American Journal of Physics · 1994 · 10 citations · 0 references
Natural SciencesMaterials SciencePhysicsCondensed Matter PhysicsElectronic MaterialsSemiconductor MaterialsCurrent-voltage CharacteristicsElectrical ConductivityP-n JunctionsSemiconductor Device MaterialsSemiconductor PhysicsWide Band Gap SemiconductorsBand Gap EnergyEnergy Band GapEnergy Gap AnalysisForward Bias CharacteristicsP-n Junction CharacteristicsSemiconductor Junctions
Simple apparatus, suitable for an undergraduate laboratory, allows precise measurements of the forward characteristics of Si and Ge ‘‘transdiodes’’ at different temperatures in the range 150–300 K. The experimental results are used to obtain a fairly accurate value of the universal constant e/k (elementary charge to Boltzmann constant ratio) and of the energy gap of Si and Ge.