Semiconductor device simulation with the Lei–Ting balance equations

Abstract

A hydrodynamical simulation model of carrier transport in semiconductor devices based on the Lei–Ting balance equations is presented. Unlike conventional hydrodynamical models derived from moments of the Boltzmann transport equation, where collisions with impurities and phonons are represented by momentum and energy relaxation times, we represent the scattering interaction in terms of frictional forces acting on the carriers and energy-loss rate of the carriers. As such, these quantities are calculated within the model itself, as functions of the carrier drift velocity and carrier temperature, along with the carrier density, which are themselves solved for self-consistently within our hydrodynamical model. In addition to the usual advantages of hydrodynamical approach, such as its capability to deal with high-field, nonlinear, nonstationary, and hot-electron effects, along with its modest computational cost, the new model incorporates electron–electron interactional effects (e.g., nonlocal, dynamical screening).