Modelling the effectiveness of computer-aided development projects in the semiconductor industry

This paper presents a complete quantitative model to estimate the potential benefits of simulation-based projects over the conventional approach. In the semiconductor industry, technology computer-aided design has shown a great potential for rapid and cost-effective development of advanced integrated circuit manufacturing technologies. However, a complete quantitative model to estimate the efficiency and effectiveness of simulation-based projects has not yet been developed. This paper describes a simplified mathematical model to estimate the reduction in development cycle time and cost by computer applications in technology development to reduce the number of expensive and time-consuming experiments in the wafer fabrication facility. This model, clearly, demonstrates a reduction in technology development cycle time over 67% and multi-million dollar cost savings by computer-aided technology development in contrast to the conventional trial-and-error-experimentation. Thus, the proposed model offers project managers a valuable tool to quantitatively assess the time and cost advantage of computer-aided advanced technology development projects.