TY - JOUR
T1 - A Poisson–Nernst–Planck Model of Ion Transport and Interface Segregation in Metal–Insulator–Semiconductor Structures and Solar Cells
AU - Martinez Loran, Erick
AU - von Gastrow, Guillaume
AU - Clenney, Jacob
AU - Contreras-Torres, Flavio F.
AU - Meier, Rico
AU - Bertoni, Mariana I.
AU - Bandaru, Prabhakar
AU - Fenning, David P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the U.S Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under Solar Energy Technologies Office Agreement Number DE‐EE0007751.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - A numerical model that describes the transport of mobile ionic species in metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) and photovoltaic (PV) devices subject to temperature and voltage stress is presented. The finite element method (FEM) is used to solve the Nernst–Planck equation while imposing Poisson's equation self-consistently as a restriction for the electrostatic potential. This allows the contribution of the ionic species to the potential to be taken into account. Using a variational formulation eases the implementation of diverse boundary conditions, including the incorporation of segregation kinetics at the device interfaces. Segregation across the dielectric–semiconductor interface is relevant to modeling the electronic device degradation in systems where contamination reaches the semiconductor. The model in closed systems with no-flux boundary conditions is validated first. In the limiting case of low contamination levels with respect to the gate bias, the FEM solution matches analytically derived approximations. Then, the implementation is broadened to include an open boundary at the dielectric–semiconductor interface to account for leakage of ions. The predicted time dependence of the flatband voltage in Na-contaminated MIS test structures agrees well with measurements. The model successfully captures the role of long-range ion transport at concentrations of relevance to electronic and PV device instability and neuromorphic computing.
AB - A numerical model that describes the transport of mobile ionic species in metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) and photovoltaic (PV) devices subject to temperature and voltage stress is presented. The finite element method (FEM) is used to solve the Nernst–Planck equation while imposing Poisson's equation self-consistently as a restriction for the electrostatic potential. This allows the contribution of the ionic species to the potential to be taken into account. Using a variational formulation eases the implementation of diverse boundary conditions, including the incorporation of segregation kinetics at the device interfaces. Segregation across the dielectric–semiconductor interface is relevant to modeling the electronic device degradation in systems where contamination reaches the semiconductor. The model in closed systems with no-flux boundary conditions is validated first. In the limiting case of low contamination levels with respect to the gate bias, the FEM solution matches analytically derived approximations. Then, the implementation is broadened to include an open boundary at the dielectric–semiconductor interface to account for leakage of ions. The predicted time dependence of the flatband voltage in Na-contaminated MIS test structures agrees well with measurements. The model successfully captures the role of long-range ion transport at concentrations of relevance to electronic and PV device instability and neuromorphic computing.
KW - MIS devices
KW - Poisson–Nernst–Planck model
KW - ion transport
KW - semiconductor reliability
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U2 - 10.1002/pssb.202100514
DO - 10.1002/pssb.202100514
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121684172
SN - 0370-1972
VL - 259
JO - Physica Status Solidi (B) Basic Research
JF - Physica Status Solidi (B) Basic Research
IS - 3
M1 - 2100514
ER -