The intertool profile interchange format: a technology CAD environment approach [semiconductor technology]

The binary profile interchange format (BPIF) defines a set of objects and a library of functions which describe an intertool version of the PIF, a representation for semiconductor wafer information. The BPIF toolkit function library enables technology computer-aided design (TCAD) tools, such as process and device simulators, to access PIF data through a common interface, thus facilitating tool integration and encouraging utility sharing. This approach defines a toolkit that is easy to use, and which meets the tool integration and performance needs within a TCAD environment. An experimental BPIF toolkit, based on the C language and the OCT data manager is described in detail. Examples are shown of how TCAD tools may use the toolkit to `randomly' access wafer data, such as grids and geometries, within a graph of PIF objects. A BPIF package supporting the use of the intertool PIF within the PROSE TCAD environment, which includes a link to the PIF intersite file format, is then presented