How simulation helps
At the micro and nano scale, behaviors that govern a device, including capillary forces, surface tension, diffusion, heat transport, and mechanics of thin films, are often invisible and hard to observe with instruments.
When each prototype means another wafer or another tool, trial-and-error gets expensive fast. Simulation lets you ask “what would happen if…” across a wide range of designs and operating conditions before committing to hardware. Arrive at the lab with a short list of candidates that are likely to work, rather than a long list to test one at a time.
- Explore a design space broadly before building anything physical.
- Understand the often counterintuitive small-scale physics that drives device behavior.
- Cut the number of prototype-and-test cycles in the R&D loop.
- De-risk scale-up from a working lab process to production.
Related applications
Micro- and nano-scale modeling underpins much of the work in these areas:
Clean Energy
Flow batteries, fusion-target physics, and novel solar. Technologies whose performance is decided by transport and electrochemistry at very small scales.
Medical Devices & Pharma
Microfluidic diagnostics, blood-contacting devices, and drug delivery. Micro-scale flow and mechanics govern how the device performs.