7_faq.md

SemiDevKit — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This FAQ summarizes common questions when using SemiDevKit, including TCAD Playgrounds,
BSIM4 Analyzers, Paramus Physical Edition, OpenLane-Lite, and general semiconductor simulation workflows.

1. General Questions

Q1. What is SemiDevKit?

SemiDevKit is a modular educational toolkit covering:

• Semiconductor device physics (Poisson, MOSFET models)
• BSIM4 compact modeling and SPICE analysis
• Reliability modeling (HCI, NBTI)
• Physical design (OpenLane-Lite)
• PZT ferroelectric behavior
• Parameter extraction (Paramus)

Q2. Which OS is recommended?

Linux or WSL2 is strongly recommended.

Q3. Does SemiDevKit require GPU?

No. All simulations are CPU-based.

2. Python & Environment

Q4. Which Python version is required?

Python 3.9–3.12 recommended.

Q5. Should I use a virtual environment?

Yes, to avoid version conflicts.

Q6. I get ModuleNotFoundError. What should I do?

Install dependencies:

pip install numpy scipy matplotlib pandas pyyaml

3. ngspice / SPICE Issues

Q7. ngspice cannot find model file.

Use forward slashes / in .include paths.

Q8. Sweep produced only one data point.

Simulation failed — check .log files.

Q9. gmmax extraction fails.

Sweep data incomplete (usually model error).

4. TCAD Playground Questions

Q10. Poisson solver diverges.

Try:

• Reduce doping
• Increase tox
• Reduce sweep range

Q11. Why different from real TCAD?

These are simplified educational models.

5. Reliability (HCI/NBTI)

Q12. Are HCI/NBTI models accurate?

They are simplified, for trend study and education.

Q13. Can real data be fitted?

Yes — adjust A_vth, p_vth, A_id, p_id.

6. OpenLane-Lite

Q14. PDK not found.

Ensure:

openlane-lite/pdks/

Q15. Docker issues in WSL2.

Enable WSL2 backend in Docker Desktop:

wsl -l -v

7. Contribution

Q16. How can I contribute?

Submit Issues or PRs: https://github.com/Samizo-AITL/SemiDevKit

8. License

Q17. What is the license?

Hybrid license:

• MIT for code
• CC BY / CC BY-SA for text
• CC BY-NC for figures

9. Contact

📌 Item	Details
Name	Shinichi Samizo
GitHub