Types of semiconductor diode

There are several types of junction diodes, which either2N5064

 emphasize a different physical aspect of a diode often by geometric scaling, doping level, choosing the right electrodes, are just an application of a diode in a2N5087

 special circuit, or are really different devices like the Gunn and laser diode and the MOSFET:Normal diodes, which operate as described above, are usually made of doped silicon or,SH2089

 more rarely, germanium. Before the development of modern silicon power rectifier diodes, cuprous oxide and later selenium was used; its low efficiency gave it a much higher forward voltage drop (typicallyIRGPS40B120U

 1.4 to 1.7 V per, with multiple cells stacked to increase the peak inverse voltage rating in high voltage rectifiers), and required a large heat sink (often an extension of the diode is metal substrate), much largerC5664

 than a silicon diode of the same current ratings would require. The vast majority of all diodes are the p-n diodes found in CMOS integrated circuits, which include two diodes per pin and many other internal diodes.