Current Arpelier capabilities
Arpelier currently connects process-flow editing with 3D structural calculation, cross-section inspection, material and electrical-node exploration, and project sharing. This page describes capabilities that are available in the public product and states their access conditions.
Last reviewed
Process-flow editing
Create, order, group, modify, and ignore process steps while keeping each step connected to its structural result. Step-specific controls cover materials, masks, thickness, profiles, and other available geometric or process conditions. Changing an earlier step recalculates affected downstream structures.
Supported process types
The public editor currently offers the following process types. Individual options vary by process, and the geometric model is intentionally bounded rather than a representation of every equipment or material behavior.
- SUBSTRATE
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Creates the substrate that serves as the starting structure for the process flow.
- Parameters: substrate type and thickness
- DEPOSITION
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Deposits a selected material over the current structure, optionally within a mask-defined area.
- Parameters: material, mask, and thickness
- Detailed parameters: conformality
- ALD
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Builds an atomic-layer-deposition film and can model uniform or nucleation-based surface growth.
- Parameters: material, seed material, and thickness
- Detailed parameters: 3D isotropic analysis, growth model, surface roughness, roughness seed, initial nucleation coverage, additional nucleation rate, initial nucleus size, and cycle growth
- SPIN COATING
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Coats the structure with a selected material to form a spin-coated layer.
- Parameters: material and thickness
- PARTICLE
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Places particles on the structure with configurable size, material, and incident-angle behavior.
- Parameters: particle materials, seed materials, particle count, and particle diameter
- Detailed parameters: diameter variation, contact angle, angular spread, angular exponent, trajectory display, and random seed
- ETCH
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Removes selected materials to a specified depth, optionally using a mask and directional profile.
- Parameters: etched materials, mask, and depth
- Detailed parameters: positive profile and bowing ratio
- WET ETCH
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Removes selected materials with the wet-etch geometry model.
- Parameters: etched materials, depth, and seam threshold
- CMP
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Planarizes the top surface to a target level and can stop at a selected material.
- Parameters: target thickness and stopper material
- Detailed parameters: dishing target materials and dishing amount
- STRIP
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Removes the selected material from the current structure.
- Parameters: material to strip
- PHOTO
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Creates a mask-defined photo pattern and can include simplified optical and OPC effects.
- Parameters: mask and thickness
- Detailed parameters: optical effects, wavelength, numerical aperture, exposure threshold, and corner/edge correction
- IMPLANTATION
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Adds a doped region with configurable implantation depth and diffusion behavior.
- Parameters: doping type, mask, and seed thickness
- Detailed parameters: implant depth, depth spread, diffusion distance, and diffusion of existing dopants
- OXIDATION
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Grows an oxide region from the applicable source material.
- Parameters: oxidation thickness
- MODIFICATION
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Converts a selected source material into a target material with a geometric volume change.
- Parameters: source material, target material, source-consumption thickness, and volume ratio
- Detailed parameters: reaction directionality
Masks and materials
Create and edit masks with shapes, arrays, and alignment controls, then assign them to applicable steps. Create project materials, edit their descriptive and display properties, and use them as inputs to supported process operations.
3D structures and cross-sections
Rotate and zoom the generated 3D structure, inspect X, Y, and Z two-dimensional cross-sections, or choose a bounded three-dimensional cutaway. Material controls can show, hide, highlight, or make a material transparent so that internal relationships are easier to inspect.
Electrical nodes and connectivity exploration
Switch between material and electrical-node exploration in 3D structures and two-dimensional cross-sections to view connected regions of metals and selected semiconductor materials as individual nodes. This helps distinguish process-stage connectivity and understand interconnect and contact structures. The feature shows grid-based geometric connectivity; it is not a quantitative electrical simulation of resistance, current, voltage, or related device behavior.
Steps, time dots, and saved views
Move through process steps and intermediate time dots to compare how the structure changes. Saved structural moments and viewer states provide useful points for returning to a view or organizing an explanation.
Capture, Gallery, and presentation output
Copy a displayed two-dimensional cross-section or 3D view for use in other material. Gallery is a secondary presentation workspace for arranging structural scenes and notes; a Gallery sequence can also be exported as a PowerPoint file. These functions support communication but are not the core process-calculation model.
Guest and mobile access
Visitors can explore official examples and projects that are accessible to them without signing in. On mobile, Arpelier primarily provides a preview-oriented project interface: users can inspect existing projects and make limited temporary adjustments, but changes are not saved and creating a new project is not currently available. Desktop provides the fuller editing workflow.
Calculation boundary
Arpelier calculates geometric structural changes for its supported operations. Calculation time can vary with structure complexity and grid resolution. The public capability does not imply quantitative electrical prediction, equipment-level recipe prediction, or guaranteed fabrication outcomes.