A Self-Consistent Thermal Simulator of MMIC Multi-Gate Gaas Active Devices

The paper describes a CAD tool for the self-consistent thermal simulation of MESFET devices for MMIC’s (MESS). The simulator was developed within the framework of ESPRIT Project No. 255 “CAD Methods for Analog GaAs Monolithic IC’s”. After introducing the physical problem, a thermal resistance model and a self-consistent physical model are discussed. The thermal resistance model, besides being an useful design tool per se, is needed to provide the self-consistent model with proper boundary conditions. Implementation details of the two-dimensional physical model are briefly reviewed, and results are presented.