Cost Explorer: Optimizing PPACtE in Semiconductor Technology Development
3 Min Read December 4, 2025
With leading-edge process R&D costs approaching ten billion dollars per node, the semiconductor industry is evolving beyond traditional Power, Performance, and Area (PPA) metrics. Cost, Cycle Time, and Environmental impact (Carbon Equivalents) are now equally critical to technology optimization.
The PPACtE Challenge
When TSMC describes its 3nm technology, the focus is on impressive PPA achievements: 25-30% less power consumption, 10-15% higher performance, and 70% improvement in logic density. However, cost to manufacture, cycle time impacts on time-to-market, and carbon footprint are becoming equally critical competitive differentiators.
While TCAD tools have long enabled PPA optimization in simulation, they haven't provided native capabilities for cost, cycle time, or environmental modeling—until now.
How Cost Explorer Works
Cost Explorer integrates seamlessly with the Synopsys DTCO workflow, adding three critical dimensions:
- Cost Modeling considers both fabrication process and facility in granular detail, modeling 93 fundamental equipment types with node-specific configurations, country-specific labor rates and utility costs, equipment capacity matching, and step-by-step material usage.
- Cycle Time Analysis calculates ideal cycle time—the fastest a wafer can be processed when every tool is available. Comparing ideal cycle times between process alternatives enables optimization for speed before considering real-world fab loading factors.
- Carbon Footprint Calculation determines materials and quantities used in process flows, then applies utilization, abatement, and global warming factors to calculate carbon equivalent emissions.
Real-World Validation: Tokyo Electron CFET Analysis
Tokyo Electron used Cost Explorer to evaluate monolithic versus sequential CFET fabrication approaches. Using the standard Synopsys tool set, the sequential approach showed 3% lower performance and 6% higher power consumption.
Cost Explorer revealed a 15.3% cost penalty for sequential CFETs—a dramatic differential that fundamentally changed the technology decision. This insight was available before committing to expensive test wafers.
Read the White Paper on the TechInsights Platform.
Explore detailed methodology for CtE modeling in TCAD environments, integration architecture with Synopsys Sentaurus Process Explorer, and the path to billions in potential development and manufacturing savings.
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