Monte Carlo Particle Simulation for Electrical and Thermal Analysis of a MESFET using the Finite-Element Approach

Abstract

Particle simulations based on the Boltzmann Transport Equation (BTE) and the Monte Carlo method are a powerful tool for studying semiconductor devices in the nanometer to submicrometer regime. As with most numerical solvers, particle simulations require a mesh to solve for the fields within a semiconductor device. Traditionally, particle simulations use a finite-difference method (FDM) on a mesh with uniform step sizes. This work explores using a finite-element method (FEM) with a non-uniform triangular mesh. The FEM is validated by comparing results back to those obtained by using the FDM, for the simple example of a GaAs MESFET. And the FEM runs ten times faster than the FDM. Aside from electrical aspects of the device, heat flow within the device is also studied using the finite-element approach.

Meeting Name

2019 IEEE MTT-S International Conference on Numerical Electromagnetic and Multiphysics Modeling and Optimization, NEMO 2019 (2019: May 29-31, Boston, MA)

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Center/Lab(s)

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Laboratory

Comments

This work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant IIP-1440110.

Keywords and Phrases

Boltzmann Transport Equation; Finite-Difference; Finite-Element; MESFET; Monte Carlo; Particles

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-153869516-6

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2019 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 May 2019

Link to Full Text

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