Difference between Schottky Diode and PN junction Diode

Silicon diode: Use of P-doped silicon and N-doped silicon to make a P-N junction that causes the blocking effect

Schokky diode: Use of (normally) P-doped silicon bonded to metal. The junction effect is at the metal connection and it is because only one doped-tpye of silicon is used you end up with the lower on-state.

Schottky generally has lower reverse voltage max. You can easily find silicon diodes with 20-1400v ranges, while commonly schottky is 20v-60v.

Schottky is extremely fast recovery, even faster than so-called “fast recovery” silicon diodes. So you can use them in high frequency SMPS.

Forward voltage drop is lower. In silicon you get 0.6v-0.7v at rated current. In schottky you can get 0.3v which is great for SMPS.

Most schottky diodes look exactly the same is a regular diode.

COMPARISON OF CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOTTKY DIODE AND PN DIODE
CHARACTERISTIC	SCHOTTKY DIODE	PN JUNCTION DIODE
Forward current mechanism	Majority carrier transport.	Due to diffusion currents, i.e. minority carrier transport.
Reverse current	Results from majority carriers that overcome the barrier. This is less temperature dependent than for standard PN junction.	Results from the minority carriers diffusing through the depletion layer. It has a strong temperature dependence.
Turn on voltage	Small – around 0.2 V.	Comparatively large – around 0.7 V.
Switching speed	Fast – as a result of the use of majority carriers because no recombination is required.	Limited by the recombination time of the injected minority carriers.