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p–n junction
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semiconductor–semiconductor junction, formed at the boundary between a p-type and n-type semiconductor
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- n-type semiconductor
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- PN diode with electrical symbol.svg
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- PN-junction diagrams
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Encyclopedic overview
A p–n junction diode. The circuit symbol is also shown.
A p–n junction is a combination of two types of semiconductor materials, p-type and n-type, in a single crystal. The "n" (negative) side contains freely-moving electrons, while the "p" (positive) side contains freely-moving electron holes. Connecting the two materials causes creation of a depletion region near the boundary, as the free electrons fill the available holes, which in turn allows electric current to pass through the junction only in one direction.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “p–n junction” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.