At room temperature, Silicon crystal has fewer free electrons than Germanium crystal. ... However, Silicon crystals are not easily damaged by excess heat. Peak Inverse Voltage ratings of Silicon diodes are greater than Germanium diodes. Si is less expensive due to the greater abundance of element.
Which diode is better silicon or germanium?
Ge has higher electron and hole mobility and because of this Ge devices can function up to a higher frequency than Si devices. The germanium diode is also superior to silicon diode in terms of energy loss, current loss, etc. The Ge diode loses only 0.3-0.4 a volt while a silicon diode loses about 0.6-0.7 volts.
Why silicon is used instead of germanium?
Silicon crystals have fewer free electrons than germanium crystals at room temperature , which is why silicon crystals are used for semiconductor devices. In general, the ICBO of germanium is 10-100 times greater than that of silicon, but the variation of ICBo at any temperature is lower for silicon than for germanium.
What is the difference between silicon diode and germanium diode?
A Silicon Diode is a semiconductor that has both positive and negative charge polarity and can allow an electrical current to flow in one direction whilst restricting another. A Germanium Diode works in the same way but has a low forward voltage which results in it being a low power loss and an efficient diode.
What is the advantage of silicon diode?
Higher Forward Voltage Potential – a silicon diode has higher forward voltage potential (0.7V) than germanium (0.3V). Good Temperature Stability – Silicon’s temperature stability is good; it can withstand a temperature range from 140C – 180C whereas germanium can only hold up to 70C.
Is zener a diode?
A Zener diode is a silicon semiconductor device that permits current to flow in either a forward or reverse direction. The diode consists of a special, heavily doped p-n junction, designed to conduct in the reverse direction when a certain specified voltage is reached.
Why is Si preferred over GE?
The structure of Germanium crystals will be destroyed at higher temperature . However, Silicon crystals are not easily damaged by excess heat. Peak Inverse Voltage ratings of Silicon diodes are greater than Germanium diodes. Si is less expensive due to the greater abundance of element.
Why band gap of silicon is more than germanium?
The electrons in the silicon atoms are more tightly bound to the nucleus than the electrons of the germanium atom due to its small size . This is the reason why the band gap of silicon is more than that of germanium.
Why silicon is mostly used semiconductor?
Silicon, a very common element, is used as the raw material of semiconductors because of its stable structure . Purification of Silicon consumes large amounts of power.
What are the advantages of germanium?
Advantages of Germanium Detectors
Germanium is preferred due to its atomic number being much higher than silicon and which increases the probability of gamma ray interaction . Germanium has lower average energy necessary to create an electron-hole pair, which is 3.6 eV for silicon and 2.9 eV for germanium.
What happens when diode is zero biased?
When a diode is Zero Biased no external energy source is applied and a natural Potential Barrier is developed across a depletion layer which is approximately 0.5 to 0.7v for silicon diodes and approximately 0.3 of a volt for germanium diodes.
What type of diode is 1N4007?
1N4007 is a rectifier diode , designed specifically for circuits that need to convert alternating current to direct current. It can pass currents of up to 1 A, and have peak inverse voltage (PIV) rating of 1,000 V.
What are applications of diode?
The application areas of diodes include communication systems as limiters, clippers, gates; computer systems as logic gates, clampers ; power supply systems as rectifiers and inverters; television systems as phase detectors, limiters, clampers; radar circuits as gain control circuits, parameter amplifiers, etc.
What is difference between silicon and germanium?
Silicon is a chemical element with atomic number 14 and chemical symbol Si while germanium is a chemical element with atomic number 32 and chemical symbol is Ge. The key difference between silicon and germanium is that Germanium has d electrons , but Silicon does not have any d electrons.
What is an ideal diode?
An ideal diode is a diode that acts like a perfect conductor when voltage is applied forward biased and like a perfect insulator when voltage is applied reverse biased. ... When voltage is applied in reverse, the diode conducts no current at all. It thus behaves like an open circuit.
