The mesh is an important component of any numerical model of a semiconductor device. When assessing a numerical solution it is always important to ensure that the results do not change significantly when the mesh is refined; this is sometimes referred to as grid independence. Different meshing strategies produce optimum results with the finite element and finite volume formulations of the semiconductor equations. The Semiconductor Module includes default mesh suggestions that automatically refine the mesh based on the physics features selected. These mesh suggestions are usually appropriate for both the finite element and the finite volume methods. In some cases manually tuning the default mesh improves performance and helps with the solution process.
For both finite elements and finite volumes, increasing the mesh density in the vicinity of junctions is important. Note that the Size feature in the mesh sequence can be applied to boundaries, edges, and points, and if the settings are adjusted appropriately this feature can be used to produce a local refinement of the mesh.