceDesign
ThepositionandorientationoftheDLPmirrorispartoftheexposed variables

CadenceVirtuoso CellGeneration
The3DInnovatordesignisimportedintotheCadenceLibraryManagerusing theMEMS+importtool

ParametricCellViews
TheMEMS+importtoolautomaticallycreatesaparametriclayout and schematicview

VirtuosoCellParameters
Thecreatedcellviewsfeaturesallparametersthatwereexposed inMEMS+

MEMSDeviceSchematic
TheMEMSdesigneraddssourcestotheexposedelectricalpinsandconfirms thedeviceperformancerunningDC,ACandtransientsimulations

MEMSDeviceSimulation
SimulationresultscanbeloadedbackintoMEMS+andanimatedin the3D canvas

SRAMMemoryCellDesign
TheICdesigner,meanwhile,createsaschematicoftheSRAMmemorycell underneatheachmirror

Bit Line Bit Line ~Bit Line

~Bit Line

Data

~Data

Data

~Data

Word Line Word Line

Cadence Virtuoso schematic of the memory cell

CompletePixelCell
TheCMOSSRAMcellcaninturnbeconnectedtothemirrortoassemblethe completepixelcell
2 DLPmirrorinMEMS+ 4 Schematicofthe combineddeviceand memorycellmodel 5 Hierarchicalsymbol ofaDLPmirrorwith memorycell

1 DLPmirrorwith memorycell

3 Memorycellschematic

MirrorArraySchematic
Thepixelcellisreplicatedtoformanarrayandconnectedtothedriving electronics
Cadence Virtuoso schematic of memory cell

Hierarchical symbol of a DLP mirror with memory cell

MirrorArraySimulation
ThecompletemirrorarraycannowbesimulatedwiththeVirtuoso simulators:Spectre,UltraSimorAPS
Visualization in MEMS+ Scene3D

150s in less then 30min real time!

Integration
MEMS+takesfulladvantageoftheCadenceVirtuosocustomICdesign environment

Parametric MEMS+ Design

MEMSIC Simulation

MonteCarlo andYield Analysis

Parasitic Capacitance Extraction

Combined DRC

Signoff

MEMS+ Design Examples

LamModeResonator

MEMS+ modelbuildwithone4th order rectangularplateandfourbeams

LamModeFilter
BandpassfiltercanbebuildbycombiningmultipleLam resonators:

Microphone
Microphonewithperforatedbackplateusingcircularandarcshapedflexible plateswithpressureloadsandelectrodes

(Perforationarenotshownintheimage)

ResultsofaModalAnalysiswith Matlab/Simulink

PZEActuatedMirror
Mirrorwithcircularpzemembraneactuation:

Rigid Cylinder (Mirror)

Quadrilateral Plates with Piezo Layer

VerticalMirrordisplacement[um]asa functionofvoltage

DiskGyro
DiskGyroscopebuildwithpieandarcshapedflexibleplatemodelswithside andtopelectrodes VerticalBeam

PiePlates

ArcPlateswithSide andTopElectrodes 7.53MHz

1.23MHz

1.22MHz

7.53MHz

MEMS+modeshapescomparedtoatraditionalparabolicbrickmesh

RingResonator
MEMS+ringresonatormadewithstraightbeams,arcplatesandside electrodes

Accelerometer with FeedbackLoop


MEMS+generatedaccelerometermodelwithSDforcefeedbackloopin CadenceSpectre: PlateDisplacement
AccelerationInput

ControlSignal

ThetransientsimulationwithSpectre completedinlessthen10seconds!

MEMS+ DesignExamples
MEMS+buildsonCoventorsparametricmodellibrarywhichhasbeen provenonrealworlddesigns
Accelerometers Gyros (Angular Rate Sensors)

Display Devices

Resonators

RF Switches

TheEnd

For sales assistance please contact: apic@apic.com.tw

You might also like