Reversibility of the current when the diode works

Reversibility of the current when the diode works

The current of the diode  is reverse when it is working, that is: the V-I characteristic of thediode  when the reverse bias voltage is applied. What is the principle of this current characteristic?

The minority carriers (electrons) in the P-type semiconductor and the minority carriers (holes) in the N-type semiconductor can easily pass through the PN junction under the action of reverse voltage, forming a reverse saturation current. However, due to the small number of minority carriers, the reverse current of silicon tubes is generally much smaller than that of germanium tubes, and its order of magnitude is: nA level for silicon tubes, and mA level for germanium tubes.

When the temperature rises, the reverse current will increase sharply due to the increase of minority carriers.