What Do e and V Represent in the PN Junction Current Equation?

[wrong_class]

What are e and V in exponent of the equation I = I₀(e^eV/kT - 1)? is it really one variable "eV", as in electron volts, or is e just 2.718... and V for volts?

 

[marcusl]

Two; e is the charge on an electron, V is the potential.

 

[phyzguy]

It's confusing. The first e is just the base of the natural logarithms (2.718...), but the e in the exponent is the charge on the electron. I prefer to write it as:
$$e^\frac{qV}{kT}$$ to eliminate this confusion. Note that if you measure kT in electron volts (eV), then the electron charges cancel, and you can just use the voltage V directly. Note that at room temperature, kT is .026 eV, so you can write:
$$I = I_0 e^\frac{V}{.026}$$

 

[wrong_class]

Thanks!