Automatic generation of thin film process flows. II. Recipe generation, flow evaluation, and system framework

This paper is the second in a series of two papers describing the methodology and algorithms used in the development of MISTIC (Michigan synthesis tools for integrated circuits). Part I [see ibid., vol. 12, no. 1, Feb. 1999] discussed the basic topological algorithms used to produce generic sequences of processing steps required for the fabrication of a given device structure. Part II discusses the expansion of these sequences into complete process flows. This procedure involves the selection of specific recipes from a set of available processing resources and the calculation of recipe parameters. These processing resources are stored in a database central to the MISTIC system framework. Since many process flows are generated for a given device, the paper also discusses the calculation of suitable figures of merit. The capabilities of the MISTIC system are demonstrated with a BiCMOS example. The MISTIC system framework which contains the basic compiler and several supporting modules: a device builder, process viewer, and database editor is also presented