Germanium Diode Characteristics

Impurities are added to it to create a region on one side that contains negative charge carriers electrons called an n type semiconductor and a region on the other side that contains positive charge carriers called a p type semiconductor. And as a consequence of that most early germanium semiconductors were replaced with silicon.

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Early semiconductor developments used germanium as the commercial semiconductor material.

Germanium diode characteristics. The primary difference between silicon and germanium diodes is the voltage needed for the diode to turn on or become forward biased. A pn junction diode is made of a crystal of semiconductor usually silicon but germanium and gallium arsenide are also used. The 1n34a germanium diode is an old standby in electronics.

These are pn junction silicon types and not point contact germanium. 1 however due to its ease of processing and more stable temperature characteristics silicon eventually became the semiconductor of choice. Check the spec sheet to ensure you understand what youre buying.

The cut in voltage for germanium diode is approximately 03 volts. A pn junction diode is formed when a p type semiconductor is fused to an n type semiconductor creating a potential barrier voltage across the diode junction the effect described in the previous tutorial is achieved without any external voltage being applied to the actual pn junction resulting in the junction being in a state of equilibrium. Both silicon and germanium can be combined with other elements called dopants to create solid state electronic devices such as diodes transistors and photoelectric cells.

If you are new to building crystal radios then the first thing to learn is how to distinguish between germanium and silicon types of diodes. The forward voltage at which the germanium diode starts allowing large electric current is called cut in voltage. The forward voltage drop of a germanium diode is typically 03 v compared to 07 v for silicon.

Germanium diode test a germanium diode is a vital component in the construction of crystal radios and the quality of the diode will determine how well the radio operates. Reverse v i characteristics of p n junction diode. The forward and reverse characteristics of diode of a germanium diode are similar to those of a silicon diode with some important differences.

Widely used for detecting the rectifying efficiency or for switching on a radio tv or stereo etc.