Hi, How can a Schottky-barrier diode enhance frequency performance ? Can someone here kindly provide me with some link or document that talks in detail about Schottky-barrier diode's relation with frequency performance.
Thx in advans, Karthik Balaguru
Wikipedia has a pretty good article about Schottky diodes:
-- Regards, John Popelish
Thx for the link .
The below lines clarified many things to me :):) Thx. It is often said that the Schottky diode is a "majority carrier" semiconductor device. This means that if the semiconductor body is doped N-type, only the N-type carriers (mobile electrons) play a significant role in normal operation of the device. The majority carriers are quickly injected into the conduction band of the metal contact on the other side of the diode to become free moving electrons. Therefore no slow, random recombination of N- and P- type carriers is involved, so that this diode can cease conduction faster than an ordinary PN rectifier diode. This property in turn allows a smaller device area, which also makes for a faster transition. This is another reason why Schottky diodes are useful in switch-mode power converters; the high speed of the diode means that the circuit can operate at frequencies in the range 200 kHz to 2 MHz, allowing the use of small inductors and capacitors with greater efficiency than would be possible with other diode types. Small-area Schottky diodes are the heart of RF detectors and mixers, which often operate up to 5 GHz.
Thx, Karthik Balaguru
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