New developments and old problems in grid generation and adaptation for TCAD applications

TCAD applications such as multi-dimensional process and device simulations or electromagnetic field calculations rely to a large part on a stable and accurate solution of the underlying physical equations. Well-known examples are the set of six equations that govern hydrodynamic transport in deep submicron devices, or the ensemble of equations for coupled pair diffusion. The quality and sometimes even existence of a numerical solution depends to an overwhelming part on the spatial discretization used in a particular calculation. While mesh quality is an old and well-known problem, it is very often ignored by the user. Driven by the need to simulate increasingly complex semiconductor processes and devices, meshing has certainly moved to the forefront of interest in the TCAD community. Here we want to present a review of new developments in multi-dimensional mesh generation for TCAD applications and concentrate on several specific areas such as promising new algorithms for device mesh generation and grid adaptation for process and device applications.