Release Notes

The Integrated Circuit Characterization and Analysis Program (IC-CAP) is the industry standard platform for DC and High Frequency measurement and modeling of semiconductor devices. For general information about IC-CAP, refer to the Keysight EEsof product page at http://www.keysight.com/find/eesof-products.

This document describes new features, functionality, fixed issues and known issues in IC-CAP 2014.04. It also includes documentation changes and provides workarounds for defects wherever possible. For more information on known issues in IC-CAP 2014.04, or to report a new issue, refer to the Keysight EEsof Knowledge Center at: https://edasupportweb.software.keysight.com/.

To download IC-CAP 2014.04 HF3, visit the Keysight EEsof Knowledge Center website: http://www.keysight.com/find/eesof-iccap-latest-downloads .

• To install IC-CAP 2014.04 HF3 in minimal steps, refer to IC-CAP 201404 Quick Install and License Setup.

• To install licenses for IC-CAP 2014.04 HF3 through the license tools, refer to IC-CAP Licensing.

What's New

Enhancements in HF3 release

• DynaFET modules are fully functional and verified. For more information, see DynaFET Modeling.

ALC software is a part of DynaFEt flow that controls the acquisition of large signal data with the Keysight Non-Linear Vector Analyzer, a special version of the PNA-X.  ALC works in conjunction with the DynaFET extraction package in IC-CAP, therefore, it is available only as a component of the Keysight DynaFET Measurement and Modeling System.

Known Issues in HF3 release

General Platform and UI

• DynaFET model require changes to the schematic component.
  Workaround:
  
  1. Install ADS2015.01. You can download the installation file from the Keysight EEsof EDA website.

  2. Navigate to $HPEESOF_DIR/oalibs/rf/ads_rflib/%Dyna%Fet%Model directory.

     For Windows platform, navigate to C:\Program Files\Keysight\ADS2015_01\oalibs\rf\ads_rflib\%Dyna%Fet%Model directory.

  3. Locate the file, itemdef.ael and rename as itemdef.bak.
  4. Delete itemdef.atf file (if exists).
  5. Move the file, itemdef.ael, located at <ICCAP_Project_Dir>/config/ADS2015_01/itemdef.ael path to $HPEESOF_DIR/oalibs/rf/ads_rflib/%Dyna%Fet%Model directory.
     
• It is recommended to use Stop Meas instead of Stop button (while being in Data Acquisition module), else you will be navigated back to the native model to reset the SMUs.

New features and enhancements in HF2 release

• Levenberg optimizer now works better when parameters are near zero and range crosses zero.
• Binary Search capability added to 407x/408x.
• New System variable PLOTOPT_AUTORAISE_PLOTS can be set to false to stop default behavior of raising plots during optimization fromthe plot optimizer.
• New Right-click menu in new test plan run controller now allows selection of only devices with NOK or No (N/A) Result.  Also any measurement with Warnings may be selected.

Issues fixed in HF2 release

• B29XX pulsed measurement limits corrected.
• Allowed current range for 407x/408x updated.
• 407x/408x handles higher order LIST, LIN and LOG sweeps properly now
• PSPICE CV simulations with bias sweeps work correctly now.
• PSPICE can now handle many outputs
• PSPICE rawfile reader enhanced to handle time differing inner sweeps with external time sweep.
• Fixed crash when deleting setup that was simulated with a circuit $var() and then resimulating with a new setup.
• Fixed problem where ICCAP_ERROR_CALLBACK intermittantly reports incorrect line number.
• HP4155 no longer takes too many current measurements on certain setups.
• Improved handling of CSV files in Waferpro.

New features and enhancements in HF1 release

• PSPICE is now supported internally without the need for an OSI module.  The new link provides substantial simulation speed improvement over the OSI module.  See  PSPICE Simulator documenation.
• DataPro now offers correlation scatter plots for PT Data.  Select 'Correlation' tab on outlier selection Plot when PT output is selected.
• Spaces now allowed in option and notes columns for Waferpro subsites
• Results column now visible in new Test Plan Run Controller for easier selection.
• Characterization Step field of Sequence control now provides dropdown list of possible options.
• Binary Search input available in IC-CAP.  Currently works wtih B1500.
• Support for E5061B Network Analyzer
• B1511B modules now recognized by B1500

Issues fixed in HF1 release

• Temperature sweeps for Eldo and HSPICE now work properly again.
• Changing Program to Program2 or Python folowed by a click into the editor window no longer crashes IC-CAP.
• Pausing Waferpro run and restarting no longer request an additional license.

New features and capabilities supported in the IC-CAP 2014.04 release

DynaFET Extraction Package

IC-CAP 2014.04 is equipped with extraction package for Keysight’s DynaFET model, an advanced neural network model for III-V FETs (GaAs and GaN), to accurately model the effects of trapping, de-trapping, and self-heating.

For more information, see  DynaFET Modeling.

MOS Modeling Packages Enhancements

The following extraction packages are designed to extract BSIM6 and BSIM-CMG RF models.

•  BSIM6 RF Extraction Package
•  BSIM-CMG RF Extraction Package

WaferPro Enhancements

• Test Plan Run Page
  • New Test Plan Run Controller tab allows customization of the executed test plan by allowing you to select the individual test plan steps to execute. This feature assists in debugging any sub-set of steps in the full test plan quickly.
  • New View Test Plan Progress During Execution check box displays the remaining steps to be executed.

PEL/Python Editor Enhancements

Added following functionalities to the PEL/Python editor:

• Auto code completion
• Line numbering
• Syntax highlighting
• Capable of commenting on multiple lines
• Capable of indenting/unindenting multiple lines
• <Insert> key on keyboard toggles between replace and insert mode

For details, see Defining Editor Options.

Licensing

• SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME requires: a) version 2014.01 of the EEsof EDA licensing software, b) version 3.1 codewords to run, and c) the licensing server software, lmgrd and agileesofd, to be upgraded to at least the same versions as what are included in EEsof EDA Licensing software 2014.01. SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME will not start if any of these requirements is not met. Refer to the License Codeword Version Compatibility  Table.
• In the EEsof EDA License Tools version 2014.01, licensing vendor daemon ( agileesofd ) is upgraded to sync up with FlexNet FNP 11.11.1.2 version of FLEX license manager ( lmgrd ). SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME installer for the Windows platform will automatically set up these two new license server daemons by default for the local node-locked license users; for Linux, you need to follow the Linux/Solaris Licensing Setup instruction to complete the licensing configuration process. For more details, refer to  Licensing (For Administrators).
• A real-time and systematic license setup troubleshooting utility, Diagnose, is added to the License Manager tool. This utility produces a detailed health report of a user's currently configured licensing environment.
• A My Support ID utility is added to the License manager tool to allow a user to retrieve his/her Support ID required to contact Keysight EEsof Tech Support.

Enhancements and Improvements

• For simplified and robust licensing, PJC (Per Job Control) licenses are no longer checked out by SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME .
• The License Setup Wizard no longer requires Administrator privilege on Windows to setup license files. Administrator privilege is only required to setup the windows service that will automatically start the license server upon system restart rather than on EEsof application startup.

Issues Addressed

Licensing

• On windows, a possible Administrator privilege issue preventing the automatic restarting of the FlexFNP license server program, lmgrd after the PC comes out of the hibernation mode has been fixed. The License Setup Wizard will automatically restart the server without any user intervention.

General Platform

• Allow different fore/background colors in cells within GUI SpreadSheet. See Main Area Foreground Colors and Main Area Background Colors for Spreadsheet Tables and examples/new_features/2014_04/2014_SpreadsheetEnhancements.mdl
• Any parameter in the parameter table, or in an optimizer parameter table will turn red if it is at or beyond the Min/Max or Opt Min/Opt Max limits
• Added new function iccap_set_parameter_value_background_color
• More efficient netlisting with HSPICE. Any setup in IC-CAP now requires only one netlist.
• Increase speed simulation of external Eldo simulator. Any setup in IC-CAP now requires only one netlist.
• Provided wafer mapping capability
• Support for plotting of up to 150 traces per plot
• Created callbacks in GUI spreadsheet to notify edits and navigation. See new callbacks  'Cell Entered', 'Cell Lost Focus', and 'Cell Modified' for the Spreadsheet Table Widget and examples/new_features/2014_04/2014_SpreadsheetEhnancements.mdl
• LOG, LIST, CON freq. sweep type measurements were losing calibration during measurement when using a cal. State file
• Sorting feature available on the Organize Tool.
• Added System Variable ICCAP_ERROR_CALLBACK to define a callback that may be called whenever PEL generates an error. See examples/new_features/2014_04/2014_ErrorCallback.mdl

• Calibration will be turned off for sweeping in CON or LOG modes while performing measurement with PNA.

Known Issues

General Platform and UI

• IC-CAP runs child processes named cygpath.exe and sh.exe. On Windows 7, these processes appear as minimized console windows (similar to cmd prompt) in your task bar. If you restore these windows, a black window may appear. We recommend you to ignore these windows and keep them minimized as they are required for proper functioning of IC-CAP. If you close these windows, IC-CAP will open these windows again at a later time.

• On Linux, the Save Image option may fail for JPG and some other graphics file formats.
  Workaround: The solution is to replace the convert found under $ICCAP_ROOT/ImageMagick/bin folder with the convert from /usr/bin folder. An example command is cp /usr/bin/convert $ICCAP_ROOT/ImageMagick/bin/convert.

• Optimizer check buttons column often appear too wide when viewing Optimizer Parameter Tables saved from earlier versions of IC-CAP.

• When passing variable table values to another transform/macro using GET_INT, it is better to pass val(varname) rather than varname as there is a problem properly dereferencing the variable. It is dereferenced in the context of the get_int() call, not the iccap_func call. This problem will be repaired in a future release.

• If you use DYNAMIC_MULTIPLOT_MODE in multiplots, autoscale behavior may be affected. Normally all plots within a multiplot have a separate scaling setting from one multiplot to another or when viewed as a single plot. This allows you to place the same plot twice in a multiplot with different manual scaling settings or have the same plot in 2 multiplots, one autoscaled and the other manual scaled or any such combination. The DYNAMIC_MULTIPLOT_MODE causes the scaling presented in a multiplot to be identical to that displayed in the single plot. If you change the scaling in the multiplot, it will change the default scaling also for when viewing the single plot. But there is currently a problem when changing the the scaling properties from the multiplot. The scaling saved to the single plot becomes incorrect leading to unpredictable results. A workaround is to open the single plot and set the scaling as desired, once this is done, the plots will open as expected in the multiplot.

• It was found that opening/closing thousands of plots in an session may cause the IC-CAP process to grow and ultimately crash.

• When using WaferPro, selecting "Display Plot During Execution" to "Yes" may result into a blank plot window when trying to resize the plot. This will not affect the data collection. The workaround is to set the setting to "No" and view the results by clicking on the device measurement lines in the log window.

• When viewing plots on multiplot, sometimes symbol size is not consistent. This may affect the quality of the plot for documentation/publishing purposes.
• When displaying to a remote display from Linux (Specifically Cygwin Xwin or Exceed onDemand) you may observe substantial performance problems on the Model window when selecting setups.
  Solution: Setting environment variable QT_GRAPHICSSYSTEM=native before launching IC-CAP should improve the performance. Some systems may see further improvement by setting EESOF_REMOTE_DISPLAY_DEFAULT_OVERRIDE=1.

• You may observe performance issue during WaferPro Test Plan Run on Windows platform, as compared to IC-CAP 2013.01 release.

  Workaround: If IC-CAP 2013.01 is installed on your machine, set ICCAP_CPP_PATH=c:\agilent\iccap_2013_01\bin\icpp in the $HOME\ICCONFIG file.

Documentation

If IC-CAP help does not show any content, throws an error, or does not display any search results.
Workaround: Close the help and delete the contents of the following directory:

On Windows 7: C:\Users\<Windows_Login_ID>\AppData\Local\Keysight\Help

Simulation

• Segment Sweep with Noise analysis is not creating the correct netlist for the ADS simulator

• Only IC-CAP 2014.04 and later can work with ADS 2014.01 and later. IC-CAP 2014.04 can still work with prior versions of ADS.

Installation

• On Windows systems, if you have installed a pre-released version of IC-CAP and then try to install the current version or a newer version of the IC-CAP release, you can get the warning stating 'Previous Version Detected' even through you have uninstall the current version properly.
  Workaround:To get past the 'Previous Version Detected' message while installing, you need to delete the .com.zerog.registry file.
  • On 64 bit systems the file is at C:\Program Files (x86)\Zero G Registry\ .com.zerog.registry.
  • On 32-bit systems, the path to this file is C:\Program Files\Zero G Registry\ .com.zerog.registry.
    (The directory Zero G Registry is a hidden folder so you need to turn on Show hidden files…. On Windows 7, you can get to this setting under Control Panel\Appearance and Personalization\Show hidden files and folder.)

• IC-CAP ships with an installation of ImageMagick ‘convert’ for the Save Image feature in plots. Without a working ‘convert’ call, the Save Image option can only save JPG, BMP, PNG, PPM, XBM, and XPM formats. The version of convert shipped with IC-CAP does not work on Red Hat version 5, though most default installations of Red Hat version 5 will have a working ImageMagick tool in /usr/bin/convert folder. IC-CAP tests for a workable ‘convert’ program during launch. Initially at $MAGICK_HOME/bin/convert, then within IC-CAP installation, and finally within the path. A warning about the limited save options is issued at launch if no working version of ‘convert’ is found. To avoid this warning, you can install a current version of ImageMagick on your system or set the MAGICK_HOME environment variable to a working installation.

Licensing

• The new license server software packaged in the EEsof EDA License Tools version 2014.01 does not work on SuSE 10 platform. Use SuSE 11 or RHEL 5 or 6 instead as your Linux license server machine.
• Unable to install Flex-10 driver if Flex-9 dongle is already plugged into a machine.
  Workaround: Before installing a Flex-10 driver for the first time, unplug the Flex-9 dongle.
• There is a known Flexera FNP issue, whereby mixing node-locked codewords and floating codewords in one license file can result in: a) Remote simulations not working or b) A second local simulation not working in case the license is node-locked and also has incorrect version.
  Workaround: It is strongly recommended that you do not mix node-locked codewords and floating codewords in one license file nor in any configuration that ends up with node-locked codewords and floating codewords both available on the same server. In other words, put the node-locked license and the floating license on different servers, and point to the respective one based on what you need to run.
  Additionally, we also recommend you to remove expired codewords, to separate out the new and the old versions of codewords into different files and different servers, and to point to the respective one based on what you need to run.
• On the Linux platform, PRODUCT_NAME_LICENSE_FILE needs to be correctly specified before starting SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME. Without that being set correctly, SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME would not start.
• Not specifying the TCP/IP port for the license server during license setup may lead to unexpected behavior and/or license checkout failure on the Windows platform. We strongly recommend you to always explicitly specify the TCP/IP port associated with each license server.
• A node-locked and floating bundle operating on Linux cannot be shared between products using EDA License Tools version 2014.01 and 11.9.0.0 or earlier when run at the same time.
• The "Check-in failed" message occurs in the license activity log occasionally can be ignored; the license mentioned in this message is actually properly returned.
• License Setup Wizard does not remove any previous user-configured FLEX Windows License Service installed using FlexNet's lmtools.
  Workaround: You must remove the previous user-configured Windows License Service via lmtools.
  • Run the lmtools.exe from C:\Program Files\Agilent\EEsof_License_Tools\bin to invoke the lmtools utility. The lmtools utility window is displayed.
  • In the Service/License File tab, check the Configuration using Services option. All user-configured FLEX Windows License Services will be listed.
  • Select the service you wish to remove.
  • Select the Config Services tab and click the Remove Service button to remove the service.
    To ensure that the license service or lmgrd is running, click View Log. A log window appears that confirms whether agileesofd and lmgrd are up and running.
• While running multiple versions of prior SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME releases together, set PRODUCT_NAME_MAXIMUM_BUNDLE_USAGE=ON in your environment so that all of them will use the same method to check out licenses. Otherwise, you might receive an error message, "Licensed number of users already reached".
• On some Windows 7 machines, when more than one definition of an Ethernet adapter exists (duplicates), license checkouts may appear to hang up.
  Workaround: Disable the duplicate network card definitions in your network settings: Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network Connections. This issue has been acknowledged by Flexera and they have created a bug report (SIOC-000103097).
• If a license server is configured with two license versions, that is, version 2.8 and 2.9 node-locked license files, the license server may crash.
  Workaround: You should combine the two license files into one file, instead of using them separately.
• For LSF style distributed simulations, in case of windows, ensure that the PATH points to the $HPEESOF_DIR/EEsof_License_Tools/${architecture} directory that corresponds to the EEsof release being used. This needs to be done in order to ensure that the proper version of the Flexera utilities (like lmutil ) gets picked up in the path before any older in-compatible versions (that may also be installed on a users’ system.)
• License Setup Wizard ( aglmwizard.exe ), which is used to set up and record the license path would not work if you already have an environment variable set for PRODUCT_NAME_LICENSE_FILE.
  Workaround: You can use PRODUCT_NAME_LICENSE_FILE variable to point to license file or refer to Licensing (For Administrators).
• The License Setup Wizard will exit or not properly configure a license server, if the server has all of its licenses currently in use.
  Workaround: Wait for a license on the server to become available as you normally would before launching the product.
• If SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME does not start after you reboot your 64-bit Windows computer, and a license denial message is displayed, then it might be caused by a spurious registry entry. Check to see if registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\FLEXlm License Manager\EEsof EDA License Server exists; if it does, remove it and restart SHORT_PRODUCT_NAME.
• Unable to set license in case unicode characters are used either in path or license file name because the Flex License Service does not support these characters.
• The Product Selector tool will be unable to display the license server status properly when connected to older license server.
  Workaround: Upgrade your license server to the latest version.

• When the same user is running similar simulations from multiple sessions of IC-CAP on the same computer and display—that is, the same User-Display-Host— and if simulations are rerun an extra license may be pulled.
  Workaround: Click Stop from the Status window of all the IC-CAP sessions to release all the simulator licenses, then rerun the simulations.

http://edadocs.software.keysight.com/display/engdociccap/iccap201404