Frequently asked questions about Arpelier

Can I save and open projects as local files?

Yes. Sign in and choose This computer to keep the project and compressed structure caches in one encrypted .apl file. Choose a file from the folder beside New project, or drop it onto the dashboard. You manage the file and backups; sign-in and key retrieval require an online connection.

Do local files keep cloud sharing permissions?

Files created from your owned cloud project preserve its named viewers and editors at creation. Recipients need the file and their permitted account; viewers cannot edit/save in Arpelier. Later cloud permission changes do not revoke existing copies. New local projects, personal copies of others’ projects and legacy files remain creator-only. Visibility and public listing are cloud-only; local_ URLs do not transfer files.

What kind of tool is Arpelier?

Arpelier is a web-based tool for building and exploring step-by-step 3D structures and cross-sections from semiconductor and microfabrication process flows. It focuses on structural understanding, education, early exploration, review, and communication.

Does entering a process flow generate a 3D structure?

Yes. Arpelier applies supported process steps, materials, masks, and conditions in sequence to calculate the structure at each stage. Changing an earlier step recalculates the affected downstream stages.

What are the four Structure Explorer modes?

Composition organizes the current structure by material, Provenance by the step that first created each region, Change by regions added, removed, or changed between structural stages, and Connect by geometrically connected conductive nodes. They do not create separate structures; they provide four ways to read the same calculated result.

Does Provenance prove the physical cause of a fabrication result?

No. Provenance shows the creation step for current regions and fully deleted origins, plus related later steps that changed or removed material from each origin. A deleted row preserves process history but does not recover its former 3D shape. It also does not recover exact affected position or volume or prove the physical causality of every material reaction or equipment condition.

What does Change compare?

Change compares the currently selected structural process target with its previous effective structural process step. It shows regions that were added, removed, or changed from one material to another; it is not a free comparison between arbitrary projects or every pair of points in the full history.

Does Connect calculate electrical behavior?

No. Connect groups metals and selected semiconductor materials that touch in the current grid structure. It does not quantitatively calculate resistance, current, voltage, short-circuit likelihood, or circuit behavior.

Is Arpelier a TCAD tool?

No. Arpelier is positioned as a pre-TCAD visualization environment for exploring process–structure relationships before detailed physical simulation. It does not replace professional TCAD, experiments, or process validation.

Which processes can Arpelier represent?

The public editor currently includes substrate, wafer bonding, deposition, atomic layer deposition, spin coating, particles, dry and wet etching, chemical mechanical planarization, stripping, photolithography, ion implantation, oxidation, and material modification. Options and model depth vary by process. Bonding requires source and placement review through the web UI or the dedicated browser API where available; it is separate from Flow 1.0 JSON authoring.

Can I use Arpelier without signing in?

Yes, for exploration. Visitors can open official examples and projects that are accessible to them without signing in. Signing in is required for cloud saving and account-based project management.

Can I share a cloud project with someone else?

Yes. Depending on the cloud project access setting, an owner can share a link or QR code and add collaborators with an assigned role. A project must be configured with suitable access before another person can open it.

Can Arpelier be used in classes or educational content?

Yes. Its official examples, process stages, 3D structures, and cross-sections can support teaching and learning about process–structure relationships. This capability statement does not define a separate commercial-use or licensing policy.

Can I make images for a presentation?

Yes. Arpelier can copy displayed 2D cross-sections and 3D views, and Gallery can organize selected scenes and export a PowerPoint sequence. Gallery and presentation output are supporting features rather than the core calculation model.

How do project access and security work?

Project access has three user-facing states. Private limits access to the owner and invited viewers or editors. Public lets anyone with the project link open it as a viewer, but does not show it in Explore or search. Public + Listed keeps public link access and also displays the project in Explore and search. New projects and duplicates default to Public with Listed turned off, so being public does not immediately expose them to unspecified users: someone needs the project link to find and open them. The owner can change this state at any time in the project sharing settings.

Can I use Arpelier on mobile?

Yes, with limits. Mobile primarily provides a preview-oriented interface for inspecting existing projects and making limited temporary adjustments. Changes are not saved there, and creating a new project is not currently available; desktop provides the fuller editing workflow.

Does Arpelier predict electrical characteristics or actual process results?

No. Quantitative electrical prediction and guarantees about equipment recipes, fabrication results, or yield are outside Arpelier’s primary purpose. Use professional simulation, experiments, metrology, and process validation for those decisions.