Hydrodynamic approach for modelling transport in quantum well device structures

Abstract

A semiclassical approach for modelling electron transport in quantum well structures is presented. The model is based on the balance equations governing the conservation of particle density, momentum and energy with Monte Carlo (MC) generated transport parameters. Three valleys of the conduction band, size quantization in the Γ valley, and the lowest two subbands in the quantum well are considered by taking the detailed intersubband dynamics into account. The transport parameters of the model are extracted from steady-state MC simulations based on an improved formulation of two-dimensional polar optical phonon scattering including screening effects. The predictions of the proposed model have been found to be in excellent agreement with those of the ensemble MC simulations under both time varying and spatially nonuniform fields. The calculated transport parameters which are of interest for device modelling are presented as a function of the electron energy for the AIGaAs/GaAs quantum well. The model serves as an accurate semiclassical alternative to costly ensemble MC simulations for studying the transport in quantum well structures and for the modelling and optimization of submicron devices based on these structures, such as modulation doped field-effect transistors (MODFETs).