Solution of the hydrodynamic device model using high-order nonoscillatory shock capturing algorithms

Abstract

Simulation results for the hydrodynamic model are presented for an n+-n-n+ diode by use of shock-capturing numerical algorithms applied to the transient model with subsequent passage to the steady state. The numerical method is first order in time, but of high spatial order in regions of smoothness. Implementation typically requires a few thousand time steps. These algorithms, termed essentially nonoscillatory, have been successfully applied in other contexts to model the flow in gas dynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, and other physical situations involving the conservation laws of fluid mechanics. The presented semiconductor simulations reveal temporal and spatial velocity overshot, as well as overshoot relative to an electric field induced by the Poisson equation. Shocks are observed in the transient simulations for certain low-temperature parameter regimes