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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. [1]
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]
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.
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.
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.
The theory is similar to that of a single probe, except that the current is limited to the ion saturation current for both positive and negative voltages. In particular, if V b i a s {\displaystyle V_{bias}} is the voltage applied between two identical electrodes, the current is given by;
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.
Saturation velocity, the maximum velocity charge carrier in a semiconductor attains in the presence of very high electric fields; Saturation, a region of operation of a transistor § Transistor as a switch; Saturation current, limit of flowing current through a device