We present in this work a didactic experimental activity with a diode, set up with affordable instruments, and that can be easily adapted for an undergraduate or a high school class. The activity described establishes the current ID-voltage VD characteristics of a diode from measurements of the potential difference VD on it and the current ID through it, for three different temperatures T = 0 °C, 23 °C, and 100 °C. From the experimental results: (i) we build up an algebraic expression for the current ID as a function of the voltage VD, and the temperature T, and (ii) we determine the value of the Boltzmann’s constant kB, one of the physical fundamental constants.
diode; current-voltage characteristic curve; Boltzmann constant
