Monocrystalline semiconductor commutator with grain boundry

A semiconductor commutator comprising:

• a substrate;
• a first monocrystalline semiconductor region arranged on said substrate;
• a second monocrystalline semiconductor region arranged adjacent to said first monocrystalline semiconductor region on said substrate, a grain boundary being formed between said first monocrystalline semiconductor region and said second monocrystalline semiconductor region, said first monocrystalline semiconductor region having a first region of a first conductivity type and a second region of a second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type and adjacent to said grain boundary, said second monocrystalline semiconductor region being of the second conductivity type, said first and second conductivity regions forming a junction therebetween, wherein said grain boundary is positioned outside a depletion region formed at the junction at a distance within a minority carrier diffusion length from an edge of the depletion region;
• and
• electrodes respectively provided on said first conductivity region of said first monocrystalline semiconductor region and said second monocrystalline semiconductor region so that carriers flowing between said electrodes pass through said grain boundary.