Applications

In the present chapter, we will present a series of applications of the Monte Carlo method to the simulation of specific devices. It will become obvious that the Monte Carlo simulation of devices has followed a very different path than the one that has governed the actual evolution of the real devices. It was shown in chapter 4 that while the first steps towards the development of semiconductor devices for microelectronics were based on covalent semiconductors (Si and Ge), GaAs and other polar materials entered the scene only at a later stage. Furthermore, a large gap existed (and still exists) between the state of the art of fabrication, which is still dominated by Si C-MOS and bipolar structures, and the realm of “research and development”, where GaAs fied-effect transistors with very sophisticated geometries and extremely reduced dimensions are currently produced. As pointed out in chapter 4, one exception is certainly found in the microwave area, where GaAs single devices are currently used.