Why silicon is preferred as compared to germanium?

Why silicon is preferred as compared to germanium?

Why is silicon usually preferred to germanium in the manufacture of semiconductor devices? Silicon is abundant on the earth’s surface and therefore cheaper than germanium. The PIV (Peak Inverse Voltage) rating of silicon is much higher than germanium and therefore can withstand much higher temperatures than germanium.

What happens at knee voltage?

Knee voltage is the forward voltage at which the flow of the current through the PN junction of the diode increases rapidly. The knee voltage is generally observed in Zener Diodes.

How do you calculate Zener resistance?

1. The zener resistance can be calculated…
2. By the following process:
3. Zener diode ZD is used to generate a regulated DC output.
4. R = Vin – Vz / Iz.
5. Where Vin is the input voltage, Vz output voltage and Iz current through the Zener In most circuits, Iz is kept as low as 5mA.
6. So the value of R3 appears as.

How much current can a Zener diode handle?

So if a zener diode has a zener voltage of 5.1V and a power rating of 1W, it can handle 1W/5.1V ma, which is approximately 196mA of current.

Can zener diode handle high current?

Current : The current, IZM, of a Zener diode is the maximum current that can flow through a Zener diode at its rated voltage, VZ. Typically there is also a minimum current required for the operation of the diode….Zener diode specifications.

Zener Diode Voltage Values in E12 Range
3.3	3.9	4.7
5.6	6.8	8.2

How is zener power dissipation calculated?

Power= voltage x current. If a a zener diode has a zener voltage, VZ of 5.1W, you can use the power rating to find out how much current can flow through the diode by the formula, IZM= PZM/VZ (PZM is the diode’s maximum power dissipation, and VZ is the Zener voltage.).