Three-Dimensional Simulation of Semiconductor Devices

The three-dimensional device simulation has become a necessary tool for the design and investigation of complex device structures.

The evolution of the three-dimensional simulation tools is directly linked to the scaling of the devices and the increasing complex­ ity of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells.

Scaling of MOSFET devices led to a three-dimensional geometry with effects which cannot be handled by two-dimensional simulations anymore.

With increasing integration density in DRAMs the third dimen­ sion had to be utilized to realize the storage capacitor.

The result­ ing leakage problems have to be investigated and the cell design optimized by means of three-dimensional simulations.

This book is intended for senior undergraduate students in applied physics, electrical engineering and computational physics, as well as for scientists and engineers involved in semiconductor device re­ search and development.

It is also intended for software engineers and all those who are concerned with simulation.

The book will give an overview on the problems and activities con­ cerning three-dimensional device simulation, without the claim of being a classical textbook.

It starts from the classical semiconduc­ tor equations, discusses the physical models used in device simu­ lation, describes the discretization and some numerical methods for solving the differential equations.

The application of the three­ dimensional simulation to VLSI device engineering is illustrated by a few specific examples.