ECE2201 Bitar 9/2/08

THE DIODE EQUATION

Diode V-I Characteristic

10.0
9.0
Diode Current (mA)

8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
+
4.0 ID VD
3.0
-
2.0
1.0
0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Diode Voltage (V)

William Shockley’s Diode Equation

ID = IS (e VD / nVT - 1)

IS = Saturation Current (Constant 10-9 to 10-15 A)

• Increases greatly with temperature (as a function of T3).
• Directly proportional to cross-sectional area of diode.

n = Constant (Between 1 and 2)

VT = Thermal Voltage = kT/q ≈ 25mV @ 20°C

≈ 26mV @ 25°C

k = Boltzmann's Constant (1.38 x 10-23 J / K)

T = Absolute Temperature ( K)
q = Charge of an Electron (1.6 x 10-19 C)
Approximate Form
ID ≈ IS e VD / nVT

Less than 1% error for VD > 230 mV (for n=2, VT = 25mV)

Useful Forms
Current Ratio: I2 / I1 = e(V2-V1) / nVT

Voltage Difference: ΔV = (V2-V1) = nVT Ln ( I2 / I1 )

≈ 0.1 LOG10 ( I2 / I1 )

i.e. A factor of 10 change in current

for every 0.1 V change in VD.