ECE 595, Section 10

Numerical Simulations
Lecture 19: FEM for Electronic
Transport
Prof. Peter Bermel
February 22, 2013
Outline
Recap from Wednesday
Physics-based device modeling
Electronic transport theory
FEM electronic transport model
Numerical results
Error Analysis
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
Recap from Wednesday
Thermal transfer overview
Convection
Conduction
Radiative transfer
FEM Modeling Approach
Numerical Results
Error Evaluation


2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
Physics-Based Device Modeling
2/22/2013
D. Vasileska and S.M. Goodnick, Computational Electronics, published by Morgan &
Claypool , 2006.
ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
Electronic Transport Theory
Will assume electronic bandstructures known,
and take a semiclassical approach
Electrostatics modeled via Poisssons equation:

Charge conservation is required:
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
( )
D A
V p n N N
+
= +
1
1
J
J
n n
p p
n
U
t q
p
U
t q

= +

= +

S. Selberherr: "Analysis and Simulation of

Semiconductor Devices, Springer, 1984.
Electronic Transport Theory
Both p-type and n-type currents given by a
sum of two terms:
Drift term, derived from Ohms law
Diffusion term, derived from Second Law of
Thermodynamics
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
n n n
p p p
dn
J qn x E x qD
dx
dn
J qp x E x qD
dx

= +
=
S. Selberherr: "Analysis and Simulation of
Semiconductor Devices, Springer, 1984.
FEM Electronic Transport Model
Much like in earlier work, will employ the
following strategy:
Specify problem parameters, including bulk and
boundary conditions
Construct finite-element mesh over spatial
domain
Generate a linear algebra problem
Solve for key field variables:
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel

i
(x,y,z,t)
p (x,y,z,t)
n (x,y,z,t)
FEM Electronic Transport Model
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
Regarding the grid set-up, there are several points that need to be
made:
In critical device regions, where the charge density varies
very rapidly, the mesh spacing has to be smaller than the
extrinsic Debye length determined from the maximum doping
concentration in that location of the device
Cartesian grid is preferred for particle-based simulations
It is always necessary to minimize the number of node points
to achieve faster convergence
A regular grid (with small mesh aspect ratios) is needed for
faster convergence
2
max
e N
T k
L
B
D

=
D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
Poisson Solver
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
The 1D Poisson equation is of the form:
( )
2
2
exp exp( / )
exp exp( / )
D A
F i
i i T
B
i F
i i T
B
d e
p n N N
dx
E E
n n n V
k T
E E
p n n V
k T

= +
| |

= =
|
\ .
| |

= =
|
\ .
D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
Poisson Solver
Perturbing potential by yields:
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
2
/ /
2
/ /
2
/ / / /
2
/ /
/
/
T T
T T
T T T T
T T
V V
i
i
V V
i
V V V V new
i i
i
V V old
i
new old
en d
e e C n
dx
en
e e
en en d
e e e e C n
dx
en
e e

= + +
+ +
+ = +
+
=
D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
Poisson Solver
Renormalized form
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
2
2
2
new old
new old
d
p n C p n
dx
d
p n p n C p n
dx

= + + +
+ = + +
=
D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
Poisson Solver
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
Initialize parameters:
-Mesh size
-Discretization coefficients
-Doping density
-Potential based on charge neutrality
Solve for the updated potential
given the forcing function using LU decomposition
Update:
- Central coefficient of the linearized Poisson Equation
- Forcing function
Test maximum
absolute error update
Equilibrium solver


















>tolerance
<tolerance


D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
Current Discretization
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
The discretization of the continuity equation in conservative
form requires the knowledge of the current densities
on the mid-points of the mesh lines connecting neighboring
grid nodes. Since solutions are available only on the grid
nodes, interpolation schemes are needed to determine the
solutions.
There are two schemes that one can use:
(a)Linearized scheme: V, n, p, and D vary linearly
between neighboring mesh points
(b) Scharfetter-Gummel scheme: electron and hole
densities follow exponential variation between mesh
points
p eD E x ep x J
n eD E x en x J
p p p
n n n
=
+ =

) ( ) (
) ( ) (
D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
Nave Linearization Scheme
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
Within the linearized scheme, one has that









This scheme can lead to substantial errors in regions of
high electric fields and highly doped devices.
2 / 1 2 / 1
1
2 / 1 2 / 1 2 / 1 + +
+
+ + +
+

=
i i
i
i i
i i i
n eD
a
V V
en J
2
1 i i
n n +
+
i
i i
a
n n
+1
(

=
+ + +
+ + +
+ +
i
i
i
i i i
i
i
i
i
i i i
i i
a
eD
a
V V e
n
a
eD
a
V V e
n J
2 / 1 1 2 / 1
2 / 1 1 2 / 1
1 2 / 1
2
2

D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
Scharfetter-Gummel Scheme
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
One solves the electron current density equation
for n(V), subject to the boundary conditions
The solution of this first-order differential equation leads to
x
V
V
n
eD
a
V V
en
x
n
eD
a
V V
en J
i
i
i i
i
i
i
i i
i i

=
+
+
+
+
+
+ +
2 / 1
1
2 / 1
2 / 1
1
2 / 1 2 / 1

1 1
) ( and ) (
+ +
= =
i i i i
n V n n V n
| |
(

|
.
|

\
|

|
.
|

\
|

=

= + =
+ +
+
+
+

+
+
Vt
V V
B n
Vt
V V
B n
a
eD
J
e
e
V g V g n V g n V n
i i
i
i i
i
i
i
i
Vt V V
Vt V V
i i
i i
i
1 1
1
2 / 1
2 / 1
/ ) (
/ ) (
1
1
1
) ( ), ( ) ( 1 ) (
1

1
) (

=
x
e
x
x B is the Bernouli function
D. Vasileska, EEE533 Semiconductor Device and Process Simulation Lecture Notes, Arizona State
ADEPT 2.0
Available on nanoHUB from Prof. Grays team:
https://nanohub.org/tools/adeptnpt


2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
ADEPT 2.0
Can customize all the calculation details:
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
ADEPT 2.0
Outputs include electrostatic (Poisson) solution:
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
ADEPT 2.0
Energy band diagram
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
ADEPT 2.0
Carrier concentrations:
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
ADEPT 2.0
And finally, realistic I-V curves:
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel
Next Class
Is on Monday, Feb. 25
Next time, we will cover electronic
bandstructures
2/22/2013 ECE 595, Prof. Bermel