Crosslight Software is glad to announce new features in version 2018.8 of its simulation software (PICS3D and APSYS).

• Full-3D VCSEL vectorial optical model based on novel FDFD method.
• Full-3D vectorial wave optical model based on novel FDFD method, opening new possibilities in modeling of silicon photonic waveguide devices.
• New 3D mesh system with new 3D GUI.
• UCB SPICE code imported into Crosslight software as a subset of minispice module. Both circuit-only and mixed-mode TCAD simulation can be performed and 2nd-order of time-stepping from
  UCB SPICE can be used in mix-mode TCAD.
• Floating contact with zero-sum current condition implemented in basic drift-diffusion solver.
• Two-photon absorption model implemented for material optical gain model.
• Bug fixes and model upgrade in various modules.

This version will be released later this year, after final testing has been completed. Customers with an up-to-date maintenance contract can contact their local sales representatives if they wish to try these new features right away.

We are proud to announce the results of a pilot project with Assistant Professor Can Bayram of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As part of this project, three students who worked with Crosslight TCAD tools in an academic setting split a prize for best class project.

Congratulations to the winners of this award: Kaitlyn Ann Parsons, Bryce Davis Smith and Haonan Wu.

A new application note on SiC MOSFET has been submitted by our collaborator, Dr. Gary Dolny. Sample input files are included on the main power device application page for interested users.

Crosslight is proud to announce a major breakthrough in VCSEL modeling. Our new vectorial microcavity mode solver greatly enhances PICS3D’s capability to model devices with oxide confinement layers and surface relief features. An updated presentation is available to demonstrate this feature.

This model should be available to customers in our official 2018 release; current PICS3D customers with an up-to-date maintenance agreement may contact their local Crosslight office to request early access to this model or arrange a demonstration version to try out this new feature.

Crosslight is pleased to announce v.2017 of the software has been finalized. This version will ship to customers in the coming weeks after further internal testing but users with an up-to-date maintenance contract my contact us for early access to this version.

Here are some of the improvements in this version:

• Vectorial electromagnetic wave mode solver for microcavity model, based on a frequency domain finite difference (FDFD) method. This model has been demonstrated for VCSELs and should enhance the functionality for complex structures with oxide confinement and surface relief features.
• Two-photon absortion model implemented for use in high-power diode lasers.
• New compact semiconductor material model to better account for experimental IQE and IV data in Diode/LED simulation. This model replaces the fully coupled non-linear Drift-Diffusion equations with a simplified linear solution of the Poisson equation, greatly speeding up the simulation and enhancing the convergence.
• Resonant cavity solar cell or PD with microcavity enhancements to the dipole moments and photon recycling.
• Additional material models to tackle divergence in thermal simulation. Especially useful for high power broad-area thermal simulation.
• Convenient external heat source definition enabled, greatly simplifying many types of thermal simulation.
• Perturbation numerical model in lateral mode eigen value problem. Improvement in speed and stability.
• Photon balance model for 3D simulations to rigourously enforce energy conservation. Available as alternative to the conventional round-trip gain solution method.
• Extra flexibility and better management of divergence stall, restart and continuation in non-linear Newton method.
• Resistive switching model suitable for RRAM application.
• Improvements in mesh generation and BPM initialization.
• Improvements in GUI, especially Semicrafter for complicated GDS input.

A new feature article on VCSEL modeling with PICS3D in Laser Focus World has been published in the July 2017 edition of Laser Focus World.

A new presentation demonstrating a Resistive Switching Memory Model has been added to our Miscellaneous Microelectronics Applications page.

This model showcases successful integration of process and device modeling, mixed-mode SPICE simulation and Monte-Carlo simulation of O₂ diffusion.

A new application note on SiC floating ring edge termination has been submitted by our collaborator, Dr. Gary Dolny. Sample input files are included for interested users.

Crosslight is pleased to announce that a free product tutorial/seminar will be held at the upcoming NUSOD 2017 conference in Copenhagen.

A new application note on SiC Junction Barrier Schottky rectifiers has been submitted by our collaborator, Dr. Gary Dolny. Results demonstrate the quality of fit produced by a properly-calibrated APSYS model.