Saraniti M., Wigger S., Zandler G., Formicone G., Goodnick S.M.
Arizona State University, US
Keywords: cellular automata, MOSFET, multi-grid, simulation
This paper presents an overview of the cellular automata (CA) method for semiconductor device simulation. The main advantages of the CA method over the Monte Carlo (MC) approach are presented, and limitations of its modeling capability are discussed. As an application, systematic theoretical CA studies of vertically grown, nanometer scale, MOSFETs are presented. The predicted drain characteristics and output conductance are in excellent agreement with experimental data. The results of the simulations clearly show that in these structures impact ionization is of minor importance. The inclusion of an inhomogeneous doping profiles along the channel is investigated, which is shown to improve current saturation and therefore allow the reduction of the device dimensions. Finally, preliminary results obtained with a new, improved, CA approach are shown as well. This new method includes a full-band representation of the semiconductor’s electronic structure.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 1998 International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems
Published: April 6, 1998
Pages: 437 - 442
Industry sector: Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topic: Nanoelectronics
ISBN: 0-96661-35-0-3