Incorporation of GTR (generation–transport–recombination) in semiconductor simulations

Abstract

With the emergence of phase change memory, where the devices experience extreme thermal gradients (∼100 K/nm) during transitions between low and high resistive states, the study of thermoelectric effects at small scales becomes particularly relevant. We had earlier observed asymmetric melting of self-heated nano-crystalline silicon micro-wires, where current densities of ∼107 A/cm2 were forced through the wires by 1 μs, ∼30 V pulses. The extreme asymmetry can be explained by the generation of considerable amount of minority carriers, transport under the electric field, and recombination downstream, a heat transfer process we termed as generation–transport–recombination, which is in opposite direction of the electronic-convective heat carried by the majority carriers. Here, we present a full semiconductor physics treatment of this carrier-lattice heat transport mechanism and the contribution of the minority carriers on the evolution of the melt–solid interface, which can be applied to various high-temperature electronic devices.

Modeling Reset, Set, and Read Operations in Nanoscale Ge2Sb2Te5Phase‐Change Memory Devices Using Electric Field‐ and Temperature‐Dependent Material Properties

“…An analysis of bipolar effects can be found in ref. [75], where a semiconductor approach is used to simulate carrier dynamics and energy exchanges.…”

Heat Generation Mechanisms of Self-Heating Effects in SOI-MOS

“…Qian et al demonstrated that in high current and thermal breakdown stages, the effects of recombination and Thomson heat become more pronounced [16]. Muneer et al presented the thermal behaviors of different types heat in the self-heated nano-crystalline silicon micro-wires under asymmetric melting, revealing that the maximum electronic-convective heat power increases to five times the Joule heat after melting [17]. Shang et al stated that under optimal voltage in photovoltaic devices, the combined power consumption from Peltier heat and surface recombination heat equaled half of Joule heat [18].…”