diode

thumb|Various semiconductor diodes. Left: A four-diode bridge rectifier. Next to it is a [[1N4148 signal diode. On the far right is a Zener diode. In most diodes, a white or black painted band identifies the cathode into which electrons will flow when the diode is conducting. Electron flow is the reverse of conventional current flow.]]

AI overview

A diode is an electronic component made from semiconductor material that allows electric current to flow in one direction while blocking it in the other. Diodes are used in many applications, such as converting alternating current to direct current in power supplies and protecting circuits from damage caused by reversed current flow.

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Key facts

Electronic component.name: Thermionic diode
Electronic component.image: 2-50A 2 (2).JPG
Electronic component.caption: A high power vacuum tube diode used in radio equipment as a rectifier
Electronic component.type: Active
Electronic component.inventor: John Ambrose Fleming
Electronic component.invention_Year: 1904
Electronic component.pins: Plate and cathode
Electronic component.symbol: 100px
Electronic component.image_size: 225px
Electronic component.working_principle: Thermionic emission
Electronic component.symbol_caption: The symbol for an indirectly heated vacuum tube diode. From top to bottom, the element names are: plate, cathode, and heater.

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Image: Diode-closeup.jpg

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Commons category: Diodes

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~41 min read

Article

45 sections

Contents

Main functions
Unidirectional current flow
Threshold voltage
Reverse breakdown
Other functions
History
Thermionic
Semiconductor
Etymology
Vacuum tube diodes
Point-contact diodes
Junction diodes
p–n junction diode
Schottky diode
Current–voltage characteristic
Reverse bias
Forward bias
Operating regions
Shockley diode equation
Small-signal behavior
Reverse-recovery effect
Types of semiconductor diode
Graphic symbols
Numbering and coding schemes
EIA/JEDEC
JIS
Pro Electron
Related devices
Applications
Radio demodulation
Power conversion
Reverse-voltage protection
Over-voltage protection
Logic gates
Ionizing radiation detectors
Temperature measurements
Current steering
Waveform clipper
Clamper
Computing exponentials and logarithms
Abbreviations
See also
References
Further reading
External links

A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts electric current primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance). It has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other.