Germanium and Silicon Rectifiers

Two general types of rectifier are singled out for review in this paper. These are the silicon and germanium large area p-n junction rectifying cells. A discussion is given of various phenomena which have a bearing upon the volt-ampere characteristics. Methods for fabricating the various kinds of p-n junctions into rectifying cells are described and typical volt-ampere characteristics are given. Finally, a brief summary of the kinds of applications these rectifiers have filled is provided with some typical illustrations.