Anisotropic Crystalline Etch Simulation (ACES) Help Index

How To ...

What is a ACES-usable Mask File

Commands

File menu

View menu

Window menu

Help menu


File menu commands

The File menu offers the following commands:

New	Creates a new document.
Open	Opens an existing document.
Save	Saves an opened document using the same file name.
Save As	Saves an opened document to a specified file name.
Print	Prints a document.
Print Setup	Selects a printer and printer connection.
Exit	Exits ACES.


View menu commands

The View menu offers the following commands:

Toolbar	Shows or hides the toolbar.
Status Bar	Shows or hides the status bar.
Rotate Mode	Set current view mode to free rotate mode.
Zoom Mode	Set current view mode to free zoom mode.
Pan Mode	Set current view mode to free pan mode.


Help menu commands

The Help menu offers the following commands, which provide you assistance with this application:

Help Topics	Offers you an index to topics on which you can get help.
About	Displays the version number of this application.


File New command
New command (File menu)

Use this command to create a new ACE document in ACES.

You can open an existing simulation parameter document with the Open command.

Shortcuts

Toolbar:

Keys:	CTRL+N


File Open command
Open command (File menu)

Use this command to open an existing ACE document, which stores simulation parameters.

You can create new documents with the New command.

Shortcuts

Toolbar:

Keys:	CTRL+O


File Open dialog box

The following options allow you to specify which file to open:

File Name

Type or select the filename you want to open.  This box lists files with the extension you select in the List Files of Type box.

List Files of Type

Select the type of file you want to open:

*.ace : Simulation Parameter Document

Drives

Select the drive in which ACES stores the file that you want to open.

Directories

Select the directory in which ACES stores the file that you want to open.

Network...

Choose this button to connect to a network location, assigning it a new drive letter.


File Save command
Save command (File menu)

Use this command to save the active simulation parameter document to its current name and directory.  When you save a document for the first time, ACES displays the Save As dialog box so you can name your document.  If you want to change the name and directory of an existing document before you save it, choose the Save As command.

Shortcuts

Toolbar:

Keys:	CTRL+S


File Save As command
Save As command (File menu)

Use this command to save and name the active document.  ACES displays the Save As dialog box so you can name your document.

To save a document with its existing name and directory, use the Save command.


File Save As dialog box

The following options allow you to specify the name and location of the file you're about to save:

File Name

Type a new filename to save a document with a different name.  A filename can contain up to eight characters and an extension of up to three characters.  ACES adds the extension (.ace) you specify in the Save File As Type box.

Drives

Select the drive in which you want to store the document.

Directories

Select the directory in which you want to store the document.

Network...

Choose this button to connect to a network location, assigning it a new drive letter.


File 1, 2, 3, 4 command
1, 2, 3, 4 command (File menu)

Use the numbers and filenames listed at the bottom of the File menu to open the last four documents you closed.  Choose the number that corresponds with the document you want to open.


File Exit command
Exit command (File menu)

Use this command to end your ACES session.  You can also use the Close command on the application Control menu.  ACES prompts you to save documents with unsaved changes.

Shortcuts

Mouse:	Double-click the application's Control menu button.

Keys:	ALT+F4


View Toolbar command
Toolbar command (View menu)

Use this command to display and hide the Toolbar, which includes buttons for some of the most common commands in ACES such as File Open.  A check mark appears next to the menu item when the Toolbar is displayed.

See Toolbar for help on using the toolbar.


Toolbar

The toolbar is displayed across the top of the application window, below the menu bar.  The toolbar provides quick mouse access to many tools used in ACES,

To hide or display the Toolbar, choose Toolbar from the View menu (ALT, V, T).

Click	To

Open a new simulation parameter document.

Open an existing simulation parameter document.  ACES displays the Open dialog box, in which you can locate and open the desired file.

Save the active document or template with its current name.  If you have not named the document, ACES displays the Save As dialog box.

Print the active view in current display mode.


View Status Bar Command
Status Bar command (View menu)

Use this command to display and hide the Status Bar, which describes the action to be executed by the selected menu item or depressed toolbar button, and keyboard latch state. A check mark appears next to the menu item when the Status Bar is displayed.

See Status Bar for help on using the status bar.


Status Bar

The status bar is displayed at the bottom of the ACES window.  To display or hide the status bar, use the Status Bar command in the View menu.

The left area of the status bar describes actions of menu items as you use the arrow keys to navigate through menus.  This area similarly shows messages that describe the actions of toolbar buttons as you depress them, before releasing them.  If after viewing the description of the toolbar button command you wish not to execute the command, then release the mouse button while the pointer is off the toolbar button.

The right areas of the status bar indicate which of the following keys are latched down:

Indicator	Description

CAP	The Caps Lock key is latched down.

NUM	The Num Lock key is latched down.

SCRL	The Scroll Lock key is latched down.


Index command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the opening screen of Help.  From the opening screen, you can jump to step-by-step instructions for using ACES and various types of reference information.

Once you open Help, you can click the Contents button whenever you want to return to the opening screen.


Using Help command (Help menu)

Use this command for instructions about using Help.


About command (Help menu)

Use this command to display the copyright notice and version number of your copy of ACES.


Help Using Help Command
Context Help command

Use the Context Help command to obtain help on some portion of ACES.  When you choose the Toolbar's Context Help button, the mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question mark.  Then click somewhere in the ACES window, such as another Toolbar button.  The Help topic will be shown for the item you clicked.

Shortcut

Keys:	SHIFT+F1


Title Bar

The title bar is located along the top of a window.  It contains the name of the application and document.

To move the window, drag the title bar.  Note: You can also move dialog boxes by dragging their title bars.

A title bar may contain the following elements:

Application Control-menu button

Document Control-menu button

Maximize button

Minimize button

Name of the application

Name of the document

Restore button


Scroll bars

Displayed at the right and bottom edges of the document window.  The scroll boxes inside the scroll bars indicate your vertical and horizontal location in the document.  You can use the mouse to scroll to other parts of the document.

<< Describe the actions of the various parts of the scrollbar, according to how they behave in your application. >>


System Minimize Command
Minimize command (application Control menu)

Use this command to reduce the <<YourApp>> window to an icon.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the minimize icon [image] on the title bar.

Keys:	ALT+F9


Size command (System menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can size the active window with the arrow keys.

After the pointer changes to the four-headed arrow:

1.	Press one of the DIRECTION keys (left, right, up, or down arrow key) to move the pointer to the border you want to move.

2.	Press a DIRECTION key to move the border.

3.	Press ENTER when the window is the size you want.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Drag the size bars at the corners or edges of the window.


Move command (Control menu)

Use this command to display a four-headed arrow so you can move the active window or dialog box with the arrow keys.

Note:  This command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+F7


Maximize command (System menu)

Use this command to enlarge the active window to fill the available space.

Shortcut

Mouse:	Click the maximize icon [image] on the title bar; or double-click the title bar.

Keys:	CTRL+F10 enlarges a document window.


Next Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the next open document window.  <<YourApp>> determines which window is next according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+F6


Previous Window command (document Control menu)

Use this command to switch to the previous open document window.  <<YourApp>> determines which window is previous according to the order in which you opened the windows.

Shortcut

Keys:	SHIFT+CTRL+F6


Close command (Control menus)

Use this command to close the active window or dialog box.

Double-clicking a Control-menu box is the same as choosing the Close command.

Note:  If you have multiple windows open for a single document, the Close command on the document Control menu closes only one window at a time.  You can close all windows at once with the Close command on the File menu.

Shortcuts

Keys: 	CTRL+F4 closes a document window

ALT+F4 closes the <<YourType>> window or dialog box


Restore command (Control menu)

Use this command to return the active window to its size and position before you chose the Maximize or Minimize command.


Switch to command (application Control menu)

Use this command to display a list of all open applications.  Use this "Task List" to switch to or close an application on the list.

Shortcut

Keys:	CTRL+ESC

Dialog Box Options

When you choose the Switch To command, you will be presented with a dialog box with the following options:

Task List

Select the application you want to switch to or close.

Switch To

Makes the selected application active.

End Task

Closes the selected application.

Cancel

Closes the Task List box.

Cascade

Arranges open applications so they overlap and you can see each title bar.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Tile

Arranges open applications into windows that do not overlap.  This option does not affect applications reduced to icons.

Arrange Icons

Arranges the icons of all minimized applications across the bottom of the screen.


No Help Available

No help is available for this area of the window.


No Help Available

No help is available for this message box.

<< If you wish to author help specific to each message box prompt, then remove the AFX_HIDP_xxx values from the [ALIAS] section of your .HPJ file, and author a topic for each AFX_HIDP_xxx value.  For example, AFX_HIDP_INVALID_FILENAME is the help topic for the Invalid Filename message box. >>


What is a ACES-usable Mask File
What kind of BMP File is usable for ACES

An ACES-usable bmp file must satisify conditions as following:

1. The file format is BMP.

BMP format is a raster image format, which can be create or modified by any raster image editing software, such as "Windows Paint".

There are several ways to create a mask file in BMP format:

1. Draw the BMP file directly with any image editing software.

2. Convert current existing mask file in CIF/GDS format to BMP format

2. The size of the BMP file is not too big.

The size of the internal lattice of ACES is based on the the BMP mask file's size.  The memory consumption and the time every simulation step will take are depend on the mask file size.  The bigger the mask is, more details you can get, more memory is needed and the simulation is much slower.  If a mask file is too big, memory will run out after the simulation start.

Usually, 100 by 100 pixels BMP mask files are used in ACES to improve the speed without losing many details.   If the PC running ACES has 64MB RAM, a mask file with 500 by 500 pixels is acceptable.

You can convert a large BMP mask file to a smaller one with many popular image editing software.


Raster Image Formats
Raster Image Format

A raster format breaks an image into a grid of equally-sized pieces, called pixels, and records color information for each pixel. The number of colors that the file can contain is determined by the bits-per-pixel: the more information that is recorded for each pixel, the more shades and hues that the file can contain.


Overview

Anisotropic Crystalline Etch Simulation ( ACES ) is designed to provide a convenient way for user to estimate etch results with their mask design.

ACES is based on dynamic Cellular Automata (CA) model.


Cellular Automata Model
Cellular Automata (CA) Model

CA method uses large numbers of identical cells, or atoms, which are interconnected in a lattice structure.  During the etching simulation, atoms are selectively removed according to their neighbors' status.


Dynamic CA Model
Dynamic Cellular Automata Model

Cellular Automata (CA) model based on static atom model uses large numbers of atoms, which are interconnected in a lattice.  It demands much computer memory to store all the atoms.

We have developed a dynamic atom model to decrease the memory usage and improve the simulation speed greatly.  In this model, only atoms that need to be processed, who stay on the interface of the silicon and the etchant, will exist in memory as an atom set, or a virtual surface.  The virtual surface is dynamically evolving from a masked plane to a 3D shape, which represents etched surfaces of the wafer.


How to setup and run a etch simulation
Setup and run a etch simulation

Users should setup parameters for simulation, then click "Begin Simulation" button on the Simulation Panel to begin.

There are two ways to setup a etch simulation's parameters:

(1) Through Simulation Panel

(2) Through Simulation Wizard

They are designed for different user groups.

New users could use Simulation Wizard to setup the parameters for a simulation. The wizard could help users to understand each parameters more clearly.

Experienced users should use Simulation Panel.  With the panel, user can modify and apply all the simulation parameters without another dialog, but it lacks enough help for a new user.


Simu Panel

You can setup all the simulation parameters and view the mask shape on the Simu Panel.

Mask File

Use "Browse" button to select mask file or input the filename, including the path, in the edit box directly.

Orientation

Some help about orientation is available in Simulation Wizard.

Custom Etch Rates

Check the box to input your custom etch rate ratio.

Simulation Steps

A spin control is provided to help the input of total step number.

Begin Simulation

After all the parameters have been set, Click "Begin Simulation" button to begin simulation.  A progress dialog will be showed during the simulation.


Disp Panel

You can change all the display (or visualization)  parameters of the etch result.

Display Mode

Atom Mode

Every atom on the surface of wafer is displayed as a point.

Line Mode

Atoms are partially connected as lines to obtain a clear view, especially useful for print.

Edge Mode

Only atoms on the edge of the surface are displayed as points.

Background

Click on the color-pick box to change background color of the view.

Atom Colors

The surfaces in the view will be displayed in the color gradient defined by user.  The surface that is not etched will be displayed in the "Top" color.  The deepest etched surface will be showed in the "Bottom" color.

Atom Size

Atom size means how large each atom is displayed as.  It is only effective in "Atom Mode" and "Edge Mode".  When atom size is 1,  its default value , every atom is showed as a pixel in the view.

Line Width

Line Width means how wide each line is.  It is only effective in "Line Mode".  When line width is 1, its default value, every line's width is one pixel in the view.


View Panel

View Panel is a little different to other panels because user can use mouse to change the view parameters in the view directly.  Every change user made in the View Panel will be showed in the  view instantly and vice versa.

Rotation

The sliders are scaled from -180 degree to 180 degree.

Use "Reset" button to set all sliders to 0 degree, which means no rotation.

Scaling

The sliders are scaled from 0X to 2X.

Use "Reset" button to set all sliders to 1X, which means no scaling.


Output menu
Output menu commands

The View menu offers the following commands:

Copy View	Copy current view window and put into clipboard.
Save View	Copy current view window and save into a BMP file.


Wizard! menu
Wizard! command

Click on the Wizard! command, the Simulation Wizard will start instantly to help user to setup/modify the simulation parameters.


Simu Wizard


View Pane


Tool Bar


Print dialog box

The following options allow you to specify how the document should be printed:

Printer

This is the active printer and printer connection.  Choose the Setup option to change the printer and printer connection.

Setup

Displays a Print Setup dialog box, so  you can select a printer and printer connection.

Print Range

Specify the pages you want to print:

All	Prints the entire document.
Selection	Prints the currently selected text.
Pages	Prints the range of pages you specify in the From and To boxes.
Copies

Specify the number of copies you want to print for the above page range.

Collate Copies

Prints copies in page number order, instead of separated multiple copies of each page.

Print Quality

Select the quality of the printing.  Generally, lower quality printing takes less time to produce.


Print Progress Dialog

The Printing dialog box is shown during the time that <<YourApp>> is sending output to the printer.  The page number indicates the progress of the printing.

To abort printing, choose Cancel.


Print Setup dialog box

The following options allow you to select the destination printer and its connection.

Printer

Select the printer you want to use.  Choose the Default Printer; or choose the Specific Printer option and select one of the current installed printers shown in the box.  You install printers and configure ports using the Windows Control Panel.

Orientation

Choose Portrait or Landscape.

Paper Size

Select the size of paper that the document is to be printed on.

Paper Source

Some printers offer multiple trays for different paper sources.  Specify the tray here.

Options

Displays a dialog box where you can make additional choices about printing, specific to the type of printer you have selected.

Network...

Choose this button to connect to a network location, assigning it a new drive letter.


File Print command
Print command (File menu)

Use this command to print a document.   This command presents a Print dialog box, where you may specify the range of pages to be printed, the number of copies, the destination printer, and other printer setup options.

Shortcuts

Toolbar:

Keys:	CTRL+P


File Print Setup command
Print Setup command (File menu)

Use this command to select a printer and a printer connection.  This command presents a Print Setup dialog box, where you specify the printer and its connection.