Why Silicon diode is preferred over Germanium....?
Some reasons for this are,
- Silicon(Si) has got a forward voltage(potential barrier) of 0.7V greater compared to Germanium(Ge) which has 0.3V .Due to which its forward resistance is a bit comparatively high compared to Ge upto forward voltage,which increases is forward maximum current value.
- Secondly the reverse current in silicon flows in order of nano amperes compared to germanium in which the reverse current is in order of micro amperes, because of this the accuracy of non-conduction of the Ge diode in reverse bias falls down.Whereas Si diode retains it property to a greater extent i.e., it allows negligible amount of current to flow.
- Further the Si diode has large reverse breakdown voltage about 70-100V compared to Ge which has the reverse breakdown voltage around 50V.
Thus these above simple reasons give a good description as to why Silicon diodes are preferred over Germanium.
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