Three-dimensional exponentially fitted conforming tetrahedral finite elements for the semiconductor continuity equations (Q1399154): Difference between revisions

The authors extend the triangular finite elements to tetrahedral elements in three dimensions for the semiconductor continuity equations. The continuous problem is first formulated as a weak one using a weighted inner product. The wave problem is then approximated by a Bubnov-Galerkin finite element method based on a set of novel basis functions. The basis functions are piecewise exponential, and thus the method can be regarded as an extension of the Scharfetter-Gummel scheme to 3 dimensions. This method is proved to be stable in the sense that the corresponding bilinear form is coercive, and the errors in a weighted energy norm for the approximate electron and hole concentrations are shown to be of \(O(h)\) order. Finally, a method for the evaluation of the terminal currents is presented, and the computed terminal currents from this method are shown to be convergent and conservative.