MIM tunnel diode script example

models
1

Hello forum -
I am new to DEVSIM and would like to simulate I-V curves for a MIM tunnel diode with different affinity metals. Does anyone have an example script I could steal that might be similar? This is something I used to do in SILVACO which had built in tunneling models but I no longer have access to the commercial software. Any existing models that might be similar would be appreciated. Thank you in advance and look forward to learning this tool.
V/r,
chris

2

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the forum. I am not aware of anyone having created such a model. Do you have any details about the models you would want to use? Are there metal regions or are they just contacts? The tunneling is occurring at the interfaces?

3

Good evening Juan - thanks for the reply. And thank you for developing this tool and your diligent attention to the forums - I know this project requires a lot of your free time.

I would like to simulate tunneling current through an insulator as a function of voltage. The metals are simply contacts so all voltage is dropped across the dielectric and tunneling occurs through the forbidden gap in the insulator. I would like to model direct tunneling in the low-thickness regime and fowler-nordheim for larger dielectric thicknesses. Using metals of different affinity creates a built-in field and an asymmetric I-V curve.

Anyway - I realize there probably isn’t a script for this yet but if you have any suggestions for similar code that might get me on the right track I would greatly appreciate. Thanks again Juan and take care.
V/r,
cs

4

Hi,

Thanks for your nice note, and your understanding concerning how quickly I can reply on the forum.

Are you solving a continuity equation in the insulator, or just the poisson equation for the potential? It is possible to set different boundary conditions using the contact_equation command. If you are solving a non-local tunneling model where the current is being transported directly between the contacts, without a continuity equation in the insulator, it is also possible to code this by adding terms directly to the simulation matrices.