After a short introduction to the simulation environment, electrostatic problems such as line conductors and plate capacitors are considered. For these simple problems, the numerical solution is compared with the analytical solution. In the next step, the material properties of semiconductors, like the temperature and field dependence of mobility, the charge carrier densities as a function of doping, the Shockley-Haynes experiment, and drift in contrast to diffusion, are investigated in silicon. Then the central element of microelectronics, the pn transition, is considered in detail. Examples are pn, p+n, pin, and Schottky diodes, which are investigated in both static and dynamic operations (small signal vs. large signal). Transistors such as Bipolar Transistors, JFET, and MOSFET are also thoroughly discussed and simulated. Effects such as gain, temperature dependence, capacitance, early effect in comparison to channel width modulation, and nonlinearities can be investigated in detail as a function of, e.g., doping.
The students deepen their acquired knowledge by means of exercises to be worked out independently. The basic structures are predefined with the help of simulation templates. After suitable selection of the geometric dimensions and the dopant distributions, the simulations are carried out and the results are documented. The individual examples of exercises, as well as the simulation results, are continuously discussed in the lecture part.