The main advantages of SBD include two aspects:
1) Because the Schottky barrier height is lower than the PN junction barrier height, the forward conduction threshold voltage and forward voltage drop are lower than those of the PN junction diode (about 0.2V lower).
2) Because SBD is a kind of most carrier conductive device, there are no minority carrier lifetime and reverse recovery problems. The reverse recovery time of SBD is only the charge and discharge time of Schottky barrier capacitor, which is completely different from the reverse recovery time of PN junction diode. Since the reverse recovery charge of SBD is very small, the switching speed is very fast and the switching loss is particularly small, which is especially suitable for high-frequency applications.
However, the reverse breakdown voltage of SBD is relatively low because the reverse barrier of SBD is thin and breakdown easily occurs on its surface. Since SBD is easier to be broken down by heat than PN junction diode, the reverse leakage current is larger than that of PN junction diode.
