Staying current with HICUM

This article provides an overview on the basic operation principle of the advanced physics-based compact bipolar transistor model HICUM (high-current model), which keeps pace with the rapid progress in high-speed circuits for wireless and fiber-optic communications. HICUM uses the small-signal parameters, such as the depletion capacitances and the transit times, as basic variables, which are described accurately as a (nonlinear) function of bias, temperature, and geometry. This results in not only continuously differentiable relations for charges and transfer current but also accurate modeling of the large-signal switching behavior, including harmonic distortion at high frequencies. A few examples are presented to provide a feeling for the model's capabilities in an industrial environment     

Influence of quasi-ballistic base transport on the small signaly-parameters of Si bipolar transistors

The small-signal forward y-parameters of a Si bipolar transistor are evaluated from a 1-flux solution to the Boltzmann transport equation. For base widths less than 0.1 μm, results begin to deviate significantly from those predicted by the conventional diffusion analysis. In particular, the phase of the y-parameter, an important factor in analog circuit design, is shown to be especially sensitive to quasi-ballistic transport. Compact circuit models will become increasingly inaccurate as base widths continue to shrink. The approach used here eliminates the restriction to a long base and can serve as the basis for improved compact circuit modeling     

Investigation of very fast and high-current transients in digitalbipolar IC's using both a new compact model and a device simulator

The design and optimization of high-speed integrated bipolar circuits requires accurate and physical transistor models. For this, an improved version of the compact model HICUM was developed. It is an extension of the small-signal model recently described to the large-signal (transient) case. The model, which takes into account emitter periphery and non-quasi-static (NQS) effects, is semi-physical, allowing the calculation of its elements for arbitrary transistor geometries from specific electrical and technological data. This is an important precondition for transistor optimization in a circuit and for worst case analysis. The model was verified for basic building blocks of high-speed digital circuits like emitter follower and current switch. For this, mixed-mode device/circuit simulation is used instead of measurements, since the latter would give too large errors for the fast transients of interest. It is demonstrated that-in contrast to the obsolete but frequently used SPICE Gummel/Poon model-the new HICUM is well suited for modeling very-high-speed transistor operation also at high current densities. Moreover, it is shown that at very fast transients the influence of NQS effects can no longer be neglected. As a practical application example, a high-speed E²CL circuit is simulated using the new model. The results show again that high-current models are very useful for designing IC's at maximum operating speed. This is because the optimum emitter size is often the minimum size, which is limited by high-current effects. Especially, in the case of current spikes (e.g., in emitter followers) it is difficult to find the optimum emitter size without having adequate transistor models     

Accurate modeling and parameter extraction for MOS transistorsvalid up to 10 GHz

Accurate modeling and efficient parameter extraction of the small signal equivalent circuit of submicrometer MOS transistors for high-frequency operation are presented. The equivalent circuit is based on a quasi-static approximation which was found to be adequate in the gigahertz range if the extrinsic components are properly modeled. It includes the complete intrinsic quasi-static MOS model, the series resistances of gate, source, and drain, and a substrate coupling network. Direct extraction is performed by Y-parameter analysis on the equivalent circuit in the linear and saturation regions of operation. The extracted results are physically meaningful and can be used to “de-embed” the extrinsic effects such as the substrate coupling within the device. Good agreement has been obtained between the simulation results of the equivalent circuit and measured data up to 10 GHz     

Inflow boundary profile prescription for numerical simulation of nasal airflow

Knowledge of how air flows through the nasal passages relies heavily on model studies, as the complexity and relative inaccessibility of the anatomy prevents detailed in vivo measurement. Almost all models to date fail to incorporate the geometry of the external nose, instead employing a truncated inflow. Typically, flow is specified to enter the model domain either directly at the nares (nostrils), or via an artificial pipe inflow tract attached to the nares. This study investigates the effect of the inflow geometry on flow predictions during steady nasal inspiration. Models that fully replicate the internal and external nasal airways of two anatomically distinct subjects are used as a reference to compare the effects of common inflow treatments on physiologically relevant quantities including regional wall shear stress and particle residence time distributions. Inflow geometry truncation is found to affect flow predictions significantly, though slightly less so for the subject displaying more pronounced passage area contraction up to the internal nasal valve. For both subject geometries, a tapered pipe inflow provides a better approximation to the natural inflow than a blunt velocity profile applied to the nares. Computational modelling issues are also briefly outlined, by comparing quantities predicted using different surface tessellations, and by evaluation of domain-splitting techniques.     

A computationally efficient physics-based compact bipolar transistor model for circuit Design-part I: model formulation

A compact bipolar transistor model is presented that combines the simplicity of the SPICE Gummel-Poon model (SGPM) with some major features of HICUM. The new model, called HICUM/L0, is more physics-based and accurate than the SGPM and at the same time, from a computational point of view, suitable for simulating large circuits. The new model has been implemented in Verilog-A and, as compiled code, in various commercial circuit simulators. In Part I, the fundamental model formulation is presented along with a derivation of the most important equations. Experimental results are shown in Part II.     

Impact of pad and gate parasitics on small-signal and noisemodeling of 0.35 μm gate length MOS transistors

Microwave noise performance of p and n-type MOSFETs fabricated on the. same wafer was investigated in order to study the effect of the pad and gate parasitic circuit elements on noise performance. At low drain currents, the gate parasitic circuit was involved in the modeling to explain the observed kinks and loops in the s-parameters. Simulation of the noise parameters for p and n-type devices, measured in the 2-26 GHz frequency range, was performed by using extracted small-signal models of the transistor in connection with parasitic pad and gate circuits. Under the bias far from the optimal one, the additional parasitic inductance in the gate circuit was found responsible for the degradation of the noise performance by exhibiting peaks in the noise parameters     

Threshold Voltage Variation in SOI Schottky-Barrier MOSFETs

The inhomogeneity of Schottky-barrier (SB) height Phi_B is found to strongly affect the threshold voltage V_th of SB-MOSFETs fabricated in ultrathin body silicon-on-insulator (SOI). The magnitude of this influence is dependent on gate oxide thickness t_OX and SOI body thickness; the contribution of inhomogeneity to the V_th variation becomes less pronounced with smaller t_OX and/or larger t_si . Moreover, an enhanced V_th variation is observed for devices with dopant segregation used for reduction of the effective Phi_B . Furthermore, a multigate structure is found to help suppress the V_th variation by improving carrier injection through reduction of its sensitivity to the Phi_B inhomogeneity. A new method for extraction of Phi_B from room temperature transfer characteristics is also presented.     

Experimental investigation of nasal airflow

The airway geometry of the nasal cavity is manifestly complex, and the manner in which it controls the airflow to accomplish its various physiological functions is not fully understood. Since the complex morphology and inaccessibility of the nasal passageways precludes detailed in-vivo measurements, either computational simulation or in-vitro experiments are needed to determine how anatomical form and function are related. The fabrication of a replica model of the nasal cavity, of a high optical clarity and derived from in-vivo scan data is described here, together with characteristics of the flow field investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and flow visualization. Flow visualization is shown to be a capable and convenient technique for identifying key phenomena. Specifically the emergence of the jet from the internal nasal valve into the main cavity, how it impacts on the middle turbinate, and the large enhancement of dispersion that accompanies the initial appearance of flow instability are revealed as particularly significant features. The findings from the visualization experiments are complemented by PIV imaging, which provides quantitative detail on the variations in velocity in different regions of the nasal cavity. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the cavity geometry in partitioning the flow into high shear zones, which facilitate rapid heat transfer and humidification from the nasal mucosa, and slower zones affording greater residence times to facilitate olfactory sensing. The experimental results not only provide a basis for comparison with other computational modelling but also demonstrate an alternative and flexible means to investigate complex flows, relevant to studies in different parts of the respiratory or cardiovascular systems.     

A model morphology of the pulmonary acinus

A variation of a mathematical model of the structure of a pulmonary ventilatory unit is used to generate its internal ductal tree and associated alveolar architecture. The model unit comprises a space-filling block of regular polyhedra; ducts and alveoli were formed by opening specific common faces between polyhedra. The model employs a physically reasonable optimization strategy of maximizing gas exchange while minimizing the mean transit time to ventilate the ventilatory unit (assumed to be proportional to the mean path length) in order to create the ductal tree. The sensitivity of the global architecture to the competitive optimization parameters used and the tree structure are compared with independently published measurements. The study concludes that it is possible to model the detailed architecture of a unit using a simple space-invariant uniform modular structure for both alveoli and ductal parts. The close similarity between model and experimental measurement strongly suggests that the optimization used to create the unit is a likely one from a functional biological standpoint. The insensitivity of the architecture to the competition between the optimization parameters supports the belief that it is not important to consider the detailed measured size distribution of alveoli when considering how the large structure of the ventilatory unit is built up.