CapeSym

Table of Contents

Checking the Model

The Model Check dialog assists in the detection of modeling errors. This is particularly helpful when developing new device templates, but may also be used to quickly validate the total power being applied before a simulation run. Each test may be run by clicking on a button in the dialog. Only components and boundary conditions of the model in use (not hidden) are evaluated.

Parameter Range Test. This test is primarily intended for template designers who want to validate that the minimum and maximum values of each parameter do not create any range errors in any of the other parameters, since a parameter may be used to in the minimum and maximum limit expressions of other parameters. If a device template fails this test it does not mean that template will not generate a valid thermal analysis, it only means that it may be possible to select a parameter value that will cause the parameters to not be resolvable in some cases. A template which passes the test is more likely to be robust with respect to arbitrary parameter changes by the user.

Interference Test. This test determines whether there are any geometrical conflicts among the components in the template. The most common conflict is an inappropriate block range that causes two components to overlap. This test also detects components with invalid layer or block definitions.

Materials Test. This test detects when components do not have valid material associations, when a single component uses multiple materials, or when properties required for a transient solution are not defined for the materials used.

Boundary Conditions Test. This test attempts to detect potential problems with the boundary conditions (BCs) of the model, but it is not infallible. Potential problems flagged by the test may be valid boundary conditions, and some invalid boundary conditions might not be flagged. The device template designer should not rely solely on this test for validation of the physics of the problem. The test cannot determine whether a film coefficient is correct for the expected physical setup of the device or layout, for example.

Any problems detected by the above tests are written to a temporary HTML file and this is then displayed using an HTML display dialog. The file can be saved or printed using the links at the top of the page.

Note: While Model Check can be applied to a layout, tests are done on each device independently. There is no checking for consistency between devices in the layout, e.g. the same backside boundary conditions on all devices. The above tests are designed to aid device template development only.

Total Applied Power. This item reports the total power over all boundary conditions in the problem. If the problem is a layout, the total power over all devices in the layout is reported.

Show Mesh. This button exits the Model Check dialog and then generates and displays the mesh for the problem. This is designed to give the user a chance to review the mesh without waiting for the solver to compute a solution. The mesh is generated as a quasi-solution of constant value. The color of the mesh can therefore be changed through the Temperature Scale dialog, and cleared by selecting Clear solution from the Solve menu.