Hierarchical Device Simulation: The Monte-Carlo Perspective [Paperback]

This monograph is the first on physics-based simulations of novel strained Si and SiGe devices. It provides an in-depth description of the full-band monte-carlo method for SiGe and discusses the common theoretical background of the drift-diffusion, hydrodynamic and Monte-Carlo models and their synergy.

This book summarizes the research of more than a decade. Its early motivation dates back to the eighties and to the memorable talks Dr. C. Moglestue (FHG Freiburg) gave on his Monte-Carlo solutions of the Boltzmann transport equation at the NASECODE conferences in Ireland. At that time numerical semiconductor device modeling basically implied the application of the drift-diffusion model. On the one hand, those talks clearly showed the potential of the Monte-Carlo model for an accurate description of many important transport issues that cannot adequately be addressed by the drift-diffusion approximation. On the other hand, they also clearly demonstrated that at that time only very few experts were able to extract useful results from a Monte-Carlo simulator. With this background, Monte-Carlo research activities were started in 1986 at the University of Aachen (RWTH Aachen), Germany. Different to many other Monte-Carlo research groups, the Monte-Carlo research in Aachen took place in an environment of active drift-diffusion and hydrodynamic model development.Introduction References Semiclassical Transport Theory The Boltzmann Transport Equation Balance Equations The Microscopic Relaxation Time Fluctuations in the Steady-State References The Monte-Carlo Method Basic Monte-Carlo Methods The Monte-Carlo Solver of the Boltzmann Equation Velocity Autocorrelation Function Basic Statistics Convergence Estimation References Scattering Mechanisms Phonon Scattering Alloy Scattering Impurity Scattering Impact Ionization by Electrons Surface Roughness Scattering References Full-Band Structure Basic Properties of the Bal“W