Atomera and Synopsys extend collaboration into GaN modelling
Atomera, a semiconductor materials and technology licensing company, has expanded its collaboration with EDA firm Synopsys to advance GaN device modelling for RF and power semiconductor applications.
The work builds on the companies’ long-standing relationship around Synopsys’ Sentaurus TCAD and Atomera’s MSTcad toolset and extends the collaboration into GaN workflows to support bringing higher-quality GaN solutions to market.
Atomera's Mears Silicon Technology (MST) is a thin-film technology consisting of layers of a non-semiconductor, such as oxygen, inserted into a semiconductor material, so that epitaxial growth is preserved. These layers can be used to modify or enhance the basic semiconductor properties and device attributes in a number of ways, including: diffusion blocking, variability, mobility, gate leakage, and reliability, among others.
“Synopsys has a strong history of working with innovative semiconductor technology companies to help customers evaluate and integrate new capabilities,” said Rahul Deokar, executive director of product management for manufacturing solutions at Synopsys. “Our broadened collaboration with Atomera is focused on advancing GaN TCAD simulations to gain deeper insights into how advanced materials can be leveraged to design more efficient devices and address the semiconductor industry’s future RF and power challenges.”
Under the collaboration, Atomera will use Synopsys’ Sentaurus TCAD tools to develop a GaN calibration methodology for TCAD workflows, create marketing materials and calibrated TCAD decks for GaN devices, and provide product feedback to Synopsys.
Synopsys and Atomera have worked together for years to enable modeling of Atomera’s MST technology within Synopsys’ Sentaurus TCAD environment. This collaboration enables support for Atomera’s MSTcad capabilities and allows customers and partners to evaluate the physical and electrical effects of MST using Synopsys’ process and device simulation tools.
“This collaboration represents a natural next step in our long-standing collaboration with Synopsys,” said Scott Bibaud, president and CEO of Atomera. “We have already shown the value of combining MST with Synopsys’ Sentaurus tools through MSTcad, and we are excited to extend that relationship into GaN to continue broadening Atomera’s reach into high-value RF and power semiconductor markets.”
