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p-type material
n-type material
When the two types of semiconductor come into contact, electrons flow from the n-type semiconductor into the p-type. Holes flow from the p-type into the n-type. The Fermi energies move towards equilibrium and the bands of both deform.

< labels Energy barrier for electrons to move left Energy barrier for holes to move right Depletion layer Energy barrier for electrons to move left Energy barrier for holes to move right Depletion layer Energy barrier for electrons to move left Energy barrier for holes to move right Depletion layer
If the n-type region is now connected to the positive terminal of a battery, further deformation of the bands occurs and the energy barriers are increased.