Basic electronics components: diode, Led, Capacitor, Coil, Transistor.

Table of Contents
 Basic electronics components,
 Diode:
 Light-emitting diode:
 Capacitor:
 Coil:
 Transistor:
 Basic Electronics Components, Related Articles:
Basic electronics components,
If you take a look at any electronics circuit you will find diodes, LEDs, Capacitors,
Coil, Transistors, and relays, etc. There are hundreds of thousands of different
types of electronics components, but the ones which we are going to discuss in this
article are the most commonly used basic electronics components used in different
types of beginners and advanced level projects. If you want to learn electronics
then you should know about these basic electronics components.

Diode:

A Diode is a two-terminal electronic component that allows the flow of current

only in one direction. If a diode is installed in the other way round i.e. in the
reverse direction, this will block the flow of current. The diode is therefore a
polarized component. It has the + and – sides which are often called the Anode (+)
and the cathode (-). This means a Diode can’t be installed in any direction (e.g. the
resistor which has no polarity).

The connections of the diode are called the anode (+) and the cathode (-), the
cathode side has the silver band as well. A common one Type of application is the
polarity reversal protection. When power any electronic device, you simply
connect the positive and GND wires with the desired input terminals or power
jacks. What would happen if you connect the Positive wire with the GND and
GND with the Positive? If there is no diode used it will destroy the entire circuit
for a portion of it. But, if a diode is used then nothing will happen. The diode
blocks the flow of current in the event of polarity reversal and protects the circuit
from further operations Damage.

While using electronic breakout boards you will understand this point. Because I
accidentally damaged many sensors as many sensors do not come with the diodes,
so when the power supply wires are connected in the wrong way, the sensor is
damaged in no time. So, use diodes for polarity reversal protection.

J1 is the DC female power jack. J1 is used to connect the power supply. You can
see a diode is used between the female power jack and the 5v regulator 7805.

When dealing with diodes, you should note that the diode has a certain forward
voltage. Ordinary diodes that we use for our Circuits that use are mostly made of
silicon and have a forward voltage of approx. 0.7 V. In the circuit planning, this
means that 0.7 V of a supply voltage already drop at the diode. This must be taken
into account while designing a power supply. There are various other possible uses
for diodes:

 Rectification of alternating voltage

 Overvoltage protection
 Cascade connections
 Used with Relays against back EMF protection, etc.

Light-emitting diode:

A special form of the diode is the light-emitting diode or LED for short. An LED is
considered to be one of the most basic electronics components. The designation
comes from the English and stands for Light Emitting Diode, a light-emitting
Diode. Unlike incandescent lamps, an LED does not have to glow in order to
generate light. The LED generates light of a certain wavelength by accelerating
electrons. As a result, LEDs only need a fraction of the electricity that one would
consume an incandescent lamp. We also differentiate between the LEDs Anode
and cathode. Normally the longer lead is the positive and the short lead is the
GND. The LED is a live component. It means that a constant current source or a
series resistor to limit the current to operate LEDs necessary is.

The LED (like the normal diode) needs a certain forward voltage, which is also
called flow or threshold voltage. When the voltage reaches the threshold voltage or
the forward voltage, the LED starts to light up. Depending on the level of the
forward voltage a current flows through the LED. The characteristic of a diode
describes typical behavior. Different LEDs have different voltage and current
ratings, if the rated voltage is exceeded the LED is damaged permanently. To avoid
any damage to the LED a resistor in series is used with the LED.

A simple example for determining the series resistance using the example of a
white LED:

The LED has a forward voltage of 3.2V and requires a current of a maximum of
20mA. 5V is available as a supply voltage at the series resistor. So a voltage of
1.8V should drop and the current to 20mA be limited. So you know the excess
1.8V voltage difference must drop at the series resistor. The ideal current flow is
also you with 20mA known. The only unknown remains resistance. Here comes
that again Ohm’s law for use.

R=U/I

R = (5 – 3.2) / 20mA

R = 1.8 V / 0.02 A

R = 90Ω

In the rarest of cases, you will get exactly the resistance with the calculated value
to have at one’s fingertips. Simply choose the next higher one here. The forward
voltages of colored LEDs also differ according to their Color values (see table 1).
However, you can always find out the exact value in the Datasheet of your LED.
In my case I use the 330-ohm resistor, this one is easily available, and ensures the
long term working of the LED. As per the calculated value, you can also use a 100-
ohm resistor, the LED will be much brighter.

Table 1: Typical forward voltages of colored LEDs

LED color Typical forward voltage

white 3.0 V – 4.0 V
red 1.6V – 2.2V
green 1.9V – 2.6V
blue 3.0V – 4.0V
yellow 2.0V – 2.2V
infrared 1.2V – 1.8V

LEDs can be used in many ways, e.g. when:

 Signal transmitter
 Light sources in the automotive industry
 Illuminated walls and displays

Capacitor:
A capacitor is an energy storage device and is one of the most important basic
electronics components. In the simplest case, there is a capacitor made of two
parallel conductive metal plates covered by an insulating layer which is also called
dielectric. The amount of charge on a capacitor is called capacitance and is
measured in the unit Farad (F). How high the capacitance of a capacitor depends
on several factors. On the one hand, the distance between the plates plays a major
role, as does the area of the plates as well as the material of the dielectric. There
are many different capacitors Designs and types of manufacture. Common types of
capacitors are ceramic capacitors, foil, and electrolytic capacitors.

If you want to study in detail about what is a capacitor, its types, uses, and
working?
Installed in a DC circuit, the capacitor behaves in an uncharged state like a short
circuit. A current flows into the capacitor as long as it has reached its full charge. If
one sets the current course during the charging process, the current flow behaves
after one Exponential function (initially strong current flow, further decreasing
over time). When charged, the capacitor separates the two potentials.

A capacitor is often used as a buffer or protection against voltage spikes. On the

Raspberry Pi, you will find an electrolytic capacitor directly behind the Micro USB
socket. This primarily dampens voltage peaks from the power supply unit and
compensates for short voltage drops thanks to its property as an energy storage
device out.

You can also see two 470uF Decoupling capacitors at the input and output sides of
the 7805 voltage regulator.
Coil:

The coil also serves as an energy store but behaves completely different from the
capacitor when used with the DC voltage. The coil is an inductor and is measured
in the unit Henry (H). A simple coil consists of an iron core wrapped with the
copper wire. If a DC voltage is applied to a coil, the current flows through the coil
and only builds up a magnetic field there. To put it simply: the current flowing into
the coil takes some time until it flows out of the coil again. If the magnetic field of
the coil is built up, so the current flows almost unhindered through the coil. The
word almost suggests that it does there is something that opposes the current. On
the one hand, this is the line resistance stand of the copper wire, on the other hand,
the effect of self-induction. This works against the current flow of the coil and
represents an inductive resistance (Lenz’s Law).

The effect of energy storage is when the supply voltage is switched off clear. If
there is no input voltage at the coil, the magnetic field builds up the bobbin. The
regression of the magnetic field creates a current flow, which is maintained for a
short time even after the voltage has been removed. There are also many possible
uses for coils. For example, they serve as:

 Transformers
 Electromagnets
 Oscillating circuits
Transistor:
In principle, the transistor is an electronic switch and is considered to be the most
important electronics component. A transistor is just like an ordinary mechanical
switch but both are operated in different ways. A mechanical switch is controlled
through some physical approach, like you turn the switch ON and OFF with your
hand, etc. While a transistor can be turned ON and turned OFF through a signal. A
transistor is a three-terminal semiconductor device. It has three terminals Emitter,
Base, and Collector. A transistor has two types PNP Type and NPN Type. So,
basically, a transistor is a BJT “Bipolar Junction Transistor”. If sufficient current
flows into the base, the distance between the collector and emitter offers low
resistance and lets the current flow.
It gets a bit more extensive if you consider the different types of transistors. On the
one hand, there are bipolar transistors: These consist of three differently doped
layers. For one, there would be a combination of P (positive) – N (negative) – P
(positive) possible. In this case, one speaks of a PNP transistor. If the layers are
built up in the order N-P-N, then it is an NPN transistor. The difference between
the two types is the polarity:

 With the NPN transistor, the collector connection is at a positive voltage, just
like the basic connection. The emitter is connected to the ground. In the
 switched state, the collector and base currents flow in the direction of the
Emitter to the ground. A typical, inexpensive NPN transistor is e.g. the BC547
and 2N2222.
 In the PNP transistor, the collector and the base are connected to the ground.
The emitter is connected to a positive voltage. If the PNP transistor is activated,
so a large current flows from the emitter to the collector, and a small current
flows out of the base. A common PNP transistor is for example the BC557.
You can distinguish the transistor types in the circuit diagram by the direction of
the arrow in the symbols (see Figure1).

Figure 1: Circuit diagram symbol of NPN and PNP

transistors

Other types of transistors are field-effect transistors or FETs for short. These
transistors differ in their physical operating principle. So is for that In contrast to
the bipolar transistor, driving the FET does not depend on the current that flows
into the control input but the voltage that is applied there. As well as the
connections of a FET transistor are called differently. The control input is the gate,
the switching path lies between the source and the drain.