Schrödinger equation Monte Carlo simulation of nanoscale devices

Some semiconductor devices such as lasers have long had critical dimensions on the nanoscale where quantum effects are critical. Others such as MOSFETs are now being scaled to within this regime. Quantum effects neglected in semiclassical models become increasing important at the nanoscale. Meanwhile, scattering remains important even in MOSFETs of 10 nm and below. Therefore, accurate quantum transport simulators with scattering are needed to explore the essential device physics at the nanoscale. The work of this dissertation is aimed at developing accurate quantum transport simulation tools for deep submicron device modeling, as well as utilizing these simulation tools to study the quantum transport and scattering effects in the nano-scale semiconductor devices. The basic quantum transport method "Schrödinger Equation Monte Carlo" (SEMC) provides a physically rigorous treatment of quantum transport and phasebreaking inelastic scattering (in 3D) via real (actual) scattering processes such as optical and acoustic phonon scattering. The SEMC method has been used previously to simulate carrier transport in nano-scaled devices in order to gauge the potential reliability of semiclassical models, phase-coherent quantum transport, and other limiting models as the transition from classical to quantum transport is approached. In this work, SEMC-1D and SEMC-2D versions with long range polar optical scattering processes have been developed and used to simulate quantum transport in tunnel injection lasers and nanoscaled III-V MOSFETs. Simulation results serve not only to demonstrate the capabilities of the developed quantum transport simulators, but also to illuminate the importance of physically accurate simulation of scattering for the predictive modeling of transport in nano-scaled devices.