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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.
Energy estimates for electro-reaction-diffusion systems with partly fast kinetics
We start from a basic model for the transport of charged species in heterostructures containing the mechanisms diffusion, drift and reactions in the domain and at its boundary. Considering limit cases of partly fast kinetics we derive reduced models. This reduction can be interpreted as some kind of projection scheme for the weak formulation of the basic electro--reaction--diffusion system. We verify assertions concerning invariants and steady states and prove the monotone and exponential decay of the free energy along solutions to the reduced problem and to its fully implicit discrete-time version by means of the results of the basic problem. Moreover we make a comparison of prolongated quantities with the solutions to the basic model.
Improving the modulation bandwidth in semiconductor lasers by passive feedback
We explore the concept of passive-feedback lasers for direct signal modulation at 40 Gbit/s. Based on numerical simulation and bifurcation analysis, we explain the main mechanisms in these devices which are crucial for modulation at high speed. The predicted effects are demonstrated experimentally by means of correspondingly designed devices. In particular a significant improvement of the modulation bandwidth at low injection currents can be demonstrated.
Exponential decay of the free energy for discretized electro-reaction-diffusion systems
Our focus are electro-reaction-diffusion systems consisting of continuity equations for a finite number of species coupled with a Poisson equation. We take into account heterostructures, anisotropic materials and rather general statistical relations. We introduce a discretization scheme (in space and fully implicit in time) using a fixed grid but for each species different Voronoi boxes which are defined with respect to the anisotropy matrix occurring in the flux term of this species. This scheme has the special property that it preserves the main features of the continuous systems, namely positivity, dissipativity and flux conservation. For the discretized electro-reaction-diffusion system we investigate thermodynamic equilibria and prove for solutions to the evolution system the monotone and exponential decay of the free energy to its equilibrium value. The essential idea is an estimate of the free energy by the dissipation rate which is proved indirectly.
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.
Convergence of an implicit Voronoi finite volume method for reaction-diffusion problems
We investigate the convergence of an implicit Voronoi finite volume method for reaction- diffusion problems including nonlinear diffusion in two space dimensions. The model allows to handle heterogeneous materials and uses the chemical potentials of the involved species as primary variables. The numerical scheme uses boundary conforming Delaunay meshes and preserves positivity and the dissipative property of the continuous system. Starting from a result on the global stability of the scheme (uniform, mesh-independent global upper and lower bounds), we prove strong convergence of the chemical activities and their gradients to a weak solution of the continuous problem. In order to illustrate the preservation of qualitative properties by the numerical scheme, we present a long-term simulation of the Michaelis-Menten-Henri system. Especially, we investigate the decay properties of the relative free energy and the evolution of the dissipation rate over several magnitudes of time, and obtain experimental orders of convergence for these quantities.
Uniform exponential decay of the free energy for Voronoi finite volume discretized reaction-diffusion systems
Our focus are energy estimates for discretized reaction-diffusion systems for a finite number of species. We introduce a discretization scheme (Voronoi finite volume in space and fully implicit in time) which has the special property that it preserves the main features of the continuous systems, namely positivity, dissipativity and flux conservation. For a class of Voronoi finite volume meshes we investigate thermodynamic equilibria and prove for solutions to the evolution system the monotone and exponential decay of the discrete free energy to its equilibrium value with a unified rate of decay for this class of discretizations. The fundamental idea is an estimate of the free energy by the dissipation rate which is proved indirectly by taking into account sequences of Voronoi finite volume meshes. Essential ingredient in that proof is a discrete Sobolev- Poincaré inequality.
Drift-diffusion modeling, analysis and simulation of organic semiconductor devices
We discuss drift-diffusion models for charge-carrier transport in organic semiconductor devices. The crucial feature in organic materials is the energetic disorder due to random alignment of molecules and the hopping transport of carriers between adjacent energetic sites. The former leads to so-called Gauss-Fermi statistics, which describe the occupation of energy levels by electrons and holes. The latter gives rise to complicated mobility models with a strongly nonlinear dependence on temperature, density of carriers, and electric field strength. We present the state-of-the-art modeling of the transport processes and provide a first existence result for the stationary drift-diffusion model taking all of the peculiarities of organic materials into account. The existence proof is based on Schauders fixed-point theorem. Finally, we discuss the numerical discretization of the model using finite-volume methods and a generalized Scharfetter-Gummel scheme for the Gauss-Fermi statistics.
Feel the heat: Nonlinear electrothermal feedback in organic LEDs
For lighting applications, Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) need much higher brightness than for displays, leading to self-heating. Due to the temperature-activated transport in organic semiconductors, this can result in brightness inhomogeneities and catastrophic failure. Here, we show that due to the strong electrothermal feedback of OLEDs, the common spatial current and voltage distribution is completely changed, requiring advanced device modeling and operation concepts. Our study clearly demonstrates the effect of negative differential resistance (NDR) in OLEDs induced by self-heating. As a consequence, for increasing voltage, regions with declining voltages are propagating through the device, and even more interestingly, a part of these regions show even decreasing currents, leading to strong local variation in luminance. The expected breakthrough of OLED lighting technology will require an improved price performance ratio, and the realization of modules with very high brightness but untainted appearance is considered to be an essential step into this direction. Thus, a deeper understanding of the control of electrothermal feedback will help to make OLEDs in lighting more competitive.
Analysis of electronic models for solar cells including energy resolved defect densities
We introduce an electronic model for solar cells including energy resolved defect densities. The resulting drift-diffusion model corresponds to a generalized van Roosbroeck system with additional source terms coupled with ODEs containing space and energy as parameters for all defect densities. The system has to be considered in heterostructures and with mixed boundary conditions from device simulation. We give a weak formulation of the problem. If the boundary data and the sources are compatible with thermodynamic equilibrium the free energy along solutions decays monotonously. In other cases it may be increasing, but we estimate its growth. We establish boundedness and uniqueness results and prove the existence of a weak solution. This is done by considering a regularized problem, showing its solvability and the boundedness of its solutions independent of the regularization level.