Activation energy values from the temperature dependence of silicon PN junction reverse current and its origin

Accurate measurements of leakage reverse current (I(R)) for PN junctions from silicon device samples, available at this time as commercial devices have been performed. Above 125-150 degrees C junction temperature, the Arrhenius plots indicate activation energy values in a range of 0.65-1.22 eV depending on the junction type. For the cellular PN junction of power MOSFET transistors, the temperature dependence indicated a value of 1.05 eV, when most of the I(R) flows at the junction edge (bias voltage on the gate). For zero bias on the gate, 1.22 eV has been exhibited. For the PN junction from a bipolar transistor, a value of 1.16 eV has been found in the range of 125-200 degrees C and 0.91 eV in the range 200-275 degrees C. For silicon PN junction diodes, values of 0.89 and 0.65 eV have been found. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim