Overview of device modelling

Abstract

Mathematical and numerical modelling plays an integral part in the development and simulation of new semiconductor devices. Generally, there are three main strands to the Computer Aided Design approach to physical simulations. First, there is the problem of deciding which physical microscopic processes should be included in the physical description. Second, this description must be fed into the simulation of individual devices. Third, these device simulations must be fed into the simulations of the circuits in which these devices are integral. Due to the complexity of the physical structure of these devices, it is no longer possible to model all of this with simple equations which, hopefully, have analytic solutions. This chapter presents an overview of some of the device structures that can be encountered, the modelling equations that can be used, and some of the main mathematical and numerical methods that can be used in the solution of the equations.