Question

The electric resistance of depletion layer is large because ______

Answer 1

Hint: A diode is an electronic two-terminal component that primarily conducts electricity in one direction. On one end it has low resistance and on the other end, it has high resistance. By limiting the voltage, these devices are used to protect circuits and to transform AC into DC as well.

Complete Step-by-Step Solution
The region of depletion present in a diode acts as an electric current barrier. It therefore provides resistance to the electric current. Some resistance to the electric current is also provided by the atoms present in the diode. They lose energy in the form of heat when charge carriers (free electrons and holes) that flow through the diode collide with atoms.
Therefore, the region and atoms of depletion offer resistance to the electric current. The width of the depletion region decreases when the forward biased voltage is applied to the p-n junction diode.
However, the region of depletion cannot completely disappear. In the forward biased diode, a thin depletion region or depletion layer exists. A thin region of depletion and atoms in the diode therefore offer some resistance to electric current. This resistance is called forward resistance.
The width of the depletion region increases when the diode is reverse biased. As a result, the depletion region will block a large number of charge carriers (free electrons and holes) flowing through the diode.
Only a small amount of electric current flows within a reverse biased diode. This electric current is carried by the minority carrier present in the diode. Therefore, the reverse biased diode provides high resistance to the electric current. This is called reverse resistance.

Note
Either of the two semiconductor materials, silicon and germanium, can be used to make diodes. The diode is said to be forward-biased when the anode voltage is more positive than the cathode voltage and it conducts easily with a relatively low-voltage drop. Likewise, the diode is said to be reverse-biased when the cathode voltage is more positive than the anode. When the diode conducts, the arrow in the diode symbol represents the direction of conventional current flow.