Steady-state Simulation of Semiconductor Devices using Discontinuous Galerkin Methods

TL;DR

This paper introduces a discontinuous Galerkin method-based framework for steady-state simulation of complex, multiscale semiconductor devices, enabling accurate modeling of intricate geometries and physical processes.

Contribution

It develops a novel DG-based simulation framework for steady-state semiconductor devices that handles complex geometries and nonlinear coupled equations efficiently.

Findings

Framework accurately models complex device geometries.

Results agree with commercial finite volume and finite element software.

Demonstrates effectiveness for realistic mobility and recombination models.

Abstract

Design of modern nanostructured semiconductor devices often calls for simulation tools capable of modeling arbitrarily-shaped multiscale geometries. In this work, to this end, a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method-based framework is developed to simulate steady-state response of semiconductor devices. The proposed framework solves a system of Poisson equation (in electric potential) and drift-diffusion equations (in charge densities), which are nonlinearly coupled via the drift current and the charge distribution. This system is decoupled and linearized using the Gummel method and the resulting equations are discretized using a local DG scheme. The proposed framework is used to simulate geometrically intricate semiconductor devices with realistic models of mobility and recombination rate. Its accuracy is demonstrated by comparing the results to those obtained by the finite volume and finite element methods implemented in a commercial software package.