Which of these has degenerate p and n materials?a)Zener diodeb)PIN dio...
Tunnel diode has heavily doped p and n layers called degenerate p and n materials.
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Which of these has degenerate p and n materials?a)Zener diodeb)PIN dio...
Degenerate p and n materials refer to the condition where the semiconductor material is heavily doped with impurities. In this condition, the concentration of majority charge carriers (electrons for n-type and holes for p-type) is very high compared to the concentration of minority charge carriers.
The degeneracy of the material leads to several unique characteristics, such as high conductivity and low resistance. It also affects the behavior of certain semiconductor devices. Among the options given, the tunnel diode is the one that exhibits degenerate p and n materials.
Here is a detailed explanation of why the tunnel diode has degenerate p and n materials:
Tunnel Diode:
- A tunnel diode is a two-terminal device that exhibits negative resistance. It is made from a heavily doped semiconductor material, where both the p and n regions are degenerately doped.
- The p region of the tunnel diode is heavily doped with acceptor impurities, resulting in a high concentration of holes.
- The n region is heavily doped with donor impurities, resulting in a high concentration of electrons.
- Due to the degenerate doping, the concentration of majority charge carriers (holes in the p region and electrons in the n region) is much higher than the concentration of minority charge carriers.
- This high concentration of charge carriers leads to a high conductivity and low resistance in the tunnel diode.
- The degenerate p and n regions allow for a phenomenon called tunneling to occur. Tunneling is the quantum mechanical phenomenon where charge carriers can pass through a barrier that classical physics would consider impassable.
- The tunneling effect in the tunnel diode is used to create the negative resistance characteristic, which makes it useful in various applications such as oscillators and amplifiers.
In summary, the tunnel diode has degenerate p and n materials due to heavy doping in both the p and n regions. This degeneracy results in high conductivity, low resistance, and the ability to exhibit negative resistance through the tunneling effect.
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