From: ian@MasPar.COM (Ian L. Kaplan)
Subject: Press release: Silvaco's SOLID ported to MasPar Machine
Apparently-To: uunet!comp-parallel
Summary: 200x speedup on optical lithography simulation on MasPar System
Reply-To: ian@MasPar.COM (Ian L. Kaplan)
Organization: MasPar Computer Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 00:16:36 GMT

MasPar Computer Corporation 
Scott Humphrey
Director, Corporate Communications
(408) 736-3300

						FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


	MasPar Announces 3-D Optival Lithography Simulation Software;
	  Silvaco's SOLID/MP Offers Up To 200x Performance Boost  
 
Sunnyvale, Calif., December 14, 1992 - MasPar Computer Corporation has
introduced a massively parallel version of Silvaco International's SOLID
(Simulation of Optical LIthography in three Dimensions) optical
lithography simulator.  The announcement of SOLID/MP, was made today at
the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) being held in San
Francisco, California.  
     SOLID models the complex interaction of incident electromagnetic
waves with mask elements and photoactive materials.  Optical patterning,
photoresist exposure, and development are all simulated.  SOLID/MP is
used to investigate the most challenging problems of modern submicron
lithography.  
    " Many of our customers are currently using SOLID as their main tool
for phase shift mask design and have expressed a need for much faster,
yet affordable computing capability," said Silvaco President Dr. Ivan
Pesic.  "The algorithms used by SOLID are well suited for implementation
on a massively parallel architecture, and allow us to tackle much larger
designs with extremely fast turnaround on an affordable server."

	     MasPar Provides Up to 200x Performance Boost

     The port of SOLID to the MasPar system was a joint project of
MasPar and Silvaco.  Benchmark results show SOLID/MP typically runs
nearly 70 times faster on a MasPar system with 4,096 processors than on
a Sun Sparc 2 workstation.  This speed up is obtained for a typical task
mix involving 2D imaging, 3D exposure, 3D post-exposure bake, and 3D
development.  


     "Phase shift mask applications are computationally demanding," said
Dr. Pesic.  "Calculations must be three-dimensional if they are to
account for effects such as proximity, corner rounding, and image
degradation during exposure.  These effects are especially important for
modern steppers with numerical apertures in the 0.5 to 0.6 range.
High-end MasPar systems can provide up to a 200x performance boost on
complex simulations, making large-scale phase shift mask design and
optimization applications very practical."  
     "We have been talking for some time about the advantages of
applying massively parallel technology to production codes that  have
typically run on serial machines," said Jeff Kalb, MasPar president and
CEO.  "SOLID is an excellent example.  We are seeing complex simulations
that used to take six days completed in two hours.  Dramatic performance
improvements like this will bring the benefits of cost-effective
simulation to this new and leading-edge area of integrated circuit
technology." 
     SOLID/MP is currently in beta test and will be commercially
available in the first quarter of 1993.  The price for SOLID/MP on the
MasPar platform is $55,000.              
   Additional Silvaco products will also be ported to the MasPar system.
The next product to be ported is the general-purpose device simulator,
THUNDER.  Subsequent plans call for massively parallel versions of
SSUPREM4, ATLAS II, and SmartSpice.  
     Since 1984, Silvaco International, a leader in Semiconductor
Technology Computer-Aided-Design (S-TCAD), has been providing
semiconductor manufacturers and designers with process, device,
parameter extraction and modeling software.  Staffed with 65 engineers,
including over 30 Ph.D.s, Silvaco offers the complete solution for
semiconductor simulation requirements.  
     MasPar Computer Corporation, headquartered in Sunnyvale,
California, is a leader in the emerging market for massively parallel
processing, a new approach to high performance computing using thousands
of processors working in unison.  MasPar has shipped over 130 revenue
systems since introduction in January 1990, and industry analysts put
the company fourth in revenues and fastest growing of the massively
parallel processing companies during 1991. MasPar products are used
extensively in industry and academia for applications ranging from
simulations of automotive crashes to cancer and AIDS research.  MasPar
is a privately-held company.  

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