Monte Carlo Simulation of Electron Transport in Si: The First 20 Years

Twenty years after the first application of the Monte Carlo method to the study of electron transport in Si, we discuss the evolution of the physical models employed, from the early parabolic-band models of the mid-1970s to the ab-initio full-band simulations of the 1990s. We note that only recently we have reached a satisfactory understanding of the basic scattering mechanisms at high energy. We sketch the reasons for this embarrassing delay, and present the new `standard model´ arising from this recent progress.