 the schottky diode (named after german physicist walter h. schottky); also known as hot carrier diode is a semiconductor diode with a low forward voltage drop and a very fast switching action. the cat's-whisker detectors used in the early days of wireless and metal rectifiers used in early power applications can be considered primitive schottky diodes. when current flows through a diode there is a small voltage drop across the diode terminals. a normal silicon diode has a voltage drop between 0.6â0.7 volts, while a schottky diode voltage drop is between approximately 0.15â0.45 volts. this lower voltage drop can provide higher switching speed and better system efficiency. == construction ==  a metalâsemiconductor junction is formed between a metal and a semiconductor, creating a schottky barrier (instead of a semiconductorâsemiconductor junction as in conventional diodes). typical metals used are molybdenum, platinum, chromium or tungsten, and certain silicides, e.g. palladium silicide and platinum silicide; and the semiconductor would typically be n-type silicon.ââ the metal side acts as the anode and n-type semiconductor acts as the cathode of the diode. this schottky barrier results in both very fast switching and low forward voltage drop. the choice of the combination of the metal and semiconductor determines the forward voltage of the diode. both n- and p-type semiconductors can develop schottky barriers; the p-type typically has a much lower forward voltage. as the reverse leakage current increases dramatically with lowering the forward voltage, it can not be too low; the usually employed range is about 0.5â0.7&nbsp;v and p-type semiconductors are employed only rarely. titanium silicide and other refractory silicides, which are able to withstand the temperatures needed for source/drain annealing in cmos processes, usual
Diodes