Integrated FDTD analysis of active microwave circuits and solid state devices

Abstract

An active device model is devised and coupled with the FDTD scheme for the analysis of electromagnetic effects on solid-state devices. The device model is based on the numerical solutions of semiconductor transport equations of the device. In this work, a Newton iterative method is used to solve the equations instead of employing the conventional Gummel's method. This method is found to be much faster than the Gummel's method in terms of computational time and convergence of the solutions, which can usually be achieved within three to four iterations. An example that simulates the transient response of a diode employing this resultant scheme is presented and the results are compared with that using the conventional lumped-element approach for active device. An application example, which simulates a single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switch using the device model proposed, is also analysed.