What are germanium diodes used for?
Germanium diodes are used as the solar cells responsible for absorbing the IR light and converting it into electricity.
What is the difference between the Si and Ge diodes?
The primary difference between silicon and germanium diodes is the voltage needed for the diode to turn on (or become “forward-biased”). Silicon diodes require 0.7 volts to become forward-biased, whereas germanium diodes require only 0.3 volts to become forward-biased.
Is Ge or Si diode better?
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.
What is the voltage of germanium diode?
approximately 0.3 volts
Germanium diodes have a forward voltage of approximately 0.3 volts. The maximum reverse-bias voltage that a diode can withstand without “breaking down” is called the Peak Inverse Voltage, or PIV rating.
What is the best diode for a crystal radio?
The 1N34A germanium diode is the modern substitute for galena and most other germanium small-signal diodes will also work well. Silicon diodes are not a good choice because their much higher barrier potential requires larger signals for efficient rectification.
How can you tell if a diode is germanium?
How can I tell if I have a Ge or Si diode? You can easily distinguish Silicon and Germanium Diodes. Silicon diodes should read approx 0.7V and Germanium diodes should read 0.3V.
Why is Ge preferred over Si?
Detailed Solution. The main reasons for silicon diodes to be preferred over germanium diodes are: The silicon diode is less sensitive than the germanium diode, hence the operation of silicon diodes is stable with changes in temperature. The Si diode has low reverse current compared to Ge.
How can I tell if I have a Ge or Si diode?
How can I tell if I have a Ge or Si diode? You can easily distinguish Silicon and Germanium Diodes. Silicon diodes should read approx 0.7V and Germanium diodes should read 0.3V. A little difficult to distinguish Schottky diodes though.
Why do people prefer Si over Ge?
What is the maximum value of PIV for germanium?
For example, the PIV ratings of silicon diodes are in the neighbourhood of 1000V whereas the PIV ratings of germanium diodes are close to 400V. The disadvantage of silicon as compared to germanium is that potential barrier of silicon diode (0.7V) is more than that of germanium diode (0.5V).
How can you tell if a germanium diode is silicon?
How do you identify a germanium diode?