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Question
Answer the following giving reasons:
A p-n junction diode is damaged by a strong current.
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Solution
A strong current damages a p-n junction diode because it increases the semiconductor's temperature as more power passes through it and some of that energy is converted to heat. The semiconductor then conducts more current as the temperature rises a little further, which raises the temperature even further. Higher temperature results in more current, which increases the temperature. In what is referred to as a thermal runaway, this cycle keeps repeating. The semiconductor (p-n junction) is ultimately destroyed.
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