4.1 The Device Simulator MINIMOS-NT

The general-purpose device simulator MINIMOS-NT [224] is the successor of the highly successful device simulator MINIMOS 6 [225]. The project was started in 1992 by FISCHER [226] and SIMLINGER [227]. In contrast to its predecessor, MINIMOS-NT is able to analyze arbitrary-shaped devices with the number of grid points being limited only by the available memory. It solves the drift-diffusion or energy-transport equations using the box-integration method and the direct, BiCGStab, or GMRES numerical solving routines. It was extended to allow the solution of the lattice heat-flow equation by KNAIPP in 1998 [228] and the simulation of mixed-mode circuits by GRASSER in 1999 [229]. It was further improved by a comprehensive material database including a wide range of alloy semiconductors by PALANKOVSKI in 2000 [230], AC small-signal analysis and complex solver routines by WAGNER in 2001 [231], and an advanced input deck language and the extension to three dimensional device simulation by KLIMA in 2002 [232]. For the solving process the user can choose among several iteration schemes to speed-up and improve the convergence of the simulation. MINIMOS-NT uses the PIF (PROFILE INTERCHANGE FORMAT) file format for device description which has been introduced by DUVALL in 1988 [233]. Several grid types such as ortho-product or triangular grids can be supplied. Ongoing work is concentrated on the coupling of MINIMOS-NT to the WAFER-STATE SERVER (WSS) [234,235], the development of advanced gridding routines, and on the coupling of MINIMOS-NT to multi-dimensional SCHRÖDINGER and modules.

A. Gehring: Simulation of Tunneling in Semiconductor Devices