semiconductor diode

A diode made of semiconductor components, usually silicon. The cathode, which is negatively
charged and has an excess of electrons, is placed adjacent to the anode, which has an inherently
positive charge, carrying an excess of holes. At this junction a depletion region forms, with
neither holes nor electrons. A positive voltage at the anode makes the depletion region small, and
current flows; a negative voltage at the anode makes the depletion region large, preventing
current flow.

A two-terminal electronic device that utilizes the properties of the semiconductor from which it is
constructed. In a semiconductor diode without a pn junction, the bulk properties of the
semiconductor itself are used to make a device whose characteristics may be sensitive to light,
temperature, or electric field. In a diode with a pn junction, the properties of the pn junction are
used. The most important property of a pn junction is that, under ordinary conditions, it will allow
electric current to flow in only one direction. Under the proper circumstances, however, a pn
junction may also be used as a voltage-variable capacitance, a switch, a light source, a voltage
regulator, or a means to convert light into electrical power. See also Semiconductor.

The conductivity of a semiconductor is proportional to the number of electrical carriers (electrons

and holes) it contains. In a temperature-compensating diode, or thermistor, the number of carriers
changes with temperature.

In a photoconductor the semiconductor is packaged so that it may be exposed to light. Light

photons whose energies are greater than the band gap can excite electrons from the valence
band to the conduction band, increasing the number of electrical carriers in the semiconductor.
See also Photoconductivity.

In some semiconductors the conduction band has more than one minimum. This results in a
region of negative differential conductivity, and a device operated in this region is unstable. The
current pulsates at microwave frequencies, and the device, a Gunn diode, may be used as a
microwave power source. See also Microwave solid-state devices.

A rectifying junction is formed whenever two materials of different conductivity types are brought
into contact. Most commonly, the two materials are an n-type and a p-type semiconductor, and
the device is called a junction diode. However, rectifying action also occurs at a boundary
between a metal and a semiconductor of either type. If the metal contacts a large area of
semiconductor, the device is known as a Schottky barrier diode; if the contact is a metal point, a
point-contact diode is formed. See also Schottky effect.

The contact potential between the two materials in a diode creates a potential barrier which tends
to keep electrons on the n side of the junction and holes on the p side. When the p side is made
positive with respect to the n side by an applied field, the barrier height is lowered and the diode
is forward biased. Majority electrons from the n side may flow easily to the p side, and majority
holes from the p side may flow easily to the n side. When the p side is made negative, the barrier
height is increased and the diode is reverse-biased. Then, only a small leakage current flows:
Minority electrons from the p side flow into the n side, and minority holes from the n side flow into
the p side. The current-voltage characteristic of a typical diode is shown in the illustration.
Rectifying diodes can be made in a variety of sizes, and much practical use can be made of the
fact that such a diode allows current to flow in essentially one direction only. See also Junction
diode; Semiconductor rectifier; Tunnel diode.
Current-voltage characteristic of a <i>pn</i> junction.
Current-voltage characteristic of a pn junction.