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Diffusion current is a current in a semiconductor caused by the diffusion of charge carriers (electrons and/or electron holes). This is the current which is due to the transport of charges occurring because of non-uniform concentration of charged particles in a semiconductor.
Leakage may also mean an unwanted transfer of energy from one circuit to another. For example, magnetic lines of flux will not be entirely confined within the core of a power transformer; another circuit may couple to the transformer and receive some leaked energy at the frequency of the electric mains, which will cause audible hum in an audio application.
The drift velocity, and resulting current, is characterized by the mobility; for details, see electron mobility (for solids) or electrical mobility (for a more general discussion). See drift–diffusion equation for the way that the drift current, diffusion current, and carrier generation and recombination are combined into a single equation.
It has at least one of three components, localized heat generation, high current density and high electric field gradient; prolonged presence of currents of several amperes transfer energy to the device structure to cause damage. ESD in real circuits causes a damped wave with rapidly alternating polarity, the junctions stressed in the same ...
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.
In principle, avalanche breakdown only involves the passage of electrons and need not cause damage to the crystal. Avalanche diodes (commonly encountered as high voltage Zener diodes) are constructed to break down at a uniform voltage and to avoid current crowding during breakdown. These diodes can indefinitely sustain a moderate level of ...
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However some voltage spikes may be created by current sources. Voltage would increase as necessary so that a constant current will flow. Current from a discharging inductor is one example. For sensitive electronics, excessive current can flow if this voltage spike exceeds a material's breakdown voltage, or if it causes avalanche breakdown.