In the Vinony graph
Vinony's link graph records 529 inbound references to tunnel diode, and connects out to vacuum tube, quantum tunneling and MOSFET.
It is catalogued under topics including 1957 in technology, 1957 introductions and Diodes.
Vinony links it to 35 Wikipedia language editions.
Key facts
- Component type
- Active
- Working principle
- Quantum tunneling
- Inventor
- Leo Esaki Yuriko Kurose
- First produced by
- Sony
- Pin names
- Anode and cathode
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- semiconductor diode
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Tunnel diodes
- discoverer or inventor
- Leo Esaki
via Wikidata · CC0
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 mA germanium tunnel diode mounted in test fixture of Tektronix 571 curve tracer
A tunnel diode or Esaki diode is a type of semiconductor diode that has effectively "negative resistance" due to the quantum mechanical effect called tunneling. It was invented in August 1957 by Leo Esaki and Yuriko Kurose when working at Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, now known as Sony. In 1973, Esaki received the Nobel Prize in Physics for experimental demonstration of the electron tunneling effect in semiconductors. Robert Noyce independently devised the idea of a tunnel diode while working for William Shockley, but was discouraged from pursuing it. Tunnel diodes were first manufactured by Sony in 1957, followed by General Electric and other companies from about 1960, and are still made in low volume today.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “tunnel diode” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.