NIST physical models for carrier mobilities transferred to industry. (General Development).

Technology roadmaps from consensus-based planning efforts, such as the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI), stress the need for predictive physical models that describe carrier transport in compound semiconductors. As a response to this need, a NIST scientist calculated from quantum mechanical principles the electron and hole mobilities for the ternary compound semiconductors AlGaAs. The calculations will lead to better designs for bipolar transistors, in particular, the basis of such transistors. Also, productivity in the electronics industry will be enhanced because it is much cheaper to do mobility calculations than to do experiments on large numbers of samples with several values of doping concentrations and composition.

A private company, one of the best-known worldwide suppliers of software for simulating semiconductor processes and the performance of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices, inserted the mobility models into a device simulation tool by adding them in with sub-routine-like modules. Companies, universities, and government agencies use this device throughout the world to simulate and understand better the electrical and optical behavior of lasers, light-emitting diodes, power amplifiers (for the next generation of cell phones that can also receive digital video), and transistors. Further work is needed, however, because calculated mobilities for other ternary systems like AlGaN and quaternary systems like InAlGaN and InGaAsP are needed. The latter material systems are becoming very important for both commercial and defense applications (e.g., front ends of high frequency transceivers, LEDs, laser diodes, and other optoelectronics components) for use in high data rate telecommunications systems.

CONTACT: Herbert Bennett, [phone]; [e-mail].