PHT.301 Physics of Semiconductor Devices

PN diode Current-Temperature Characteristics

A pn-diode can be used as a thermometer because the saturation current of a diode is temperature dependent. This is convenient for measuring the temperature of a circuit. The current-voltage characteristic of a diode is described by the diode equation,

Where $I$ is the current, $I_S$ is the saturatuion current, $e$ is the charge of an electron, $V$ is the voltage, $k_B$ is Boltzmann's constant, and $T$ is the absolute temperature. For a pn-diode, the saturation current can be written as,

Here $A$ is the area of the diode perpendicular to the current flow, $n_i$ is the intrinsic carrier concentration, $N_d$ is the donor concentration, $N_a$ is the acceptor concentration, $D_n$ is the diffusion constant for electrons, $D_p$ is the diffusion constant for holes, $L_n=\sqrt{D_n\tau_n}$ is the diffusion length for electrons, $L_p=\sqrt{D_p\tau_p}$ is the diffusion constant for holes, $\tau_n$ is the minority carrier lifetime for electrons, and $\tau_p$ is the minority carrier lifetime for holes.

The intrinsic carrier density is a strong function of temperature,

Here $N_c$ is the effective density of states in the conduction band at 300 K, $N_v$ is the effective density of states in the valence band at 300 K, and $E_g$ is the band gap. The temperture dependence of the band gap can be input into the form below. The diffusion constants are related to the mobilities by the Einstein relation,

where $\mu_n$ is the mobility of the electrons and $\mu_p$ is the mobility of the holes.

The form below will calculate the current through a pn-diode biased at a voltage $V$ for temperatures between $T_{start}$ and $T_{stop}$.