Diode

In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electronic component with asymmetric conductance; it has low
(ideally zero) resistance to current in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A
semiconductor diode, the most common type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material
with a pn junction connected to two electrical terminals.!" A #acuum tu$e diode has two electrodes, a
plate (anode) and a heated cathode. %emiconductor diodes were the first semiconductor electronic
de#ices. &he disco#ery of crystals' rectifying a$ilities was made $y (erman physicist )erdinand *raun
in +,-.. &he first semiconductor diodes, called cat's whis/er diodes, de#eloped around +012, were
made of mineral crystals such as galena. &oday, most diodes are made of silicon, $ut other
semiconductors such as selenium or germanium are sometimes used.
Main functions
&he most common function of a diode is to allow an electric current to pass in one direction (called the
diode's forward direction), while $loc/ing current in the opposite direction (the re#erse direction).
&hus, the diode can $e #iewed as an electronic #ersion of a chec/ #al#e. &his unidirectional $eha#ior is
called rectification, and is used to con#ert alternating current to direct current, including e3traction of
modulation from radio signals in radio recei#ers4these diodes are forms of rectifiers.
5owe#er, diodes can ha#e more complicated $eha#ior than this simple onoff action, due to their
nonlinear current-#oltage characteristics. %emiconductor diodes $egin conducting electricity only if a
certain threshold #oltage or cut-in #oltage is present in the forward direction (a state in which the diode
is said to $e forward-$iased). &he #oltage drop across a forward-$iased diode #aries only a little with
the current, and is a function of temperature; this effect can $e used as a temperature sensor or #oltage
reference.
%emiconductor diodes' current#oltage characteristic can $e tailored $y #arying the semiconductor
materials and doping, introducing impurities into the materials. &hese are e3ploited in special-purpose
diodes that perform many different functions. )or e3ample, diodes are used to regulate #oltage (6ener
diodes), to protect circuits from high #oltage surges (a#alanche diodes), to electronically tune radio and
&7 recei#ers (#aractor diodes), to generate radio fre8uency oscillations (tunnel diodes, (unn diodes,
I9:A&& diodes), and to produce light (light emitting diodes). &unnel diodes e3hi$it negati#e
resistance, which ma/es them useful in some types of circuits.