Question

What accounts for the flow of charge carriers in forward and reverse biasing of silicon p-n diode?

(a) Drift in forward bias and diffusion in forward bias

(b) Drift in reverse bias and diffusion in forward bias

(c) Drift in both reverse and forward bias

(d) Diffusion in both forward and reverse bias

This question was addressed to me by my college professor while I was bunking the class.

Query is from Semiconductor Electronics topic in section Semiconductor Electronics : Materials, Devices and Simple Circuits of Physics – Class 12

Answer 1

The correct answer is (b) Drift in reverse bias and diffusion in forward bias

The best explanation: Drift current flows from n-side to p-side while diffusion current flows from p-side to n-side. In forward biasing, diffusion current is more than the drift current and in reverse biasing, drift current is more than the diffusion current.