ABSTRACT
Most semiconductors are based on the element silicon. For most purposes germanium devices operate in fundamentally the same way but germanium makes rather poorer semiconductor components than does silicon. Silicon atoms form a nice regular lattice structure. The main reason silicon does not conduct very well is that unlike metals it does not have any electrons which are free to move around easily. In a typical p-n junction made from silicon based semiconductors the corresponding build-up of positive and negative charge results in a potential difference of round about 0.6V appearing across the junction. Light emitting diodes just generate light as a by-product of the operation of the p-n junction. The Schottky diode is very similar in function to a standard diode except that it exhibits a lower switch on voltage and faster switching, but it also has a higher reverse bias leakage current.
