JEE Physics - MCQ Practice Questions

Reverse bias strengthens the electric field across the junction, causing the depletion region to expand as more charge carriers are pulled away from the junction.

The current gain β is the ratio of collector current to base current (I_c/I_b). For silicon transistors, typical β values range from 50 to 500.

Silicon has dominated modern rectifiers because of significantly lower reverse saturation current (leakage ~nA at room temperature vs ~µA for Ge), better temperature stability, and superior thermal properties. The extra 0.4V drop is offset by reduced losses in high-power applications.