Prof. Siegfried Selberherr has not only provided me with one of the best working environments a student can ever dream of, he also knew to ensure the right combination of guidance and freedom. I am also indebted to Prof. Erich Gornik who agreed to take part in the examining committee at a very short notice.
I want to express my appreciation to Hiroo Masuda of the Hitachi Device Development Center in Tokyo, Japan, and to his group not only for the opportunity to learn a lot about semiconductors, but also for cultural engagement and for their friendship.
I also wish to thank my colleagues at the Institute for Microelectronics for their support and cooperation. First of all I am indebted to Dr. Claus Fischer and Dr. Thomas Simlinger for writing the core of MINIMOS-NT. It is due to their insight that my work was made possible. I wish to thank the other members of the MINIMOS-NT-crew Klaus Dragosits, Markus Gritsch, Robert Klima, Dr. Martin Knaipp, Vassil Palankovski, and Martin Rottinger for the excellent working climate and for keeping me busy with discussions and suggestions. Especially my longstanding friend Robert Klima provided the basis for my work while working on the input deck library. I am grateful to Rudolf Strasser, the creator of SIESTA, for revealing numerous bugs in MINIMOS-NT and for principal discussion on software-engineering. Together with Michael Stockinger he acted as imperturbable beta-tester which made MINIMOS-NT the reliable tool it is today. The flexibility of MINIMOS-NT was boosted by the model server which was implemented in an unequaled way by Robert Mlekus. He also supported me by spending endless hours on a project not directly related to his own.
I was lucky enough to work with Prof. Hans Kosina who was always willing to engage in one of our numerous discussions and letting me share his deep insight into semiconductor physics and modeling. The same is true for Dr. Gerhard Schrom who accompanied my 'career' starting from my masters thesis until the final proof read of this thesis. My gratitude is due to Christian Troger and Thomas Binder who solved all those nasty computer problems easily. In Peter Fleischmann I had a perfect roommate and friend who, sharing the same culinary interests, frequently joined me during lunchtime.
Last, but certainly not least I want to thank my family, without whom I would never have been able to achieve so much. I especially wish to express my love for my wife Isabella who not only endured my manifold activities but also provided inspiration and support for my inclination to perfectionism. Only she knows how much I am indebted to her.