Modeling the diffusion and depletion capacitances of a silicon pn diode in forward bias with impedance spectroscopy
We investigated the capacitance of a forward-biased silicon pn diode using impedance spectroscopy. Despite extensive research spanning decades, no single model in the literature adequately describes the impedance behavior for bias up to the built-in voltage. By employing the 1N4007 diode as a case study, we analyzed the impedance over a wide frequency range, from 1 Hz to 1 MHz. Our analysis reveals that impedance can be effectively studied by combining two models. In both models, the depletion capacitance is assumed to be an ideal capacitor with a value independent of frequency. One model accounts for diffusion processes, while the other addresses interfacial effects, as well as potential and capacitance distributions across the junction. This approach offers valuable insights into the complex capacitance behavior of pn junctions as a function of the bias voltage. Measurements of depletion and diffusion capacitances, as well as of the diode transit time can be achieved from a set of impedance spectroscopy data.
2-s2.0-85205925680
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
Università degli Studi di Messina
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
2024-09-21
136
11
115702
REVIEWED
EPFL