How is the Electric Field Established Inside a Diode When Voltage is Applied?

AI Thread Summary
When voltage is applied to a diode, an electric field is established due to the movement of charge carriers, unlike in resistors where surface charge density creates the field. Diodes, being semiconductors, attract charge carriers to opposite polarity, leading to a built-in electric field. The relationship between electric field and voltage in this context is described by the equation E = -grad V. This process is critical for the diode's functionality in controlling current flow. Understanding this mechanism is essential for applications in electronics.
tonyjk
Messages
227
Reaction score
3
Hello,

When a Voltage is applied to a diode, how the electric field is established inside the diode? Is it the same as a resistor which surface charges density establish electric field inside it?

Thanks
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Resistors are not semiconductors and do not attract the charge carriers to their opposite polarity pole.
 
tonyjk said:
Hello,

When a Voltage is applied to a diode, how the electric field is established inside the diode?
Ignoring variable magnetic field it is established as E = -grad V
 
It may be shown from the equations of electromagnetism, by James Clerk Maxwell in the 1860’s, that the speed of light in the vacuum of free space is related to electric permittivity (ϵ) and magnetic permeability (μ) by the equation: c=1/√( μ ϵ ) . This value is a constant for the vacuum of free space and is independent of the motion of the observer. It was this fact, in part, that led Albert Einstein to Special Relativity.
Back
Top