Aims and scope

The Journal of Computational Electronics brings together research on all aspects of modeling and simulation of modern electronics. This includes optical, electronic, mechanical, and quantum mechanical aspects, as well as research on the underlying mathematical algorithms and computational details. The related areas of energy conversion/storage and of molecular and biological systems, in which the thrust is on the charge transport, electronic, mechanical, and optical properties, are also covered.

In particular, we encourage manuscripts dealing with device simulation; with optical and optoelectronic systems and photonics; with energy storage (e.g. batteries, fuel cells) and harvesting (e.g. photovoltaic), with simulation of circuits, VLSI layout, logic and architecture (based on, for example, CMOS devices, quantum-cellular automata, QBITs, or single-electron transistors); with electromagnetic simulations (such as microwave electronics and components); or with molecular and biological systems. However, in all these cases, the submitted manuscripts should explicitly address the electronic properties of the relevant systems, materials, or devices and/or present novel contributions to the physical models, computational strategies, or numerical algorithms. Specifically, manuscripts that present simulation results obtained using widely available and employed open-source software tools are only appropriate if they show how to augment computational-tool capabilities (i.e., algorithm/code development), if they present significant novel physical properties and applications of the systems studied that are not routinely accessed via such tools, or if multiple open-source or open-source/original codes are combined in a novel multiphysics/multiscale fashion. In addition, manuscripts that present simulation results obtained using commercially available TCAD tools (DFT packages, process, device or circuit simulation software, electromagnetic simulation software, and such) are generally not publishable as standalone theory papers in JCEL; we recommend that these papers be accompanied by experimental results and submitted to broader-scope journals in applied physics or engineering.

The Editors will emphasize advances and challenges arising from applications in multiscale problems focusing on those whose basis arises from physical and chemical sciences. A short list of the specific topics that lie within the scope of this journal is as follows:

Semiconductor Devices:
Transport physics of ultrasmall structures;
Role of quantum effects--the transition from classical to quantum environment;
2D and 3D device simulations.

Optical Devices, Plasmonics, and Photonics:
Semiconductor laser diodes (VCSELs and VCSEL arrays, etc.);
Detectors (limits of high speeds and low signal intensities, etc.);
Coupling t o the electromagnetics;
Plasmonics;
Photonic crystals.

Process Simulation:
Ab initio models;
Many-body interactions;
Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo.

Energy and environment:
Photovoltaics (optical processes, charge transport);
Batteries (materials, ion transport and charge-exchange processes);
Fuel cells (e.g., hydrogen storage);
Carbon capture.

Nano-electro-mechanical systems:
Quantum mechanical and quantum electrodynamical forces;
Transition to classical approaches;
Coupled systems;
Nano-fluidics.

Mathematical Approaches:
Algorithms;
Implementation on parallel systems;
Special problems with quantum mechanics.

Correlated Areas:
Biological systems, ion channels, etc.;
Optical, mechanical and electronic interactions in molecular systems.

Open Quantum Systems:
Quantum electronics;
Special computational problems in quantum systems;
Quantum computing.

Special Issue on Numerical simulation of optoelectronic devices
Submission Date: 2024-11-30

Optoelectronic devices that are based on the combination of taylored optical and electronic properties are ubiquitous in the technologies that enable our modern lifestyle, such as light emitting diodes in displays and lighting applications, solar cells for sustainable electricity production, photodetectors for metrology, sensing and optical data communication, electro-optical modulators, and lasers for telecommunication, scanning, metrology, and optical spectroscopy. Many of the device architectures used to implement the target functionality rely on complex hetero- and nanostructure arrangements, or novel materials with unusual optoelectronic properties. As performance is improved and requirements on the optoelectronic figures of merit increase, loss analysis and device optimization requires not only an advanced understanding and control of structure-property relations, but also efficient computational tools able to accurately model the complex behavior as a function of device configuration, thereby enabling directed optimization of performance, and linking scales from the atomic level to the device and system level. This JCEL Special Issue intends to review the state-of-the-art in the numerical simulation of advanced optoelectronic devices, from the material to device scale. Both method/tool development and application papers are welcome, as long as the intertwined aspects of optics and charge carrier dynamics are addressed. Candidate device technologies include: • Photovoltaics (PV): high-efficiency crystalline-Si (passivated contacts: heterojunction, TOPCon), thin-film (CIGS, CdTe, kesterites, etc.), perovskite (mobile ions, photon recycling), OPV (excitons), nanostructures (Quantum Dot (QD), Quantum Well (QW), Quantum Wire (QWR), 2D materials), beyond Shockley-Queisser (multi-junction architectures, multi-exciton generation, hot carriers, intermediate band, up-/downconversion, bulk PV effect), etc. • Light emitting diodes: OLED (light out-coupling, dipole radiation, thermally activated delayed fluorescence, blue emitters etc.), QD-LED (colloidal, self-assembled, perovskites, etc.), inorganic (nitrides, QW, QD, random alloy fluctuations, ...), 2D-materials (VdW, etc.), adressing the green-gap and droop, micro- and nano-LEDs and arrays, UV and deep-UV, single photon emitters, etc. • Photodetectors: QD, 2D materials, organic, III-V, thin-film, superlattice (type-II, broken gap), IR and THz, UV, polarization-sensitive detectors, avalanche and single-photon detectors, etc. • Laser diodes: Quantum cascade lasers, interband QW-laser, QD lasers, deep uv lasers, etc. • Modulators and optical computing: electro-optical Mach-Zehnder interferometers, meta-materials, etc. Of particular interest are approaches to include the effects of confinement or non-classical behavior arising at hetero-interfaces and at nanoscale dimensions of functional device components, but also the numerical treatment of advanced topics in light-matter interactions, such as excitonics, photon recycling, and strong coupling. The discussion of the simulation approaches should also address model parametrization and a critical assessment of the boundaries of model accuracy and validity.