Inclusion of Electron-Plasmon Interaction in Ensemble Monte Carlo Simulation of Degenerate Gallium Arsenide

Development, analysis and comparison of different modeling techniques for incorporating the carrier-carrier long range interaction in ensemble Monte Carlo simulations of compound semiconductor devices, is presented in this thesis. It is the first methodical theoretical analysis of the carrier long range interaction within the transport simulations. The effect on the macroscopic transport variables of different formulations of the carrier-plasmon interaction commonly used in Monte Carlo simulations has been assessed. Two different quantum mechanically based models have been developed and the effect of the choice of the dispersion relation has been investigated. Alternatively, the carrier-plasmon interaction has been incorporated into Monte Carlo simulations semi-classically. The effect of both approaches, the quantum mechanical and semiclassical, under steady-state and transient conditions on the macroscopic variables have been investigated. It is shown that the choice of the dispersion relation significantly effects the calculated electron -plasmon scattering rate and the bulk steady-state electron velocity in both quantum mechanical models. The most precise determination of the dispersion relation is given by numerically locating the zeros of the dielectric function. It is also shown that the quantum mechanical approach and the semi-classical approach lead to very different predictions of the transport dynamics particularly as applied to bulk material. It is further established that neither of the existing approaches can be considered complete and each formulation has its own limitations in Monte Carlo simulation.