@@ -556,10 +556,10 @@ As a result, a positive ionized donor dopant is not screened anymore and the $n$
Similarly, $p$-type region obtains a negative charge.
Therefore, an electric field develops across the junction.
As the recombination process continues, a larger charge density $\rho$ develops and thus the electric field grows until it is large enough to prevent the electrons/holes from crossing the junction.
If the resulting potential difference becomes $\delta \varphi \gg kT$, the density of electrons and holes drops exponentially fast.
Inside the region, energy deviates by $\delta \varphi \gg kT$ from the bulk value and thus the density of electrons/holes drops exponentially fast.
Therefore, we refer to the region as the **depletion region**.
A schematic of a depletion region is shown below:
The charge density $\rho$ distribution inside of a depletion region is shown below: