Important Facts About Diodes | diodes in electronics|

Updated: Aug 8, 2023

A #diode is a two-terminal electronic component that allows the current to flow through it in one direction. Some of the key points to understand about these diodes are,

The unidirectional property of the diode enables it to behave as a rectifier. They are usually used to convert alternating current to pulsating direct current.
An ideal diode offers zero resistance to the current flow when it is forward and, it offers infinite resistance to the current when it's reverse biased.
Most of the diodes in recent times are made of semiconductor materials with a p-n junction. The semiconductor materials commonly used are silicon, germanium and, gallium arsenide.
The p-n junction diode has a depletion region whose width varies depending on the biasing condition applied across the diode.
A schematic representation of a semiconductor diode is shown in the following figure. In the case of forward-biased conditions, the anode is connected to the p side and the cathode is connected to the n side. Thus in the diode symbol given below, the arrowhead represents the conventional flow of current for the forward bias condition.

A semiconductor diode

Diodes biasing and its characteristic curves

In the forward bias condition, the p side is connected to a positive voltage and, the n side is connected to a negative voltage across the diode. While in the reverse biased condition, the p side is connected to a negative potential, and the n is connected to a positive potential.
The figure below shows the #VIcharacteristics of an ideal diode and a real semiconductor diode for forward and, reverse bias conditions.

Diode Characteristics

Early diodes were vacuum tubes, evacuated glass, or metal electron tubes containing two electrodes- a negatively charged cathode and a positively charged anode.
There are different types of diodes such as Light Emitting Diode, Laser Diode, Avalanche Diode, Zener Diode, Photodiode, Schottky diode, and #PNjunction diode.
Logic gates, rectifier circuits, clipping circuits, clamping circuits, wave shaping are some of the diode applications.

Written by-

Name- Nagashree R Nadig

Portfolio Link- https://www.learnelectronicsindia.com/team/nagashree-r-nadig

See also-

P-N Junction diode: