Reverse leakage current

Reverse leakage current in a semiconductor device is the current from that semiconductor device when the device is reverse biased. Reverse leakage current in a semiconductor device is the current from that semiconductor device when the device is reverse biased. When a semiconductor device is reverse biased it should not conduct any current, however, due to an increased barrier potential, the free electrons on the p side are dragged to the battery's positive terminal, while holes on the n side are dragged to the battery's negative terminal.This produces a current of minority charge carriers and hence its magnitude is extremely small.For constant temperatures, the reverse current is almost constant although the applied reverse voltage is increased up to a certain limit. Hence, it is also called reverse saturation current. The term is particularly applicable to mostly semiconductor junctions, especially diodes and thyristors.