Origin of the Non-Zero-Volt Peak in Diode Current–Voltage Characteristics of Some Diodes

Diodes are the basic building blocks of electronic circuits. They are mainly characterized by their current-voltage relation. This relation shows a peculiar behavior, in real-world diodes. That is a non-zero voltage peak in the semi-logarithmic scale in the current. In this brief, a numerical simulation is used to elucidate this phenomenon. It was found that it is due to the different materials used in the diode. If the diode is a homojunction then the peak appears at zero applied voltage while it is displaced if the diode is a Schottky barrier or a heterojunction. This is just an initial work; it requires wider consideration for example narrow band heterojunctions and other diodes made from different semiconductors.