One of the ways of countering the ever increasing computational requirements
in the simulation and modeling of electrical and electromagnetic devices and phenomena,
is the development of simulation and modeling tools on parallel computing
platforms. In this thesis, a previously developed Monte Carlo parallel device simulator
is utilized, enhanced, and evolved, to render it applicable to the modeling and
simulation of certain key applications. A three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulation
of GaAs MESFETs is first presented to study small-geometry effects. Then, a finite-difference
time-domain numerical solution of Maxwell's equations is developed and
coupled to Monte Carlo particle simulation, to illustrate a photoconductive switching
experiment.
As the third and major application of the Monte Carlo code, high-field electron
transport simulations of the ZnS phosphor of AC thin film electroluminescent
devices are presented. A full band structure (of ZnS) computed using a nonlocal
empirical pseudopotential technique is included in the Monte Carlo simulation. The
band structure is computed using a set of form factors, that were tuned to fit experimentally
measured critical point transitions in ZnS. The Monte Carlo algorithms
pertaining to the full band model are developed. Most of the scattering mechanisms,
pertinent to ZnS are included to model the electron kinetics. The hot electron distributions
are computed as a function of the electric field in the ZnS phosphor layer,
to estimate the percentage of hot electrons that could potentially contribute to excitation
of luminescent impurity centers in the ZnS phosphor layer. Impact excitation,
a key process in electroluminescence, is included in the Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the quantum yield of the devices. Preliminary results based on the full band k-space model exhibit experimentally observed trends. / Graduation date: 1996
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/34627 |
| Date | 24 July 1995 |
| Creators | Pennathur, Shankar S. |
| Contributors | Goodnick, Stephen M. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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