AN EFFICIENT TECHNIQUE FOR TWO‐DIMENSIONAL SIMULATION OF VELOCITY OVERSHOOT EFFECTS IN Si AND GaAs DEVICES

Abstract

A transport model has been developed which is reasonably accurate, and has proven quite efficient for the two‐dimensional numerical simulation of submicron‐scale Si and GaAs devices. In this model an approximate form of the energy‐transport equation is developed; this equation is easily included in otherwise‐conventional device simulation codes, which then require only slightly more solution time than standard models using field‐dependent transport coefficients. Calculations for 0.25 micron gate length Si and GaAs MESFET's show that velocity overshoot effects can be very important, particularly in the latter material; predicted saturation currents in the GaAs devices are almost three times larger than those that would have been predicted using conventional transport models. The model described, and its application in simulation programs, should find use in the design of submicron‐scale devices to properly take advantage of overshoot phenomena.