Hello everybody My name is KEVIN,i will tell you about diode but first you must

know about the meaning,function,symbol,types,aplications etc.

DIODES
In electronics, a diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts primarily
in one direction (asymmetric conductance).These diodes are manufactured by the
semiconductor materials germanium, silicon and selenium. Operation of diode can be
classified in two ways, if it allows the current then it is forward biased otherwise it is reverse
biased.
For silicon diodes the forward voltage is 0.7v and for germanium it is 0.3v. In silicon
diode the dark band indicates the cathode terminal and the other terminal is anode. Generally
diodes are used as reverse polarity protector and transient protector.

1. Symbol and Type

a. Symbol

Left - Anode, Right - Cathode.

Symbol Name Description

Diode allows current flow in one direction only (left to

Diode
right).

Allows current flow in one direction, but also can flow in

Zener Diode
the reverse direction when above breakdown voltage

Schottky Diode Schottky diode is a diode with low voltage drop

Varactor / Varicap
Variable capacitance diode
Diode

Tunnel Diode

Light Emitting
LED emits light when current flows through
Diode (LED)

Photodiode Photodiode allows current flow when exposed to light

 b. Types
1. Small Signal Diode
It is a small device with disproportional characteristics and whose applications are mainly
involved at high frequency and very low currents devices such as radios and televisions etc.

2. Large Signal Diode

These diodes have large PN junction layer.This also increases the current forward capacity
and reverse blocking voltage. These large signals will disrupt the functional point also. Due
to this it is not suitable for high frequency applications.

3. Zener Diode

It is a passive element works under the principle of zener breakdown. It is designed to

prevent the other semiconductor devices from momentary voltage pulses.

4. Light Emitting Diode (LED)

These diodes convert the electrical energy in to light energy.

5. Constant Current Diodes

It is also known as current-regulating diode or constant current diode or current-limiting

diode or diode-connected transistor.

6. Schottky Diode

In this type of diode the junction is formed by contacting the semiconductor material with
metal. Due to this the forward voltage drop is decreased to min. The semiconductor material
is N-type silicon which acts as an anode and the metal acts as a cathode whose materials are
chromium, platinum, tungsten etc.

7. Shockley Diode

It was the invention of first semiconductor devices it has four layers. It is also called as
PNPN diode.

8. Step Recovery Diodes

It is also called as snap-off diode or charge-storage diode. These are the special type of
diodes which stores the charge from positive pulse and uses in the negative pulse of the
sinusoidal signals. The rise time of the current pulse is equal to the snap time.
9. Tunnel Diode .
It is used as high speed switch, of order nano-seconds. Due to tunneling effect it has very fast
operation in microwave frequency region. It is a two terminal device in which concentration
of dopants is too high.

10. Varactor Diode

These are also known as Varicap diodes. It acts like the variable capacitor. Operations are
performed mainly at reverse bias state only. These diodes are very famous due to its
capability of changing the capacitance ranges within the circuit in the presence of constant
voltage flow.

11. Laser Diode

Similar to LED in which active region is formed by p-n junction. Electrically laser diode is p-
i-n diode in which the active region is in intrinsic region. Used in fiber optic communications,

12. Transient Voltage Suppression Diode

The operation of voltage suppression diode is similar to Zener diode operation.The operation
of these diodes is normal as p-n junction diodes but at the time of transient voltage its
operation changes.

13. Gold Doped Diodes

In these diodes gold is used as a dopant. These diodes are faster than other diodes. In these
diodes the leakage current in reverse bias condition also less. Even at the higher voltage drop
it allows the diode to operate in signal frequencies.

14. Super Barrier Diodes

It is a rectifier diode having low forward voltage drop as schottky diode with surge handling
capability and low reverse leakage current as p-n junction diode. It was designed for high
power, fast switching and low-loss applications.

15. Peltier Diode

In this type of diode, at the two material junction of a semiconductor it generates a heat which
flows from one terminal to another terminal. This flow is done in only single direction that is
as equal to the direction of current flow.
16. Crystal Diode

This is also known as Cats whisker which is a type of point contact diode. Its operation
depends on the pressure of contact between semiconductor crystal and point.

17. Avalanche Diode

This is passive element works under principle of avalanche breakdown. It works in reverse
bias condition.
 2. Function of Diodes
The most common function of a diode is to allow an electric current to pass in
one direction (called the diode's forward direction), while blocking current in the
opposite direction (the reverse direction). Thus, the diode can be viewed as an
electronic version of a check valve. This unidirectional behavior is
called rectification, and is used to convert alternating current (AC) to direct
current (DC), including extraction of modulation from radio signals in radio
receiversthese diodes are forms of rectifiers
3. Application of Diodes
The most common and important application of a diode is the rectification of AC power to
DC power. Using the diodes, we can construct different types of rectifier circuits. The basic
types of these rectifier circuits are half wave, full wave center tapped and full bridge
rectifiers. A single or combination of four diodes is used in most of the power conversion
applications. Below figure shows diode operation in a rectifier.
During the positive half cycle of the input supply, anode is made positive with
respect to cathode so the diode gets forward biased. These results to flow a current
to the load. Since the load is resistive the voltage across the load resistor will be
same as the supply voltage that means the input sinusoidal voltage will appear at the
load. And the load current flow is proportional to the voltage applied.
During the negative half-cycle of the input sinusoidal wave, anode is made negative
with respect to cathode so the diode gets reverse-biased. Hence, no current flows to
the load. The circuit becomes open circuit and no voltage appears across the load.
Both voltage and current at the load side are of one polarity means the output
voltage is pulsating DC. Very often this rectification circuit has a capacitor that is
connected across the load to produce steady and continuous DC currents without any
ripples.
PICTURE

Diodes

Symbol Name

Diode

Zener Diode

Schottky Diode

Varactor / Varicap Diode

Tunnel Diode

Light Emitting Diode

(LED)

Photodiode
 Dioda Zener Light Emitting Diode (LED)

Constant Current Diodes Schottky Diode

Shockley Diode Step Recovery Diodes

Tunnel Diode Varactor Diode

Transient-voltage-suppression-diode
Laser Diode
Dioda As Receiver