Engineering Physics

8.14 Diode equation

The general characteristics of a p-n diode can be represented by an equation called Shockley’s equation for the forward and reverse bias regions:

        

where

     I = Diode current

     I_s = Reverse saturation current

     V_D = Forward biased voltage across the diode

     η = Identity factor, this depends on the construction and operating conditions

        = 1 to 2, usually taken as 1

     V_t = Thermal voltage =

     k_B = Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 × 10 ^–23 J/K

     T = Absolute temperature in Kelvin

     q = magnitude of ...