Detailed heat generation simulations via the Monte Carlo method

As current device technologies advance into the sub-continuum regime, they operate at length scales on the order of the electron and phonon mean free path. The ballistic conditions lead to strong non-equilibrium at nanometer length scales. The electron-phonon interaction is not energetically or spatially uniform and the generated phonons have widely varying contributions to heat transport. This work examines the microscopic details of Joule heating in bulk silicon with Monte Carlo simulations including acoustic and optical phonon dispersion. The approach provides an engineering tool for electro-thermal analysis of future nano-devices.