Schottky Diode

In this type of diode the junction is formed by contacting the semiconductor material with metal. Due to this the forward voltage drop is decreased to min. The semiconductor material is N-type silicon which acts as an anode and the metal acts as a cathode whose materials are chromium, platinum, tungsten etc.

Due to the metal junction these diodes have high current conducting capability thus the switching time reduces. So, Schottky has greater use in switching applications. Mainly because of the metal- semiconductor junction the voltage drop is low which in turn increase the diode performance and reduces power loss. So, these are used in high frequency rectifier applications. The symbol of Schottky diode is as shown below.