University of Maryland

EquiPSim

Overview

EquiPSim is aimed at training technicians, engineers and operators in and/or for semiconductor manufacturing jobs, as well as at course environments in educational settings. It contains several modules which emphasize the dynamic behavior of chemical and physical processes as realized in the complex equipment utilized in semiconductor fabs. Specifically, these modules include:

  • Vacuum
    Establishment and maintenance of low pressure and vacuum environments; components
  • Gas Flow
    Components and approaches to reactive gas flow and control in process environments
  • Heat Transfer
    Radiative, conductive, and convective heat transfer mechanisms
  • Chemical Reaction
    Chemical reaction kinetics and key parameters employed in semiconductor manufacturing processes

EquiPSim was developed using the SimPLE framework (Simulated Processes in a Learning Environment).

equipsim

Download

EquiPSim v3.2 (January 2003) [Download] [Installation Instructions] [Guidance Materials]

Publications

Lu, G. B., Oveissi, M., Eckard, D., and Rubloff, G. W. (Nov. 1996)
Education in Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes through Physically-Based Dynamic Simulation
Proc. 1996 Frontiers in Education Conference, Nov. 6-9, 1996, Salt Lake City, UT, and UMD Technical Report ISR-TR-97-4.

Lu, G., Oveissi, M., Eckard, D., and Rubloff, G. W. (Oct. 1996)
“Education and Training in Semiconductor Manufacturing Processes through Physically-Based Dynamic Simulation”
1996 American Vacuum Society National Symposium, Oct. 14-18, 1996, Philadelphia, PA.

Presentations

Rose, A., Kositsyna, N., Gupta, N., Sreenivasan, R., Levine, W.S., and Rubloff, G.W. (1999)
EquiPSim: hands-on training in semiconductor equipment and process behavior
presentation at 46th Annual Symposium of the American Vacuum Society, Seattle, OR, Oct. 1999.

Oveissi, M., Eckard, D., Rose, A., Shneiderman, B., and Rubloff, G. W. (Oct. 1997)
Semiconductor Manufacturing Education and Training: Graphical User Interface (GUI) Design Issues
presentation at the American Vacuum Society National Symposium, Oct. 20-24, 1997, San Jose, CA.

Participants

  • Gary W. Rubloff, University of Maryland, Institute for Systems Research
  • Anne Rose, University of Maryland, Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
  • Dave Eckard, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University
  • Mansour Oveissi, Staff, North Carolina State University and University of Maryland

Users

  • MATEC, the NSF Advanced Technology Education Center at Maricopa Community College, Phoenix, AZ
  • Penn State University, Nano-Fabrication Manufacturing Technology Program, Materials Research Center
  • University of Maryland, Materials and Nuclear Engineering Department and Institute for Systems Research
  • ATESM Workshop, the Advanced Technology Education in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Support

This project was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) – “Simulator-Based Manufacturing Education and Training for Microelectronics Processing,”, NSF EEC-9526147, 9/15/95-8/31/00, P.I. Gary W. Rubloff.