Semiconductors
Semiconductor designers focus on developing devices including BGAs, flip chips, MCMs, stack dies and lead frame packages. Engineers in this sector face a number of challenges — many of them multidisciplinary, centering on mechanical, thermal and electromagnetic. The driving force in the industry is the continuing need to reduce feature size: The latest processors use transistors with features of 28 nanometers or smaller. Thermally, this reduction results in increased power densities with higher junction temperatures and larger thermal variations across the die and package. In addition, package designers must deal with the increasing geometric complexities of newer package types such as MCMs and stack dies. Designs must include board and system-level effects.
HFSS can produce accurate models of connectors, transitions and vias for use in a comprehensive system simulation using DesignerSI.
In the mechanical discipline, nonlinear behaviors come into play in semiconductor design, including fatigue, delamination, creep, buckling and fracture. Engineers must also address increasing geometric complexity, nonlinear material properties, and multidisciplinary behaviors like thermomechanical stress or joule heating.
Increased governmental regulations complicate semiconductor design, with the expectation of greener manufacturing processes and lead-free semiconductor packages. In the electromagnetics arena, designers face increasing signal speeds and lower power consumption requirements, leading to more challenging power-and signal-integrity solutions as well as increasing incidents of electromagnetic interference within the high-speed channel.
To address these challenges, ANSYS provides a variety of multidisciplinary tools.
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Manufacturing semiconductor 
To rule out complications during the manufacturing process, ANSYS FLUENT software can simulate the wafer manufacturing process, including etching and cleaning, as well as package manufacturing, such as soldering SMTs and the package encapsulate reflow process.
Thermal Management
ANSYS Icepak software enables detailed conduction, convection and radiation analysis on various package types, including impact of trace layout on thermal design. Joule heating data can be imported following an SI/PI simulation with the SIwave product. Engineers can optimize via design using ANSYS tools, identifying and resolving the effects of coating and underfill materials. Due to its adaptive architecture, the ANSYS suite interfaces with select industry partners’ tools, enabling integrated solutions that extend the functionality and efficiency of the simulation process. Relative to the semiconductor industry, ANSYS Icepak can import variable die power data from partner die-level design tools.
Thermal analysis of a lead frame package using ANSYS Icepak
Mechanical
ANSYS Mechanical technology can be used to predict thermal, mechanical and moisture-driven stress and strain in a variety of package types. Semiconductor analysis with ANSYS tools often incorporates nonlinear behaviors, including package warpage, solder joint creep, fracture in through-silicon-via designs, fatigue and delimitation. ANSYS capabilities offer the ability to conduct drop and vibration analyses.
Stress analysis of Multi chip module using ANSYS Mechanical
Courtesy of PADT.
Electromagnetic & Circuit Simulation
ANSYS offers tools to create the next generation of DigitalRF CMOS ICs, GaAs/SiGe RFICs, and SIP/SOC designs. HFSS, SIwave, Q3D Extractor and DesignerSI provide a platform to design innovative circuit topologies that integrate digital, analog and RF functionality as well as new device and process technologies that drive optimization of size, power, cost and yield.
HFSS, Q3D Extractor, and SIwave are used to extract GHz accurate S-Parameter models, W-elements and Full-Wave SPICE models for on-chip interconnect and complete IC packages. In addition, these tools are dynamically linked to DesignerSI for high-speed circuit simulation and statistical analysis; and final verification of the IC with package and board parasitics included.
