Electronic Devices - Semiconductors - Discussion

Here the small amount of current amount of leakage current is due to the minority charge carriers and its is called reverse leakage current. When temperature come into play and there is breaking of covalent bond then is called as reverse breakdown current and here the current becomes twice for every 10 degree raise in temperature.

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 at all, even though, as a temperature effect, it will form electron-hole pairs (see Carrier generation and recombination) at both sides of the union and therefore a very small current, which is named Reverse leakage current, this current will duplicate for each increment of 10°C in temperature.

The term it particularly applicable to is mostly semiconductor junctions diode.