IC-CAP (Integrated Circuit Characterization and Analysis Program) is Keysight's premier software platform for semiconductor device modeling. It is the industry-standard environment for extracting accurate electrical models (like SPICE parameters) from measured data on test structures and transistors.

The core value proposition is providing a structured, automated, and powerful workflow to go from "lab measurement to validated model." It bridges the gap between physical silicon (measured on a wafer prober) and the simulation models used by circuit designers.

Key Expected Features & Enhancements in IC-CAP 2025

A 2025 release would focus on automation, integration, and addressing the extreme challenges of advanced process nodes.

1. AI/ML-Driven Modeling and Automation

• Intelligent Parameter Extraction: ML algorithms that can guide the extraction process, suggest optimal starting values, and automatically handle local minima problems that plague traditional optimization routines.

• Automated Model Selection & Verification: The software could analyze DC, CV, and RF measurement data and recommend the most appropriate compact model (e.g., BSIM-CMG, HiSIM-HV, MVS) for the device technology.

• Predictive Modeling: Using AI to predict model behavior and parameter sets for preliminary design work before full characterization is complete, or to estimate aging effects.

2. Advanced Node & Model Support

• Certified Support for 2nm/3nm & GAA FETs: Full workflow support for the latest Process Design Kits (PDKs), including automated extraction flows for Gate-All-Around (GAA) FETs (using models like BSIM-CMG) and advanced FinFETs.

• Enhanced Statistical & Reliability Modeling: Deeply integrated tools for high-sigma Monte Carlo analysis and aging/degradation modeling (BTI, HCI). This would include streamlined extraction of reliability model parameters from stress-measurement sequences.

• Cryogenic & High-Frequency Modeling: Pre-configured setups and enhanced algorithms for characterizing devices for quantum computing (cryogenic temperatures) and for mmWave/THz applications (with advanced de-embedding and RF extraction).

3. Unprecedented Workflow Integration & Usability

• Tighter PathWave Ecosystem Integration: Seamless, one-click data sharing with PathWave ADS for model validation in circuit simulations and with PathWave Vector Analyzer for RF data analysis.

• Cloud-Enabled Modeling: Native support for dispatching massive characterization jobs (e.g., across an entire wafer) to cloud computing resources, with intelligent data management and result aggregation.

• Modernized User Interface (UI): A refreshed, more intuitive UI with customizable dashboards, drag-and-drop workflow builders, and enhanced visualization tools to reduce the learning curve for new engineers.

4. Measurement Hardware Abstraction & Control

• Unified Instrument Control Layer: A simplified, more abstracted interface for controlling a wide array of measurement equipment (SMUs, VSG, VSA, parameter analyzers, wafer probers) from Keysight and other vendors, reducing setup complexity.

• "One-Button" Characterization: Pre-validated, application-specific "personalities" that auto-configure the entire measurement system (instruments, prober, switch matrix) for a specific task (e.g., DC IV, CV, 1/f noise).

5. Enhanced Data Analysis and Visualization

• Interactive, Linked Plotting: Advanced plotting tools where clicking on a data point in a graph automatically highlights the corresponding device on the wafer map and loads its raw data table.

• Automated Model Quality Reporting: A built-in reporting engine that automatically generates comprehensive "model passports" including key metrics like GOF (Goodness-of-Fit), parameter correlation matrices, and bounds of validity.