Analytical models for complex, heterogeneous structures

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Large semiconductor integrated circuits such as microprocessors are the most complex engineered structures known.  Paradoxically, they are composed of very simple components designed according to very simple rules.  This simplicity makes it possible to use computer software to automate their design and to check the layout drawings for errors and problems.  This project aims to spur development of complex structures on chips that aren't simply electronic, but might also include small machines or gas channels for all sorts of applications such as "labs-on-a-chip."  The focus in this project is on the "layout," the drawing which shows the shapes and placement of all the transistors, interconnecting wires, and all other aspects of the chip, as they are to be manufactured.  The purpose of this project is to develop software tools to automatically analyse the layout to determine the sensitivity of the chip's properties to variations in the manufacturing process.  These variations can not only affect chip performance but also the ways that the wires embedded within chips heat up as electric current passes through them.  The project will go on to apply the same rapid, automated analysis to other physical effects such as diffusion of gas and mechanical deflection.  Automating the analysis of non-electrical aspects of a chip layout will mean that engineers can analyse chips which combine electrical and non-electrical functions.  This will enable them to design more complex structures on chips than ever before and to check their designs to make sure they'll work without having to build them first.  This will make the development of new products based on these complex structures faster, less risky, and more feasible.