Parallel implementation of a Monte Carlo particle simulation coupled to Maxwell's equations

PMC‐3D, a parallel three‐dimensional (3‐D) Monte Carlo device simulator for multicomputers is discussed. The parallel algorithm is and extension of the standard Monte Carlo device simulation model in three dimensions, that combines the stockastic Monte Carlo particle simulation method with a solution of Poisson equation for quasi‐static problems, and full Maxwell's equations for microwave or electro‐optic phenomena. While our implementation of the Poisson solver is based on an iterative method that uses and odd/even ordering with Chebyshev acceleration, a simple leapfrog method based upon the computational unit of Yee cell is used in a finite‐difference, time‐domain (FDTD) formulation to solve Maxwell's equations. The parallel algorithms were implemented on a 1024‐node distributed memory nCUBE multicomputer. In this work, we present the application of PMC‐3D to generate the static current‐Voltage characteristics of GaAs MESFET, and to simulate photogenerated femtosecond electrical transients produced in coplanar stripline on a GaAs substrate.