The potential across a pn junction is called potential barrier because majority charge carriers have to overcome this potential before crossing the junction.
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It is called a roadblock.
The schottky diode is based on a metal-semiconductor junction, called a schottky barrier, that results in lower forward voltage and vastly decreased switching time. While an ordinary silicon diode has a forward voltage around 0.7 volts, with a germanium diode around 0.3 volts, the schottky can be as low as 0.15 volts. The switching time can be in the tens of picoseconds range, compared to hundreds of nanoseconds. The downside is limited reverse voltage rating and poor reverse voltage leakage, which increases with temperature, causing potential thermal runaway.
in correct sense it is not the layer but the region around the metallurgical junction which is depleted of charge carriers .in this region an internal electric field exist which counter balance the diffusion of electron and hole around the junction . basically the main reason for the formation of depletion region is the concentration gradient across metallurgical junction of p-n semiconductor.
zener cut in voltage
The forward voltage at which the current through the junction starts increasing rapidly, is called the knee voltage or cut-in voltage.