Controlling mesh effects in integrated process and device simulation

Mesh discretization effects can have a significant impact on obtaining meaningful results in statistical TCAD simulations. Discretization errors, i.e. inaccuracy of the solution due to too large or poorly shaped mesh elements, can be damaging in an absolute sense, as an offset of nominal values. Potentially even more dangerous are relative errors between statistical runs due to meshing noise, which can mask the desired sensitivity values, correlations, etc. This work discusses the application of an advancing-front mesh generation algorithm to study the sensitivity of MOSFET simulation results to (a) mesh density and (b) variation of physical process parameters (gate oxide thickness). It is shown that the utilized mesh generation algorithm can produce accurate results at low cost. In contrast to the conventional approach, results obtained using the new mesh are more accurate and vary smoothly in response to variation of physical input parameters, while requiring only about one third of the CPU time for a device simulation