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I. INTRODUCTION
LTHOUGHthefinite-elementmethodhas
found
extensive use inseveralbranches
of engineerin,;
111-[3] and in electromagnetic field problems [4], it is on1;q
comparatively recently that semiconductor device simu-.
lation has been carried out by this method [5]-[12]. Ex:tensive two-dimensional device simulation has been car-.
ried out by the finite difference method [13]-[20] which
has undergone considerable refinement. Thus, while su.
11. THEFINITE-ELEMENT
EQUATIONS
FOR
periority over the finite-differencemethodcannot
bs
SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICES
claimed a t this early stage, the finite-element method does
A. Semiconductor Device Equations
have some advantages.It is the objective of this paperto
The equations used to model semiconductor devices are
describe the applicationof the method todevice simulaPoisson's
equation and the hole and electron continuity
tion. The authors have simulated microwave field effect,
equations
together withseveral auxiliary equations:
transistors and diodes [5]-[8] with the method, but this
Main
Equations:
paper is deliberately writtenin a broader context since th %
finite-element approach hasgeneral application to twoV (cVV) = q ( n - p - N d )
(1)
(and even three-) dimensional device modeling.
The main advantagesof the finite-element method ar,:
that conservation laws(e.g., current conservation) ar,?
exactly satisfied even by coarseapproximations, it is e a r ?
to treatirregular geometries, the computational mesh c m
be graded to be fine in regions of rapid change, local meilk
Auxiliary Equations:
refinement [21] is easier to implement than in finite-dif.
ference methods, and higher order approximations arl?
E = -VV
(4)
morereadily constructed. Disadvantagesinclude the
Jp = d P 5 p - DpVP)
(5)
greater degree of programming complexity and thelarger
bandwidth of the resulting matrix equations if higher orde r
3, = -q(n&, - D n V n ) .
(6)
approximations and nonuniform meshes are indeed used,
The larger is the bandwidth, the greater are thecomputer The quantitiesin (1)through (6) are defined as
storagerequirementsand processing costsduring thl?
V
the voltage
matrix solution phase of the problem. However,the greater
q A the electron charge
bandwidth is offset by the need for fewer equations wher~
t e the semiconductor permittivity
a strategically placed nonuniform mesh and/or
higher
p 4 the hole concentration
order approximations are used.
If a matrix orderingalgaln A the electron concentration
Nd
the doping density (positive for donors,
Manuscript received November 5,1976; revised February 1,1977. T h s
negative for acceptors)
work was supported by the Air Force Systems Command, Rome PLs
t
time
Development Center under Contract F30603-74-C-0012 and in parttly
the National Science Foundation under Grants GK-37581 and EN(:
Jp,Jn
P the hole and electron current densities
75-12833.
G
the carriergeneration rate
J. J. Barnes is with American Microsystems, Inc., Santa Clara, C 4
95051.
2
A the electric field intensity
R. J. Lomax is with the ElectronPhysics Laboratory, Department of
Dp,D,
the hole and electrondiffusion coefficients
Electrical and Computer Engineering,The University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, MI 48109.
Ljp,Ljn
the hole and electron drift velocities.
AND
BARNES
1083
SEMXCONDUCTOR
SIMULATION
DEVICE
The diffusion coefficients and driftvelocities are electric on triangular elements. Most subsequent statements apply
field dependent andso the equations are nonlinear. Tab-directly or with only minor extensionto more general elular values oranalytical approximations of these terms are ements.
used which are identical to those appearing
in the finiteIn thiscase, a setof N nodal pointscovers the region 3,
difference literature [7],[13]-[20]. The generation-reand thenodes are joined to form a triangulated mesh. For
combination term which is also nonlinear may be ap- simplicity the boundaryIwill betaken tobe polygonal so
proximated by its thermal equilibriumvalue (Shockley- that the triangulation can cover Q exactly. The shape
Itead-Hall theory) [27], but no simulation which includes functions are defined
so that atnode (xi,yi)
this term hasbeen carried outby the authors.
B. Finite-Element Equations
In addition, $j(x,y) is nonzero only in the elements imIn order toproceed it is necessary to introduce acom- mediately surrounding node
j , and in particular, i f j is not
,N] on r, 4 j ( x , y ) = 0 on I?.Thus the approximations to
plete finite set of shape functions {&(x,y):i = 1,2,
V ,p ,
which are describedbelow. These functions form abasis and n are
for the function space in which the finite element approximation is defined. For practical reasons, a two dimensional device geometry is considered so that uniformity is assumed in the third( 2 ) direction. The finite-elemenl; equations are derivedfrom (1)-(3) by multiplying
them by & and integratingover the region 3 occupied by
N
nh(x,y,t) = C n j ( t ) $ j ( x , y ) .
(12)
the device. This is equivalent to making the residual (left
j= 1
minus right-hand sideof the equation) orthogonal to the
set of functions rather than making the residual
zero a t a Because of (11)it follows that V i ( t ) Vh(xi,yi,t).
finite setof points as in finite-difference methods. In the The boundary conditions tobe considered here are 1)
V,p , and n are specified oncontacts and so Vj(t),p j ( t ) and
case of (1)this gives
nj ( t) are known for nodes lying on contacts and2) V V fi
= 0, Jp ii = 0 and
ii = 0 on parts of Ilying between
contacts (insulating boundaries). It is convenient here, but
not essential in programming,to number first
all nodes not
The resultof applying thedivergence theorem to(7) is
lying on contacts as1through M , where M < N. The remaining nodes, M 1through N therefore lie oncontacts.
The finite-element equations are obtained
by substituting
(12) into (8) and (9), inserting the boundary conditions,
,M,
and allowing i to take on the values 1,2,
..-
an.
where fi is the normal tor, the boundaryof 3. The corresponding equation, derived from (2) by a similar procedure, is
c&OVh. ri d l
The integrals over I? vanish becauseof the boundaryconditions for the following reasons. If i is a nodewhich isnot
on l7, & ( x , y ) = 0 on r and the left-handsides of (13) and
(14) are zero. If i lies on I (and therefore between contacts
since 1 2 i 5 M ) , boundary conditions 2) imply that the
left-hand sides of (13) and(14) are zero.
C. Conservution of Current
+1
1084
TRANSACTIONS
IEEE
8,
AUGUST
1977
contacts
ON ELECTRON
DEVICES,
AND
BARNES
1085
and
-h
"+'At-"
q[M']
(30)
+ b i +~ ciy)/2A
(33)
1086
1977
element andgiven by
O& = ( b i / 2 A , ~ i / 2 A ) .
(34)
$jq5,q5$ dS = 2 A
e
(I
l!m!n!
m n
+ + + a)! .
(216)
which preserve slope continuitya t interfaces are considerably more complicated. One of the most convenient is
the Hermite bicubic element. An additional gain from this
element is the improved orderof approximation withthe
result that fewer larger elements are expected to be needed.
(Stability requirements may prevent complete exploitation
of this feature however;see Appendix.) For the Hermite
bicubic shape functionsthe elements must be rectangular.
The shapefunctions areexpressed in the form of products
of the Hermitecubic polynomials in x and y , respectively.
The two independent polynomials are shown in Fig. 3 and
defined over [-h,h]by
Even though local and global current continuity is ensured by the finite-element method,when linear elem.w!nts
and
are used the current density and electric field are not
continuous a t interfacesbetweenelements.
Elements
$ j c i . ( ~=
)
(/X
uj(X)
- Xjl - h ) ( 2 1 ~-
= (X
-X~)(IX
+h)
-h)2.
(38)
(39)
1087
lY
( a ) FUNCTION 9
( b ) FUNCTION
05
x,-1
5x 5
xj+l.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
1088
a restriction
(A51
4PNd
otherwise a spatial oscillation of the density may occur
related to the time
lag between solving Poissons equation
and
the
continuity
equation,This restriction does not seem
APPENDIX
A final limitation on
to presentin fully implicit schemes.
STABILITY AND CONVERGENCE
the time step for physically meaningful transient calculations or when purely explicit terms appear due to the
Because the equations are nonlinear and the boundary
nonlinearities
is that the time step A t must be small
conditions have singularities, the stability and convergence
enough
so
that
the Courant number does not
exceed
properties are complex. This discussion is therefore largely
unity:
qualitative and based on computational experience. E3y
carrying through a detailed analysisfollowing the work of
v At
cB-51.
Fix [ 2 6 ] ,the following convergenceestimates can be made
h when the generation termG is absent and boundary conThe above restrictions arisefor similar reasonsand do
ditions are sufficiently smooth:
not differ basically from corresponding restrictions
of finite-difference methods [30], [31].
+ ( V - Vh)2] dS}
= 0 (hK-l)
(A:1)
REFERENCES
AND
BARNES
1089
finite-element method under local mesh refinement, to be published in Comp. Meth. App. Mech. Eng.
[22] G. Strang and G. J. Fix, An Analysis of the FiniteElement Method.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1973.
[23] R. D. Cook, Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis.
New York Wiley, 1974.
[24] K. 3. Bathe andE. L. Wilson, Numerical Methodsin FiniteElement
Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1976.
[25] L. J. Segerlind, AppliedFiniteElement Analysis. New Y o r k
Wiley, 1976.
[26] G. J. Fix, Finite Element Models for Ocean Circulation, SIAM
J . Appl. Math., vol. 29, pp. 371-387, Nov. 1975.
[27] D. L. Scharfetter and H. K. Gummel, Large-signal analysis of a
silicon read diode oscillator, IEEE Trans. Electron Deuices, vol.
ED-16, pp. 64-77, Jan. 1969.
[28] D. A. Calahan, P. G. Buning, and W. N. Joy, Vectorized general
sparsity algorithms with backing store, SEL ReportNo. 96, Systems Engineering Laboratory, The University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, Jan. 1977.
[29] R. J. Lomax, Transverse effects in avalanche transit-time devices,
Final Reporton NSF GrantNo. GK-37581, Electron Physics Laboratory, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Aug. 1975.
[30] P. J. Roache, Computational Fluid Dynamics. Albuquerque, NM:
Hermosa Publishers, 1972.
[31] M. Reiser, On the stability of finite-difference schemes in transient
semiconductor problems, Comp. Meth. Appl. Mech. Eng., vol. 2,
pp. 65-68, Jan. 1973.