p-n junction is a semiconductor diode. It is obtained by bringing p-type semiconductor inclose contact with n-type semiconductor. A thin layer is developed at the p-n junction which is devoid of any charge carrier but has immobile ions. It is called depletion layer. At the junction a potential barrier appears, which does not allow the movement of majority charge carriers across the junction in the absence of any biasing of the junction.
p-n junction offer low resistance when forward biased and high resistance when reverse biased. Read the above paragaph and answer the following question:
(i) Can we measure the potential barrier of p-n junction by putting a sensitive voltmeter across its terminals?
(ii) What practical lesson do you draw from the above study?