Acknowledgment

FIRST AND FOREMOST I want to thank Prof. SIEGFRIED SELBERHERR for giving me the opportunity to join his research group, for providing the excellent infrastructure at the Institute for Microelectronics, and for the strong industrial network which allows his students to gain international experience.

I thank Prof. EMMERICH BERTAGNOLLI, who actually was one of the first to ignite my interest in microelectronics, that he was willing to serve on my examination committee. Furthermore, I am strongly indebted to Prof. ERASMUS LANGER, the head of the Institute for Microelectronics, who was a strict but very cooperative and helpful boss.

I enjoyed the luck to work closely together with two great advisors: Prof. HANS KOSINA and Prof. TIBOR GRASSER. Prof. KOSINA impressed me from the very first encounter with his deep knowledge on semiconductor device modeling and physics in general. His clear and understandable way to write down even the most abstract and complicated topics, sometimes consuming only the confined space of a napkin, provided the background of my work.
Prof. GRASSER, the head of the MINIMOS-NT development crew, convinced me very soon that programming is not simply a craft, but an elaborate art. His ingenious coding style and his sound knowledge on software architecture inspired me to improve my knowledge in these directions.

ROBERT KLIMA bootstrapped me at the institute, and he was always willing to discuss programming topics with me. Proofreading his texts on programming in C allowed me to share his deep understanding of programming.
I am also indebted to STEPHAN WAGNER, a real C++ expert, for explaining me numerous aspects of object-oriented programming, helping me with compilation problems, and regularly improving my code.

I am grateful to MARKUS GRITSCH who was a very pleasant and intelligent room mate. His comprehensive knowledge about the typesetting system L^ATEX helped me on countless occasions. SERGEY SMIRNOV became my second room mate, and immediately impressed me with his strong knowledge in semiconductor physics and his incredible eagerness to work. Recently, STEPHAN HOLZER joined our office where he soon became very popular due to the chocolate sweets he used to distribute.

KLAUS DRAGOSITS was a never ending source of funny stories about all kind of topics, and I thank him for frequent support and discussions on CV simulations and quantum-mechanical modeling. His room mate VASSIL PALANKOVSKI impressed me with his long working hours and publication list, and with his comprehensive knowledge about bipolar devices. I also remember PETER FLEISCHMANN who provided me with some in-depth knowledge about Japanese culture and railroad timetables on our trip to Japan. Furthermore, I am grateful to JONG-MUN PARK who shared his strong experience with commercial TCAD simulation packages, and TESFAYE AYALEW for numerous discussions on high-power devices. RAINER SABELKA, JOHANNES CERVENKA, CHRISTIAN HARLANDER, ENZO UNGERSBÖCK, and ROBERT ENTNER took care of the network and computer infrastructure for which I want to thank them, too.

EWALD HASLINGER, MANFRED KATTERBAUER, and RENATE WINKLER provided the background work at the Institute, which much too often is completely undervalued. All other members of the Institute for Microelectronics deserve gratitude for assistance and for the stimulating working atmosphere they create.

BYOUNGHO CHEONG from the Samsung Advanced Institute for Technology was a very kind and patient project leader with whom I cooperated for years on several topics. He also introduced me into the Korean culture, habits, and cuisine, for which I am very grateful.
FRANCISCO JIMÉNEZ-MOLINOS spent two very productive months at our institute and I thank him for the good cooperation regarding the trap-assisted tunneling model.
STEFAN HARASEK provided me with some information about the real world of high-$\kappa$ dielectric materials and I thank him for measurements and discussions on trap-assisted tunneling mechanisms.
HELMUT PUCHNER enabled an internship at Cypress Semiconductor at very short notice. He impressed me with his comprehensive knowledge about CMOS device and process technology and his high level of professionalism.

More important than any other support, my wife ELISABETH provided me with love and understanding, giving me a feeling for the really important things in life. Finally, none of my studies would have been possible without the continuous support of my parents.

A. Gehring: Simulation of Tunneling in Semiconductor Devices