External Plots
1. Overview
External quantities represent electrical values measured at the device contacts or within the surrounding circuit, rather than inside the semiconductor device. These quantities include terminal voltages, currents, charges, and other circuit‑level metrics produced during a device or circuit simulation. External quantities capture how the device interacts with the outside world. They form the basis of terminal‑level analysis such as I–V curves, transfer characteristics, switching performance, and transient response.
External quantities can be visualised using two plot types:
- External Plot, for non‑transient data such as steady‑state I–V curves.
- Transient Plot, for time‑dependent results such as voltage or current vs. time transient simulations.
note
Transient plots are only available for transient type result (.res) files.
2. Quantities Available for Visualisation
Below is a complete list of the external quantities that can be plotted within Aquarius.
| Name | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Voltage | Electrostatic potential at the evaluated point. | V |
| Electron Current | Electron current magnitude at the evaluated location. | A |
| Hole Current | Hole current magnitude at the evaluated location. | A |
| Total Current | Combined electron and hole current. | A |
| Poisson Residual | Residual of the Poisson equation. | - |