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A coarse‐grained electrothermal model for organic semiconductor devices
We derive a coarse-grained model for the electrothermal interaction of organic semiconductors. The model combines stationary drift-diffusion- based electrothermal models with thermistor-type models on subregions of the device and suitable transmission conditions. Moreover, we prove existence of a solution using a regularization argument and Schauder's fixed point theorem. In doing so, we extend recent work by taking into account the statistical relation given by the Gauss–Fermi integral and mobility functions depending on the temperature, charge-carrier density, and field strength, which is required for a proper description of organic devices.
Hybrid finite-volume/finite-element schemes for p(x)-Laplace thermistor models
We introduce an empirical PDE model for the electrothermal description of organic semiconductor devices by means of current and heat flow. The current flow equation is of p(x)-Laplace type, where the piecewise constant exponent p(x) takes the non-Ohmic behavior of the organic layers into account. Moreover, the electrical conductivity contains an Arrhenius-type temperature law. We present a hybrid finite-volume/finite-element discretization scheme for the coupled system, discuss a favorite discretization of the p(x)-Laplacian at hetero interfaces, and explain how path following methods are applied to simulate S-shaped current-voltage relations resulting from the interplay of self-heating and heat flow.
Stationary solutions to an energy model for semiconductor devices where the equations are defined on different domains
We discuss a stationary energy model from semiconductor modelling. We accept the more realistic assumption that the continuity equations for electrons and holes have to be considered only in a subdomain $Omega_0$ of the domain of definition $Omega$ of the energy balance equation and of the Poisson equation. Here $Omega_0$ corresponds to the region of semiconducting material, $OmegasetminusOmega_0$ represents passive layers. Metals serving as contacts are modelled by Dirichlet boundary conditions. We prove a local existence and uniqueness result for the two-dimensional stationary energy model. For this purpose we derive a $W^1,p$-regularity result for solutions of systems of elliptic equations with different regions of definition and use the Implicit Function Theorem.
An effective bulk-surface thermistor model for large-area organic light-emitting diodes
The existence of a weak solution for an effective system of partial differential equations describing the electrothermal behavior of large-area organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is proved. The effective system consists of the heat equation in the three-dimensional bulk glass substrate and two semi-linear equations for the current flow through the electrodes coupled to algebraic equations for the continuity of the electrical fluxes through the organic layers. The electrical problem is formulated on the (curvilinear) surface of the glass substrate where the OLED is mounted. The source terms in the heat equation are due to Joule heating and are hence concentrated on the part of the boundary where the current-flow equation is posed. The existence of weak solutions to the effective system is proved via Schauder's fixed-point theorem. Moreover, since the heat sources are a priori only in $L^1$, the concept of entropy solutions is used.
A gradient structure for systems coupling reaction-diffusion effects in bulk and interfaces
We derive gradient-flow formulations for systems describing drift-diffusion processes of a finite number of species which undergo mass-action type reversible reactions. Our investigations cover heterostructures, where material parameter may depend in a nonsmooth way on the space variable. The main results concern a gradient flow formulation for electro-reaction-diffusion systems with active interfaces permitting drift-diffusion processes and reactions of species living on the interface and transfer mechanisms allowing bulk species to jump into an interface or to pass through interfaces. The gradient flows are formulated in terms of two functionals: the free energy and the dissipation potential. Both functionals consist of a bulk and an interface integral. The interface integrals determine the interface dynamics as well as the self-consistent coupling to the model in the bulk. The advantage of the gradient structure is that it automatically generates thermodynamically consistent models.
An existence result for a class of electrothermal drift-diffusion models with Gauss--Fermi statistics for organic semiconductors
This work is concerned with the analysis of a drift-diffusion model for the electrothermal behavior of organic semiconductor devices. A "generalized Van Roosbroeck'' system coupled to the heat equation is employed, where the former consists of continuity equations for electrons and holes and a Poisson equation for the electrostatic potential, and the latter features source terms containing Joule heat contributions and recombination heat. Special features of organic semiconductors like Gauss--Fermi statistics and mobilities functions depending on the electric field strength are taken into account. We prove the existence of solutions for the stationary problem by an iteration scheme and Schauder's fixed point theorem. The underlying solution concept is related to weak solutions of the Van Roosbroeck system and entropy solutions of the heat equation. Additionally, for data compatible with thermodynamic equilibrium, the uniqueness of the solution is verified. It was recently shown that self-heating significantly influences the electronic properties of organic semiconductor devices. Therefore, modeling the coupled electric and thermal responses of organic semiconductors is essential for predicting the effects of temperature on the overall behavior of the device. This work puts the electrothermal drift-diffusion model for organic semiconductors on a sound analytical basis.
Discrete Sobolev-Poincare inequalities for Voronoi finite volume approximations
We prove a discrete Sobolev-Poincare inequality for functions with arbitrary boundary values on Voronoi finite volume meshes. We use Sobolev's integral representation and estimate weakly singular integrals in the context of finite volumes. We establish the result for star shaped polyhedral domains and generalize it to the finite union of overlapping star shaped domains. In the appendix we prove a discrete Poincare inequality for space dimensions greater or equal to two.
Electro-reaction-diffusion systems in heterostructures
The paper is devoted to the mathematical investigation of a general class of electro-reaction-diffusion systems with nonsmooth data which arises in applications to semiconductor technology. Besides of a basic problem, a reduced problem is considered which is obtained if the kinetics of the free carriers is fast. For two dimensional domains we prove a global existence and uniqueness result. In addition, asymptotic properties of solutions are studied. Basic ideas are energy estimates, Moser iteration, regularization techniques and an existence result for electro-diffusion systems with weakly nonlinear volume and boundary source terms which is proved in the paper, too. The relationship between the property that the energy functional decays exponentially in time to its equilibrium value and the existence of global positive lower bounds for the densities of the species is investigated. We illustrate relations between the model and its reduced version in general and for concrete examples. Finally, we discuss the special features of heterostructures for simplified model problems.
Uniform estimate of the relative free energy by the dissipation rate for finite volume discretized reaction-diffusion systems
We prove a uniform Poincaré-like estimate of the relative free energy by the dissipation rate for implicit Euler, finite volume discretized reaction-diffusion systems. This result is proven indirectly and ensures the exponential decay of the relative free energy with a unified decay rate for admissible finite volume meshes.
A coarse-grained electrothermal model for organic semiconductor devices
We derive a coarse-grained model for the electrothermal interaction of organic semiconductors. The model combines stationary drift-diffusion based electrothermal models with thermistor type models on subregions of the device and suitable transmission conditions. Moreover, we prove existence of a solution using a regularization argument and Schauder's fixed point theorem. In doing so, we extend recent work by taking into account the statistical relation given by the Gauss--Fermi integral and mobility functions depending on the temperature, charge-carrier density, and field strength, which is required for a proper description of organic devices.