SiLENSeTM

Simulator of Light Emitters based on Nitride Semiconductors

Release Notes

Version 5.1 & Version 5.1 Laser Edition

STR, Inc., Richmond, VA, USA

Copyright 2005-2011 by STR, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published 2011.

This manual is the confidential and proprietary product of STR, Inc. Any unauthorized use,
reproduction, or disclosure of this manual is strictly prohibited. (Subject to limited use within the
STR End-User License Agreement only.)

CGSimTM, VRTM, PolySimTM, CVDSimTM, HEpiGaNSTM, SimuLEDTM, SiLENSeTM, RATROTM,

SpeCLEDTM, SimuLAMPTM, SELESTM, FETISTM are registered trademarks, brands, and
proprietary products of STR, Inc.

User Support: [email protected]

Software Sales: [email protected]
Phone: +7 812 320 4390
Fax: +7 812 326 6194
STR Group Ltd.
www.str-soft.com
Engels av. 27, P.O. Box 89, 194156, St. Petersburg, Russia

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Table of contents
1.

Release Notes 5.1...........................................................................................3

2.

Release Notes 5.0...........................................................................................4

3.

Release Notes 4.4...........................................................................................4

4.

Release Notes 4.2...........................................................................................5

5.

Release Notes 4.1...........................................................................................5

6.

Release Notes 4.0...........................................................................................5

7.

Release Notes 3.60.........................................................................................6

8.

Release Notes 3.42.........................................................................................7

9.

Release Notes 3.4...........................................................................................7

10.

Release Notes 3.0...........................................................................................8

11.

Release Notes 2.1...........................................................................................9

12.

Support............................................................................................................9

13.

More info .........................................................................................................9

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1. Release Notes 5.1

This section describes new options in version 5.1 compared to version 5.0:

A model for effect of the composition fluctuations on the emission and gain spectra is
implemented. In layer properties, a user needs to specify the characteristic energy of
the reduced density of states similarly as for the DOS tails for the carriers. Please
see Eqs. (8.7, 8.9, and 8.12) of Sec. 8.3 of Physics Summary for more details.

The model for the effect of the composition fluctuations on the internal quantum
efficiency was modified in such a way that now composition fluctuations effect only
recombination at the dislocations; the lifetimes related to other defects (directly
specified by the end-user) remains unchanged. Please see Sec. 6.2 of Physics
Summary for more details.

Power law for temperature dependence for the radiative recombination constant, as
well as for the Auger recombination constants, can be directly specified by the user in
"Global Parameters" tab. Default values used for new projects and for opening
projects of older versions resemble the settings of version 5.0: B 1 / T 3 / 2 , and no
temperature dependence for Auger coefficients. It may be reasonable to set B 1 / T
assuming 2D carrier motion in the quantum wells.

Improvements of the user interface:

Current density converted into Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, current
density converted into Auger recombination, and non-ideality factor are
shown in the "List of Results" window in columns titled "J SRH", "J Auger",
and "m", respectively. Then these values can be exported into the table using
"Export -> IV characteristic" menu item or the respective button from the
toolbar.

Peak wavelength of the emission spectrum is available in the "List of Results"
window by using "Run -> Update Peak Wavelength" menu item or the
respective button from the toolbar. Then the peak wavelength can be
exported into the table using "Export -> IV characteristic" menu item or the
respective button from the toolbar.

Export of all results (band diagram, Fermi levels, carrier concentrations,
recombination rates, etc.) into a single text file is available in "List of Results"
window by using "Export -> All Results in Single File" menu item or the
respective button from the toolbar.

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2. Release Notes 5.0

This section describes new options in version 5.0 compared to version 4.4:

Quantum potential model is developed to account for quantum effects: tunneling
current and quantum confinement of the carriers inside the quantum wells. Use of the
quantum potential model allows more realistic prediction of the current-voltage
characteristics of the p-n junction. Also, the carrier concentration in the quantum
wells is predicted more accurately. One can switch on/off use of the quantum
potential model in "Global parameters" tab.

Recombination through the dislocation cores and through the point defects are
combined into one Shockley-Read-Hall recombination channel. First, the overall

[(

carrier lifetimes are calculated as ntot, p = ndis, p

) + ( )
1

1
def 1
n, p

and then the overall

lifetimes are used to calculate the Shockley-Read-Hall recombination rate. The

computations results remain generally the same, but minor differences compared to
the previous versions may appear for the projects where dislocations and point
defects are specified simultaneously.

3. Release Notes 4.4

This section describes new options in version 4.4 compared to version 4.2:

Multiple periodic structures are supported. Periodic structures are specified exactly
as in the previous versions.

Automatic generation of data for SpeCLED. The user need once set a list of biases
and a list of temperatures, and the program will automatically run simulations and
store a set of *.sct files for input into SpeCLED. Optionally, intermediate SiLENSe
project files with results are also stored.

In *.sct files for SpeCLED, the information on the emission spectrum is reduced to
the peak wavelength only. It is done to reduce the size of *.sct and *.dvx files. Users
of SpeCLED are welcome to update the SpeCLED solver to support this change in
the SiLENSe export data.

Support of licensing system based on Senselock dongles (previous HASP dongles
are also supported).

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4. Release Notes 4.2

This section describes new options in version 4.2 compared to version 4.1:

Material properties of zinc blende III-V compounds are updated. Particularly, AlGaInP
and GaInAsP alloys lattice matched to GaAs are added, as well as respective
simulation examples.

After computation of the emission spectrum, detailed information about contribution
of each subband of the valence band is available, as well as contribution of each
particular transition. Use Window->Detailed Spectrum menu item and enjoy
complete info about emission spectrum!

Carrier non-radiative lifetimes because of dislocations and point defects are available
both in the internal visualization and in export ASCII files.

5. Release Notes 4.1

This section describes new options in version 4.1 compared to version 4.0:

Material properties of InAlGaAs alloy and simulation example for AlGaAs laser diode
are added.

Material properties of CdMgZnO alloy and simulation examples for hybrid II-O/III-N
heterostructures are updated.

Computation of the band diagram, carrier energy levels and wave functions under
reverse bias (see Sec. 11 of SiLENSe Physics Summary). NB! This option does not
include prediction of the reverse current!

Computation of the internal quantum efficiency taking into account only emission
from the active region, and computation of the injection efficiency (see end of Sec. 7
of SiLENSe Physics Summary).

6. Release Notes 4.0

This section describes new options in version 4.0 compared to version 3.60:

Simulation of nonpolar and semipolar orientations. The user can choose the
orientation in the respective combo box in the Heterostructure tab. To calculate the
piezoelectric fields in semipolar structures, new material properties were introduced:
lattice constant c, piezoelectric constant e15, and stiffness constants C11, C12, and
C44.

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NB! It is strongly recommended to add new material properties in the files created be earlier
versions, use Material Properties->Import menu item and choosing default database
supplied with the current version of the software.

Substrate section is removed from the Heterostructure tab. Instead, the user
should indicate if the first heterostructure layer is strained1. If yes, one should specify
its lattice constants a and c. The option of input of the substrate lattice constant by
composition is removed. By default, all files newly created or converted from older
versions are assumed to have relaxed first layer. If you see a warning about the
lattice constant specification during opening old project file, please check the input
data in the Strain in the first layer section in the center of the Heterostructure tab.

Changes in the user interface:

Export of plots to graphic files (*.bmp, *.wmf, and *.emf) is available by

Export->Save current chart menu item.

Visualization of the layer properties (doping, mobility, dislocation density,

carrier lifetimes, etc) in the bottom chart of the Heterostructure window.

Two solver parameters are made read-only: Potential solver parameter and
Fermi level solver parameter.

7. Release Notes 3.60

This section describes new options in version 3.60 compared to version 3.42:

Temperature dependence of the energy gap is described in terms of Varshni
parameters a and b. However, SiLENSe project files (*.sls ) of older versions will be
converted as having temperature-independent energy gap (a=0, b=1), to provide
backward compatibility of the results2. The user can update material properties by
using Materials Properties -> Import menu item.

Model of Indium composition fluctuations on the IQE. SiLENSe project files (*.sls ) of
older versions will be converted as having no fluctuations (Un=Up=0) to provide
backward compatibility of the results2.

First layer appearing in the heterostructure list is a thick n-type layer, usually made of

GaN. Typically, it is not strained. The user need not input the nucleation and buffer layers in
the heterostructure list.
2

It means that re-running simulations with new version will give the same results.

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Some improvements are made in the user interface. Particularly, we have added
internal visualization of the following variables: unstrained and strained in-plane
lattice constants, strain, spontaneous polarization, piezoelectric polarization, and total
polarization.

8. Release Notes 3.42

This section describes new options in the version 3.42 compared to version 3.4:

Computation, visualization, and export of the far field distribution (available in Laser
Edition only).

Support of network corporate/department HASP license.

No limitation on the maximum number of the points in the quantum well in
computation of the carrier wave functions. Instead, the maximum number of the
energy levels is limited in order to prevent to long computations.

Some improvements are made in the user interface.

9. Release Notes 3.4

This section describes new options in the version 3.4 compared to version 3.0:

Computation of the gain spectrum.

Visualization of the emission and gain spectra of individual quantum wells (the
previous version shows the total spectrum only).

Listing of the overlap integrals between each pair of electron and hole wave functions
in the active region.

A number of improvements in the user interface.
The following options are available in Laser Edition only:

Computation and visualization of the waveguide mode intensity distribution for both
TE and TM polarizations with account for the birefringence in wurtzite crystals.
Computation of the optical confinement factors.

Analysis of the laser diode operation for selected waveguide mode:

 Optical gain.
 Optical losses caused by the free carrier absorption.
 Threshold current and differential quantum efficiency.

Updated database of materials properties to include optical characteristics of IIInitride materials.

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NB: To run laser computations for the project files of version 3.0 and older one
should previously update the materials properties to add optical properties! Use the
Materials Properties I Import menu item and select an appropriate file with materials
properties. The default database is provided with the package, and the user can
modify it via the Properties Editor tool.

10.

Release Notes 3.0

This section describes new options in the version 3.0 compared to version 2.1:

Non-radiative recombination through the point defects is calculated within the
Shokley-Read-Hall model. The user can manually specify the electron and hole
lifetimes in each layer of the heterostructure.

Auger recombination. This option is included in order to enable the user to analyze
conventional III-V heterostructures where Auger recombination is important channel
of non-radiative recombination.

Partial strain relaxation is included for accurate calculation of the piezoelectric
charges at the boundaries of partially relaxed layers. The user can manually specify
the degree of relaxation for each layer of the heterostructure.

The user can specify different threading dislocation density for different layers.

Export/import of material properties. The user can save the materials properties of
the existing SiLENSe project (*.sls) in a separate material database file (*.mats)
as well as load new material properties to the existing SiLENSe project from other
database files or other SiLENSe projects.

The project files of 2.1 version are converted as follows:

For each layer:

zero degree of relaxation

no additional recombination via point defects

dislocation density taken from the old file

Zero Auger coefficients are added to material properties of all materials listed
in the project file.

In the saved results all the non-radiative recombination is suggested to come

from the dislocations.

Under these conditions re-running an old project file with version 3.0 will give the
same result as for version 2.1.

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11.

Release Notes 2.1

This section describes new options in the version 2.1 compared to version 1.0:

Boundary conditions for electrons are modified to account for their contribution to the
current at the p-electrode. This effect has been found to control the current at a high
forward bias. In version 2.1, an Ohmic contact is assumed for holes at the pelectrode, while the electron current at this boundary is calculated in terms of thermal
emission. At a low bias, the model gives the results being in close agreement with
those predicted by the former version of the code. At a high bias, the new approach
provides more reasonable predictions.

The package includes a module for setting/editing materials properties, which
enables one to consider not only III-nitrides, but also a wide range of wurtzite
semiconductor materials and alloys with user-defined properties. Version 2.1
includes data on properties of AlInGaN and ZnMgO alloys.

The radiative recombination constant is considered as a temperature-dependent
parameter.

Advanced numerical algorithms are used providing more fast and stable code
operation.

New graphical user interface includes internal vizualizer providing an excellent
representation of the simulation results.

Export of simulation results to the software package SpeCLED
(http://www.str-soft.com/products/SpeCLED) for further 3D analysis of current
spreading and temperature distribution in the LED chip.

12.

Support

Hot-line support is provided for customers. The support includes free of charge supply of
updated versions released during the support period and technical consulting on SiLENSe
operation.

13.

More info

More detailed information about the SiLENSe package is available at the site of STR, Inc.:
http://www.str-soft.com/products/SiLENSe. Evaluation package can be requested by the email address [email protected] .

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