Published In

Journal of Applied Physics

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2004

Subjects

Silicon diodes -- Effect of temperature on, Silicon -- Electric properties

Abstract

We analyzed the temperature dependence of the forward current of a silicon diode. Instead of representing the data in the ordinarily used current versus voltage graph, the currents are plotted for different voltages as a function of the inverse temperature. The constant voltage curves can be fitted linearly and the extrapolations of the fits seem to merge to one common focal point. Hence, we demonstrate that a real diode follows the Meyer-Neldel rule (MNR). It is shown that the MNR is due to a shift of the current from ideal-diode to high-injection-diode behavior. We will argue that the merging of the different Arrhenius plots toward one focal point, and hence a MNR, can be the result of various mechanisms. The general requirements to observe a MNR are not very restrictive. It is therefore not surprising that the MNR has been observed in a multitude of systems. The origin that gives rise to the MNR can be manifold and allows for different models to explain its occurrence.

Description

This is the publisher's final pdf. Article appears in Journal of Applied Physics (http://jap.aip.org/) and is copyrighted 2004 by the American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.

DOI

10.1063/1.1818353

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/9197

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