A novel self consistent calculation approach for the capacitance‐voltage characteristics of semiconductor quantum wire transistors based on a split‐gate configuration

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an efficient numerical algorithm for the self‐consistent solution of Schrodinger and Poisson equations in one‐dimensional systems. The goal is to compute the charge‐control and capacitance‐voltage characteristics of quantum wire transistors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a numerical formulation employing a non‐uniform finite difference discretization scheme, in which the wavefunctions and electronic energy levels are obtained by solving the Schrödinger equation through the split‐operator method while a relaxation method in the FTCS scheme (“Forward Time Centered Space”) is used to solve the two‐dimensional Poisson equation.

Findings

The numerical model is validated by taking previously published results as a benchmark and then applying them to yield the charge‐control characteristics and the capacitance‐voltage relationship for a split‐gate quantum wire device.

Originality/value

The paper helps to fulfill the need for C‐V models of quantum wire device. To do so, the authors implemented a straightforward calculation method for the two‐dimensional electronic carrier density n(x,y). The formulation reduces the computational procedure to a much simpler problem, similar to the one‐dimensional quantization case, significantly diminishing running time.

Citation

Ragi, R., da Nobrega, R.V.T. and Romero, M.A. (2012), "A novel self consistent calculation approach for the capacitance‐voltage characteristics of semiconductor quantum wire transistors based on a split‐gate configuration", COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 460-476. https://doi.org/10.1108/03321641211200536