Find the Best FET Simulation Software for Your MESFET Design Needs

[uWave_Matt]

I'm a little outside my area of expertise here - I've used ADS to exhaustion, but now I need to simulate a MESFET I designed. Anyone have any recommendations for software? Our computer labs have quite a bit, but if there's a nice free/lite version that would be ideal.

Thanks in advance.

 

[berkeman]

I'm a little outside my area of expertise here - I've used ADS to exhaustion, but now I need to simulate a MESFET I designed. Anyone have any recommendations for software? Our computer labs have quite a bit, but if there's a nice free/lite version that would be ideal.

Thanks in advance.

Any SPICE package should work for you. I googled SPICE free download, and got lots of hits:

http://www.google.com/search?source...lz=1T4GGLL_enUS301US302&q=spice+free+download

.

 

[uWave_Matt]

If spice allows you to layout a transistor I wasn't aware. Have you ever simulated a transistor by drawing the gate/source/drain on a specifically doped substrate using certain metals for schottky/ohmic contacts?

I'll check out spice, but I was thinking I would need something along the lines of a watered down Silvaco type software.

 

[berkeman]

If spice allows you to layout a transistor I wasn't aware. Have you ever simulated a transistor by drawing the gate/source/drain on a specifically doped substrate using certain metals for schottky/ohmic contacts?

I'll check out spice, but I was thinking I would need something along the lines of a watered down Silvaco type software.

Yes, it's done all the time. However, we would get models for the transistors from the library vendors. It sounds like you are making the components from scratch?

 

[uWave_Matt]

Yes, it's done all the time. However, we would get models for the transistors from the library vendors. It sounds like you are making the components from scratch?

Yep. I'm trying to fabricate a transistor. I was looking for a simulator to try to verify the computations I did by hand for current density, gain, threshold voltage etc. I was looking for a software that I could actually enter the gate/source/drain dimensions/conductivities and the substrate doping. I don't think I'll be able to pull that off with SPICE, but I've only ever used spice for lumped element modeling of a circuit before I go onto something more accurate.

 

[berkeman]

I had to leave work early today, but will ask when I get back. I'll find out what the IP vendors use to come up with the library models that they supply us with. Probably not a cheap tool, though...

 

[uWave_Matt]

Much appreciated.

 

[uWave_Matt]

Any luck?

 

[berkeman]

As luck would have it, the engineer who would know the best answer just went on vacation yesterday. Rats.

The vendors Cadence and Mentor Graphics have tools that can do what you are asking about, but they are quite expensive. Cadence's Virtuoso package let's you do custom analog IC design simulation:

http://www.cadence.com/products/cic/analog_design_environment/pages/default.aspx

You need to get a Process Design Kit (PDK) from the IC fab house, to get the right parameters into the design software. What fab house are you planning to use? Have you asked them for their PDK yet?

Another approach (you still need a PDK for your IC process, though) is to do it more manually yourself with SPICE. Check out the book, "Semiconductor Device Modeling with SPICE" by Antognetti and Massobrio. It describes the modeling process for various types of semiconductors, and covers the various parts of the SPICE model for each. I don't know if the PDK info would be easy to plug into the SPICE model parameters, though.

I'll still try to catch our analog IC design guy next week when he gets back from vacation.

 

[uWave_Matt]

I'll pick up that book and see what I can figure out.

I'm actually fabricating (or attempting to fabricate) the transistors myself. I have an RF sputtering system, a gold room with an aligner and spinner, and most of the chemicals I need for photolithography. Right now, I'm just having trouble with the sputtering system.

 

[davidrit]

SPICE is good for when you are using one of the models it supports. To generate a model based on the material parameters and device structure you need some other software. Silvaco is one company that provides them, there are others. Silvaco also provides short term rentals so that may help with the cost issue.