A Si and a Ge diode has identical physical dimensions. The band gap in Si is larger than that in Ge. On applying identical reverse bias across these diodes,

Step-by-step solution

The reverse saturation current I₀ in a p-n junction diode is primarily due to the thermally generated minority charge carriers. The concentration of these minority carriers is proportional to n_i^2 , where n_i is the intrinsic carrier concentration. The intrinsic carrier concentration n_i is given by the relation n_i^2 = A T^3 (- E_g kT ) , where E_g is the band gap energy, k is the Boltzmann constant, and T is the absolute temperature. Since the band gap E_g of Silicon (Si) is approximately 1.1 eV and that of Germ