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The saturation current (or scale current), more accurately the reverse saturation current, is the part of the reverse current in a semiconductor diode caused by diffusion of minority carriers from the neutral regions to the depletion region. This current is almost independent of the reverse voltage.
Shockley derives an equation for the voltage across a p-n junction in a long article published in 1949. [2] Later he gives a corresponding equation for current as a function of voltage under additional assumptions, which is the equation we call the Shockley ideal diode equation. [3]
From the Shockley ideal diode equation given above, it might appear that the voltage has a positive temperature coefficient (at a constant current), but usually the variation of the reverse saturation current term is more significant than the variation in the thermal voltage term.
Photocurrent is the electric current through a photosensitive device, such as a photodiode, as the result of exposure to radiant power.The photocurrent may occur as a result of the photoelectric, photoemissive, or photovoltaic effect.
The effect of reverse saturation current on the I-V curve of a crystalline silicon solar cell are shown in the figure to the right. Physically, reverse saturation current is a measure of the "leakage" of carriers across the p–n junction in reverse bias.
Varying the current in the control winding moves the operating point up and down on the saturation curve, controlling the alternating current through the inductor. These are used in variable fluorescent light ballasts, and power control systems. [11] Saturation is also exploited in fluxgate magnetometers and fluxgate compasses.
is the reverse saturation current, the current that flows when the diode is reverse biased (that is, is large and negative). n {\displaystyle n} is an ideality factor introduced to model a slower rate of increase than predicted by the ideal diode law.
When no additional photoelectrons can be collected, the photoelectric current attains a saturation value. This current can only increase with the increase of the intensity of light. [citation needed] An increasing negative voltage prevents all but the highest-energy electrons from reaching the collector.