How does reverse bias limit current flow through a p-n junction?

In a p-n junction, reverse bias limits current flow by drawing charge carriers away from the junction, effectively creating an insulator.123

When a negative voltage is applied to the p-type side and a positive voltage to the n-type side, the majority carriers—holes in the p-region and electrons in the n-region—are attracted away from the boundary. This action expands the depletion layer, a region near the junction that lacks free-charge carriers. Because this region behaves as an insulator, it prevents the majority carriers from crossing the junction, resulting in only a very small, negligible leakage current.312

This state persists until the applied voltage reaches a critical level known as the breakdown voltage, at which point the junction may experience a sudden, significant increase in current.12