Documentation of what I learnt in Visual TCAD during my undergraduate years in ECE during IIIrd Semester subject of EC24201 and EC24202 Electronic Devices Theory and Lab respectively.
Software Used: Cogenda Visual TCAD
Most lab work ends up as scattered files, half-written observations, and "I’ll understand this later" moments.
My goal was to to avoid exactly that. The fact that I am writing and working on this repository a semester later fulfils its goal!
The goal was simple:
- Document every experiment properly.
- Understand why the device behaves the way it does.
- Build something I can revisit without relearning everything from scratch.
Instead of treating labs as submissions, this journal treats them as building blocks of understanding semiconductor devices.
- Primarily for myself, as a structured record of learning.
- For future me, who will definitely forget details :P.
- For juniors or anyone exploring TCAD, who might want a cleaner reference of where to start from zero.
If it helps someone avoid confusion or saves time, that’s a win.
VISUALTCADJOURNAL/
│
├── SiliconDiode/
│ ├── 50-50_diffusion_layer/
│ ├── point_contact_junction/
│ └── README.md
│
├── GermaniumDiode/
│ ├── 50-50_diffusion_layer/
│ ├── point_contact_junction/
│ └── README.md
│
├── transistor/
│ └── README.md
│
├── LICENSE
└── README.md (You are here!)
- 50-50 Equal Diffusion PN Junction.
- Point Contact Diode.
- Full comparison between both structures.
- Currently includes Point Contact Diode (forward bias).
- More experiments will be added.
- Will include structure, characteristics, and analysis.
- Two devices can use the same material and same voltage, yet behave completely differently.
- Small changes in doping profile or geometry can change current by orders of magnitude.
- Mesh refinement is not just a step, it directly affects how accurately physics is captured.
- Forward bias behavior is intuitive, but reverse bias reveals how stable (or unstable) a device really is.
At some point it stops feeling like "simulation" and starts feeling like you’re watching physics unfold. Can you hear the music?
- Documentation beats memory every single time, especially when you have a memory of a sloth bear and an attention span of goldfish xD.
- Understanding always comes from actually comparing, not just simulating.
- Numbers alone are meaningless unless you question them, why the value occured or was derived.
Also, turns out lab work becomes a lot more interesting when you stop rushing to finish it. I wish I could take this lab once more, it was actually fun!
- Complete Germanium diode analysis (both bias conditions). - COMPLETED!
- Add Transistor simulations (likely BJT first). - UP NEXT
- Include deeper comparisons between:
- Silicon vs Germanium.
- Diode vs Transistor behavior.
- Possibly extend into:
- MOS structures. (Probably, if they don't look scary!)
- Advanced device simulations.
A special thanks to my professor Dr. R.K. Lal who taught this subject back in IIIrd Semester, he introduced & taught us to this software.
If you went through this repository, I hope it made things a bit clearer (or at least less confusing :P).
If this helped you in any way, consider giving it a ⭐.
It’s a small thing, but yeah... it means more than you’d think.