The symbol of this is the
diode symbol, with an ‘S’ at the peak. Instead of both sides being a semiconductor (like silicon), one side is metal, like aluminum or nickel. This reduces the cut-in
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| Schottky diode |
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| Schottky diode Symbol |
voltage to about 0.3 volt. This is about half of the threshold voltage of a usual
diode. The function of this diode is that no minority carriers are injected - the n-side only has holes, not electrons, and the p-side only has electrons, not holes. Because this is cleaner, it can react faster, without diffusion capacitance that can slow it down. It also creates less heat and is more efficient. But it does has some current leakage with reverse voltage.
When a
diode switches from moving current to not moving current, this is known as switching. It takes dozens of nanoseconds in a typical diode; this creates some radio noise, which temporarily degrades radio signals. The Schottky diode switches in a small fraction of that time, less than a nanosecond.
