Tailored modeling: A way to the 'virtual microtransducer fab'?

It is widely recognized that, in the development and production of microtransducers, computer simulations constitute a cost-effective and time-saving alternative to the traditional experimental method of 'straightforward trial and error'. Application-oriented modeling not only provides us with a detailed understanding of fabrication processes and operational principles, but it also assists the designer i making decisions with a view to finding optimized microstructures under technological and economic constraints. The long-term goal is the automated optimization of microsystems according to customer-supplied specifications in a computer-based 'virtual factory' prior to the real fabrication. Even though this vision may be far ahead in the future, several attempts are being made to constitute a 'CAD tool box' for top-down and closed-loop simulation of microsystems. However, up to now little attention has been paid to specific aspects of microtransducer modeling, such as the consistent formulation of transducer effects, the consistent treatment of coupled fields and coupled domains, physically based models for mixed-mode simulation, and methodologies for fast and reliable model validation. Using the concepts of 'tailored modeling', these problems can be tackled on the basis of established thermodynamic methods. The implementation in a modular object-oriented CAD environment including a process-oriented material-property database may provide the proper platform for realizing the 'virtual microtransducer fab' in future.