Comparison of Non-Parabolic Hydrodynamic Simulations for Semiconductor Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, A. W.; Brennan, K. F.

1996-01-01

Parabolic drift-diffusion simulators are common engineering level design tools for semiconductor devices. Hydrodynamic simulators, based on the parabolic band approximation, are becoming more prevalent as device dimensions shrink and energy transport effects begin to dominate device characteristic. However, band structure effects present in state-of-the-art devices necessitate relaxing the parabolic band approximation. This paper presents simulations of ballistic diodes, a benchmark device, of Si and GaAs using two different non-parabolic hydrodynamic formulations. The first formulation uses the Kane dispersion relationship in the derivation of the conservation equations. The second model uses a power law dispersion relation {(hk)(exp 2)/2m = xW(exp Y)}. Current-voltage relations show that for the ballistic diodes considered. the non-parabolic formulations predict less current than the parabolic case. Explanations of this will be provided by examination of velocity and energy profiles. At low bias, the simulations based on the Kane formulation predict greater current flow than the power law formulation. As the bias is increased this trend changes and the power law predicts greater current than the Kane formulation. It will be shown that the non-parabolicity and energy range of the hydrodynamic model based on the Kane dispersion relation are limited due to the binomial approximation which was utilized in the derivation.

Estimation of local scale dispersion from local breakthrough curves during a tracer test in a heterogeneous aquifer: the Lagrangian approach.

PubMed

Vanderborght, Jan; Vereecken, Harry

2002-01-01

The local scale dispersion tensor, Dd, is a controlling parameter for the dilution of concentrations in a solute plume that is displaced by groundwater flow in a heterogeneous aquifer. In this paper, we estimate the local scale dispersion from time series or breakthrough curves, BTCs, of Br concentrations that were measured at several points in a fluvial aquifer during a natural gradient tracer test at Krauthausen. Locally measured BTCs were characterized by equivalent convection dispersion parameters: equivalent velocity, v(eq)(x) and expected equivalent dispersivity, [lambda(eq)(x)]. A Lagrangian framework was used to approximately predict these equivalent parameters in terms of the spatial covariance of log(e) transformed conductivity and the local scale dispersion coefficient. The approximate Lagrangian theory illustrates that [lambda(eq)(x)] increases with increasing travel distance and is much larger than the local scale dispersivity, lambda(d). A sensitivity analysis indicates that [lambda(eq)(x)] is predominantly determined by the transverse component of the local scale dispersion and by the correlation scale of the hydraulic conductivity in the transverse to flow direction whereas it is relatively insensitive to the longitudinal component of the local scale dispersion. By comparing predicted [lambda(eq)(x)] for a range of Dd values with [lambda(eq)(x)] obtained from locally measured BTCs, the transverse component of Dd, DdT, was estimated. The estimated transverse local scale dispersivity, lambda(dT) = DdT/U1 (U1 = mean advection velocity) is in the order of 10(1)-10(2) mm, which is relatively large but realistic for the fluvial gravel sediments at Krauthausen.

Dispersion-relation-preserving finite difference schemes for computational acoustics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, Christopher K. W.; Webb, Jay C.

1993-01-01

Time-marching dispersion-relation-preserving (DRP) schemes can be constructed by optimizing the finite difference approximations of the space and time derivatives in wave number and frequency space. A set of radiation and outflow boundary conditions compatible with the DRP schemes is constructed, and a sequence of numerical simulations is conducted to test the effectiveness of the DRP schemes and the radiation and outflow boundary conditions. Close agreement with the exact solutions is obtained.

Wave turbulence in shallow water models.

PubMed

Clark di Leoni, P; Cobelli, P J; Mininni, P D

2014-06-01

We study wave turbulence in shallow water flows in numerical simulations using two different approximations: the shallow water model and the Boussinesq model with weak dispersion. The equations for both models were solved using periodic grids with up to 2048{2} points. In all simulations, the Froude number varies between 0.015 and 0.05, while the Reynolds number and level of dispersion are varied in a broader range to span different regimes. In all cases, most of the energy in the system remains in the waves, even after integrating the system for very long times. For shallow flows, nonlinear waves are nondispersive and the spectrum of potential energy is compatible with ∼k{-2} scaling. For deeper (Boussinesq) flows, the nonlinear dispersion relation as directly measured from the wave and frequency spectrum (calculated independently) shows signatures of dispersion, and the spectrum of potential energy is compatible with predictions of weak turbulence theory, ∼k{-4/3}. In this latter case, the nonlinear dispersion relation differs from the linear one and has two branches, which we explain with a simple qualitative argument. Finally, we study probability density functions of the surface height and find that in all cases the distributions are asymmetric. The probability density function can be approximated by a skewed normal distribution as well as by a Tayfun distribution.

Preserving the Helmholtz dispersion relation: One-way acoustic wave propagation using matrix square roots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keefe, Laurence

2016-11-01

Parabolized acoustic propagation in transversely inhomogeneous media is described by the operator update equation U (x , y , z + Δz) =eik0 (- 1 +√{ 1 + Z }) U (x , y , z) for evolution of the envelope of a wavetrain solution to the original Helmholtz equation. Here the operator, Z =∇T2 + (n2 - 1) , involves the transverse Laplacian and the refractive index distribution. Standard expansion techniques (on the assumption Z << 1)) produce pdes that approximate, to greater or lesser extent, the full dispersion relation of the original Helmholtz equation, except that none of them describe evanescent/damped waves without special modifications to the expansion coefficients. Alternatively, a discretization of both the envelope and the operator converts the operator update equation into a matrix multiply, and existing theorems on matrix functions demonstrate that the complete (discrete) Helmholtz dispersion relation, including evanescent/damped waves, is preserved by this discretization. Propagation-constant/damping-rates contour comparisons for the operator equation and various approximations demonstrate this point, and how poorly the lowest-order, textbook, parabolized equation describes propagation in lined ducts.

Aspects of numerical and representational methods related to the finite-difference simulation of advective and dispersive transport of freshwater in a thin brackish aquifer

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merritt, M.L.

1993-01-01

The simulation of the transport of injected freshwater in a thin brackish aquifer, overlain and underlain by confining layers containing more saline water, is shown to be influenced by the choice of the finite-difference approximation method, the algorithm for representing vertical advective and dispersive fluxes, and the values assigned to parametric coefficients that specify the degree of vertical dispersion and molecular diffusion that occurs. Computed potable water recovery efficiencies will differ depending upon the choice of algorithm and approximation method, as will dispersion coefficients estimated based on the calibration of simulations to match measured data. A comparison of centered and backward finite-difference approximation methods shows that substantially different transition zones between injected and native waters are depicted by the different methods, and computed recovery efficiencies vary greatly. Standard and experimental algorithms and a variety of values for molecular diffusivity, transverse dispersivity, and vertical scaling factor were compared in simulations of freshwater storage in a thin brackish aquifer. Computed recovery efficiencies vary considerably, and appreciable differences are observed in the distribution of injected freshwater in the various cases tested. The results demonstrate both a qualitatively different description of transport using the experimental algorithms and the interrelated influences of molecular diffusion and transverse dispersion on simulated recovery efficiency. When simulating natural aquifer flow in cross-section, flushing of the aquifer occurred for all tested coefficient choices using both standard and experimental algorithms. ?? 1993.

Approximate Dispersion Relations for Waves on Arbitrary Shear Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellingsen, S. À.; Li, Y.

2017-12-01

An approximate dispersion relation is derived and presented for linear surface waves atop a shear current whose magnitude and direction can vary arbitrarily with depth. The approximation, derived to first order of deviation from potential flow, is shown to produce good approximations at all wavelengths for a wide range of naturally occuring shear flows as well as widely used model flows. The relation reduces in many cases to a 3-D generalization of the much used approximation by Skop (1987), developed further by Kirby and Chen (1989), but is shown to be more robust, succeeding in situations where the Kirby and Chen model fails. The two approximations incur the same numerical cost and difficulty. While the Kirby and Chen approximation is excellent for a wide range of currents, the exact criteria for its applicability have not been known. We explain the apparently serendipitous success of the latter and derive proper conditions of applicability for both approximate dispersion relations. Our new model has a greater range of applicability. A second order approximation is also derived. It greatly improves accuracy, which is shown to be important in difficult cases. It has an advantage over the corresponding second-order expression proposed by Kirby and Chen that its criterion of accuracy is explicitly known, which is not currently the case for the latter to our knowledge. Our second-order term is also arguably significantly simpler to implement, and more physically transparent, than its sibling due to Kirby and Chen.