Self‐consistent electrothermal simulation of modern semiconductor devices is required for the accurate and efficient design and optimization of many semiconductor devices. The need to perform this type analysis in order to predict the behavior of power devices was realized many years ago. It is now clear that nonisothermal analysis can be very important for VLSI devices as well.

Nonisothermal steady-state and transient simulation capabilities have been implemented in the ATLAS general purpose 2D device simulator. The new capabilities support accurate simulation of silicon and heterostructure devices, taking into account lattice heating, heat sinks and other features of the thermal environment. Results of self-consistent simulations of HBT, HEMT and ESD protection devices are presented and compared with results obtained using isothermal simulation.

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