You will have to look it up in a databook to be certain.
Germanium diodes are more expensive than silicon ones, germanium is harder to process, germanium cannot be used to make integrated circuits (while early prototype integrated circuits were germanium the wiring between the integrated components cannot be integrated making it too expensive for production), germanium cannot operate with a junction temperature above 60C (silicon will operate up to 150C), and its reverse leakage current is greater. However! Germanium diodes have a lower forward voltage drop than silicon ones do, so they're better for some applications, like radio frequency detection.
Elements in Families on the periodic table have similarities. Elements in the same family as iron are magnetic. The air force had a tremendous problem. Traditional lubricants were not working under the stresses their new machinery used. All of their lubricants were carbon based. They looked at the next element in the same family on the periodic table. It was silicon. They made a lubricant based on silicon. It worked fine. The first diodes and transistors were made with Germanium. It is an expensive metal to produce. It is on the periodic table right above silicon. This led to a number of experiments and attempts to produce a transistor using silicone. Finally after many tries, it worked. Inexpensive silicon transistors could replace expensive germanium ones. You wrote your question because silicon is below Germanium on the periodic table.
No, ultrapure elemental germanium (with very tiny amounts of dopant impurities added) is used in electronics devices. Never germanium compounds, organic or inorganic. However the germanium in the compound is the same element, but could not be used in electronic devices unless separated and purified (which destroys the compound).
Selenium diodes work much like any other diode. They allow current to flow in a forward direction and block current from flowing in the opposite direction. They have a higher forward bias voltage then silicon and as such generate much more heat then a comparable silicon diode. Most selenium diodes will therefore have an integrated heat sink that helps to dissipate all the heat generated. As a zener diode, selenium is used in surge suppression where its heat sink helps in survivability during a surge. However, its low alpha (measure of nonlinearity) means that the voltage during a surge is very high and usually unsuitable to be used as protective device without other components in parallel. The reverse voltage is about 26 Volts, so to get higher voltage zener diode, many are placed in series. By connecting them back to back, then a bidirectionial zener diode can be created. Selenium diode were very common in the 1950s and can be seen in industrial applications of the time. Some model train power supplies were seen to use these components. Since the advent of silicon diodes and their more efficient operation, these part have disappeared from use.
Diodes are used after a center-tapped transformer in a DC to AC inverter to rectify the alternating current (AC) output of the transformer into pulsating direct current (DC). This rectified voltage is then smoothed using filters to produce a more stable DC waveform. The diodes act as one-way valves, allowing current to flow in only one direction, thus converting the AC voltage into a pulsating DC voltage.
Though germanium diodes were the first ones fabricated, several factors make silicon the choice vs. germanium diodes. Silicon diodes have a greater ease of processing, lower cost, greater power handling, less leakage and more stable temperature characteristics than germanium diodes. Germanium diodes' lower forward drop (.2V to .3V versus .7V to 1.0V) make them better at small signal detection and rectification.
Silicon
The entire 1N40xx series of power diodes are all silicon. The OA79 small signal diode is germanium.
A silicon diode has a voltage drop of approximately 0.7V, while a germanium diode has a voltage drop of approximately 0.3V. Though germanium diodes are better in the area of forward voltage drop, silicon diodes are cheaper to produce and have higher breakdown voltages and current capabilities.
In semiconductor uses, such as diodes and transistors, the forward voltage drop for Silicon (Si) is a little less than 0.7 volts, while the FVD for Germanium (Ge) is about 0.3 volts.
for germanium it is 0.3 and for silicon it is 0.7
Germanium diodes are more expensive than silicon ones, germanium is harder to process, germanium cannot be used to make integrated circuits (while early prototype integrated circuits were germanium the wiring between the integrated components cannot be integrated making it too expensive for production), germanium cannot operate with a junction temperature above 60C (silicon will operate up to 150C), and its reverse leakage current is greater. However! Germanium diodes have a lower forward voltage drop than silicon ones do, so they're better for some applications, like radio frequency detection.
The significant operational difference between a Si diode and a Ge diode is that Si diodes have a knee voltage of 0.7V needed to allow current flow and Ge diodes have an operational voltage of 0.3V to allow current flow.
In fact, the antecessor of transistor was the diode. Transistor is an abbreviation for "Transfer resistor, A transistor is formed by the combination of two diodes,and the first diodes were made of germanium to allow current flows on one direction and blocking it on the reverse direction. Transistor was the basis for the real development of electronic technologies, but the main material inside of it, that started with germanium, today is used silicon, and graphene is the newest material that promises to replace silicon with many important physical features.
hi, silicon and germanium are the two good,massively available semi conducting materials with a rev breakdown voltage property in it. i mean silicon's is 0.7V and for germanium its 0.3V. and no other reasons for your question, these two are used in all the semiconductor components not only for diodes. if you need more information then please go through http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_3/chpt_3/1.html, here you will get complete information. hope it helps. Regards, Manjunath A.V
cut in voltage *** for silicon is 0.7volts and that for germanium is 0.3volts.According to Millman and Taub, "Pulse, Digital and Switching Waveforms", McGraw-Hill 1965, the cutin (or offset, break-point or threshold) voltage for a silicon diode is 0.6, and 0.2 for germanium.Breakdown voltage is another thing entirely. It is the reverse voltage at which the junction will break down.
It is not, silicon is. It is not possible to make ICs commercially using germanium (mostly because its oxide is crumbly and water soluble unlike silicon's oxide which is a stable and insoluble insulator, which means germanium ICs must be wired by hand under a microscope which is too costly for production). This means that germanium is limited to usage in discrete components (transistors & diodes) only. Some work is being done using silicon-germanium alloy for ICs, but it is not in the market yet.