Chapter 2
The Diode
The main characteristic of a diode is that it conducts electricity in one direction only. Historically, the first vacuum tube was a diode; it was also known as a rectifier. The modern diode is a semiconductor device. It is used in all applications where the older vacuum tube diode was used, but it has the advantages of being much smaller, easier to use, and less expensive.
A semiconductor is a crystalline material that, depending on the conditions, can act as a conductor (allowing the flow of electric current) or an insulator (preventing the flow of electric current). Techniques have been developed to customize the electrical properties of adjacent regions of semiconductor crystals, which allow the manufacture of small diodes, as well as transistors and integrated circuits.
When you complete this chapter, you can do the following:
- Specify the uses of diodes in DC circuits.
- Determine from a circuit diagram whether a diode is forward- or reverse-biased.
- Recognize the characteristic V-I curve for a diode.
- Specify the knee voltage for a silicon or a germanium diode.
- Calculate current and power dissipation in a diode.
- Define diode breakdown.
- Differentiate between zeners and other diodes.
- Determine when a diode can be considered “perfect.”
Get Complete Electronics Self-Teaching Guide with Projects now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
