Mentor Graphics has developed a chip-scale copper electroplating and chemical-mechanical polishing simulator called CMP Optimize. CMP Optimize is part of the Calibre® WORKBench™ platform, and is intended for use with various Design for Manufacturing applications, such as SmartFill optimizations, accurate parasitic extractions, and depth-of-focus variability compensations. CMP Optimize is tightly integrated with Mentor Graphics’ Calibre product line, which provides planarity hotspot detection, as well as thickness analysis and optimization. CMP Optimize is currently the only solution in the industry that gives designers the ability to build models for copper metallization processes. Much like models for lithography, the customer’s process or foundry team builds and owns the copper models. This white paper introduces the CMP Optimize tool from a model-building perspective. It discusses the necessary inputs, model-building methodology from a calibration and optimization standpoint, output data analysis, and model validation capabilities.