PHY212: Physics Lab IV

Rajeev Kapri

(rkapri@iisermohali.ac.in)

Study of P-N Junction

Feb 21, 2022
Objective

The objectives of this experiment are:

I To study the Energy Band Gap of P-N Junction

1. Determination of the reverse saturation current I0 &

material constant η (BC 109)

2. Forward Bias Characteristics of Junction Diode (IN5402)

3. Determination of Temperature Coefficient of Junction

Voltage & Energy Band Gap.
P-N Junction
I A p–n junction is an interface between two types of
semiconductor materials, p-type and n-type , inside a
single crystal of semiconductor.
I The "p" (positive) side contains an excess of holes, while
the "n" (negative) side contains an excess of electrons .
I The p-n junction is created by doping.

A P-N Junction. The triangle corresponds to the p side in the circuit symbol1

1 Picture credit: Raffamaiden - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21285768
P-N Junction
I A p-doped ( n-doped ) semiconductor is relatively
conductive .
I The junction between them can become depleted of
charge carriers, and hence non-conductive, depending on
the relative voltages of the two semiconductor regions.
I P–N junctions are commonly used as diodes: circuit
elements that allow flow of electricity in one direction.
(charge valve !)

Bias:
I When the p–n junction is forward-biased, electric charge
flows freely due to reduced resistance of the p–n junction.
I When the p–n junction is reverse-biased, the junction
barrier (and therefore resistance) becomes greater and
charge flow is minimal.
PN junction Diode Explained | Forward Bias and Reverse Bias

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USrY0JspDEg
Lab Apparatus

Make: INDOSAW
Shockley diode equation

I The current I in the p-n junction is given by

   
qV
I = I0 exp −1 (1)
ηkT

q = electronic charge = 1.602 × 10−19 Coulomb

I0 = reverse saturation current
(
1 for Ge
η = material constant =
2 for Si
k = Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 × 10−23 J/K
T = Temperature in Kelvin
V = Junction voltage in Volt.
Reverse Bias

1. Determination of the reverse saturation current I0 & material

constant η

I The reverse saturation current is usually too small to

measure directly. For exp(qV/ηkT)  1, Eq. (1) can be
written as
qV
ln I = ln I0 + (2)
ηkT
I The plot between V and ln I is a straight line with intercept
ln I0 and slope q/ηkT.
From this we will be able to calculate the material constant
η and reverse saturation current ln I0
Procedure

I We will use junction transistor (BC 109) for this purpose.

I Connect the junction transistor lead to the ’Junction
Terminals’ provided on the setup as polarity indicated on it.
I Keep the Left Hand Side Digital Display in “Junction Mode”.
I Keep the Right Hand Side Digital Display in “Current Mode”
I Switch on the P-N junction set up. Ensure that the oven
switch is off.
I Vary the Junction Voltage Knob and obtain current as a
function of junction voltage.
 4

ln I
0

-2

-4
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
V

Straight line (y = mx + c) fit gives:

Slope m = 26.744 ± 0.3 and intercept c = −18.287 ± 0.2

⇒ η = 1.45 ± 0.02 at 300K and I0 = (12 ± 1)nA

Forward Bias characteristics of Junction Diode
(IN5402)

I Connect the P-N junction set up to the ac mains. Ensure

that the oven switch is off.
I Connect the junction diode to the “Junction Terminals”
provided on the setup in forward bias as polarity indicated
on it.
I Keep the Left Hand Side Digital Display in “Junction Mode”.
I Keep the Right Hand Side Digital Display in “Current Mode”
I Switch on the P-N junction set up.
I Vary the Junction Voltage Knob and obtain diode current I
as a function of junction voltage V.
I Plot I as a function of V .
Forward Bias

14

12

10

8
I

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
V

Knee voltage: The voltage at which the current starts

increasing rapidly (i.e. I ≈ exp(1.0)).
Estimation of band gap

I The reverse saturation current, I0 , is caused by diffusion of

minority carriers from the neutral regions to the depletion
region.

I The reverse saturation current depends strongly on

temperature, T, but not on voltage V.

I I0 is proportional to the Boltzmann factor exp(−Eg /kT)

 
Eg
I0 = B exp − , (3)
kT

where B is a constant factor.

I Substituting I0 in Eq. (1), we obtain
 
Eg qV
I = B exp − + (4)
kT kT
I For constant current I, Eq. (4) can be written as

q Eg
T= V− , (5)
kC kC
where C = ln(I/B).
I A graph between T vs V will be a straight line (y = ax + b)
with slope a = q/kC and intercept b = Eg /kC. The band gap
Eg is then given by

Eg = −(b/a)q. (6)
Experimental Data
335
330
325
320
T (kelvin)

315
310
305
300
295
0.64 0.65 0.66 0.67 0.68 0.69 0.7 0.71
V (volt)

slope a = −532 ± 6 intercept b = 676 ± 4 gives

Eg = 1.27 ± 0.02 eV
References

1. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

2. Instruction manual from INDOSAW.
3. J. W. Precker and M. A. da Silva, Am. J. Phys. 70, 1150
(2002).