What are the main applications of Schottky diodes?

Although Schottky diodes have been on the market for decades, new developments and products continue to enhance their properties and expand the possibilities for applications. In addition to solar panels and cars, they are now also used in battery chargers for laptops, smartphones, and tablets. But which Schottky diodes are suitable for which purpose?

Schottky diodes are mainly used in the following two areas:

1. Rectification, in other words, AC-to-DC conversion inside a switching power supply (switched-mode power supply, SMPS) or power supply rectifier, as well as DC voltage conversion.

2. Prevent the reverse flow of DC current and DC of opposite polarity, such as when the battery is inserted incorrectly.

Due to their high switching speed, Schottky diodes are mainly used in high-frequency applications up to the microwave range. This is also due to their low saturation capacity. For this reason, they are often used in switching power supplies in the form of freewheeling diodes or rectifier diodes as protection diodes to reduce the induced voltage, and can also be used as demodulators for detection circuits.