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Diodes
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Introduction
Onceyougraduatefromthesimple,passivecomponentsthatareresistors,capacitors,andinductors,
itstimetosteponuptothewonderfulworldofsemiconductors.Oneofthemostwidelyused
semiconductorcomponentsisthediode.

Inthistutorialwellcover:
Whatisadiode!?
Theoryofdiodeoperation
Importantdiodeproperties
Differenttypesofdiodes
Whatdiodeslooklike
Typicaldiodeapplications

SuggestedReading
Someoftheconceptsinthistutorialbuildonpreviouselectronicsknowledge.Beforejumpingintothis
tutorialconsiderreading(atleastskimming)thesefirst:
WhatisElectricity
Voltage,Current,Resistance,andOhmsLaw
WhatisaCircuit
Seriesvs.Parallel
HowtoUseAMultimeter

IdealDiodes
Thekeyfunctionofanidealdiodeistocontrolthedirectionofcurrentflow.Currentpassingthrougha
diodecanonlygoinonedirection,calledtheforwarddirection.Currenttryingtoflowthereverse
directionisblocked.Theyreliketheonewayvalveofelectronics.
Ifthevoltageacrossadiodeisnegative,nocurrentcanflow*,andtheidealdiodelookslikeanopen
circuit.Insuchasituation,thediodeissaidtobeofforreversebiased.

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Aslongasthevoltageacrossthediodeisntnegative,itllturnonandconductcurrent.Ideally*adiode
wouldactlikeashortcircuit(0Vacrossit)ifitwasconductingcurrent.Whenadiodeisconducting
currentitsforwardbiased(electronicsjargonforon).

Thecurrentvoltagerelationshipofanidealdiode.Anynegativevoltageproduceszerocurrentanopen
circuit.Aslongasthevoltageisnonnegativethediodelookslikeashortcircuit.

IdealDiodeCharacteristics
OperationMode On(Forwardbiased) Off(Reversebiased)
CurrentThrough
I>0
I=0
VoltageAcross
V=0
V<0
Diodelookslike
Shortcircuit
Opencircuit

CircuitSymbol
Everydiodehastwoterminalsconnectionsoneachendofthecomponentandthoseterminalsare
polarized,meaningthetwoterminalsaredistinctlydifferent.Itsimportantnottomixtheconnectionson
adiodeup.Thepositiveendofadiodeiscalledtheanode,andthenegativeendiscalledthecathode.
Currentcanflowfromtheanodeendtothecathode,butnottheotherdirection.Ifyouforgetwhichway
currentflowsthroughadiode,trytorememberthemnemonicACID:anodecurrentindiode(also
anodecathodeisdiode).
Thecircuitsymbolofastandarddiodeisatrianglebuttingupagainstaline.Aswellcoverinthelater
inthistutorial,thereareavarietyofdiodetypes,butusuallytheircircuitsymbolwilllooksomethinglike
this:

Theterminalenteringtheflatedgeofthetrianglerepresentstheanode.Currentflowsinthedirection
thatthetriangle/arrowispointing,butitcantgotheotherway.

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Aboveareacouplesimplediodecircuitexamples.Ontheleft,diodeD1isforwardbiasedandallowing
currenttoflowthroughthecircuit.Inessenceitlookslikeashortcircuit.Ontheright,diodeD2isreverse
biased.Currentcannotflowthroughthecircuit,anditessentiallylookslikeanopencircuit.

*Caveat!Asterisk!NotentirelytrueUnfortunately,theresnosuchthingasanidealdiode.Butdont
worry!Diodesreallyarereal,theyvejustgotafewcharacteristicswhichmakethemoperateasalittle
lessthanouridealmodel

RealDiodeCharacteristics
Ideally,diodeswillblockanyandallcurrentflowingthereversedirection,orjustactlikeashortcircuitif
currentflowisforward.Unfortunately,actualdiodebehaviorisntquiteideal.Diodesdoconsumesome
amountofpowerwhenconductingforwardcurrent,andtheywontblockoutallreversecurrent.Real
worlddiodesareabitmorecomplicated,andtheyallhaveuniquecharacteristicswhichdefinehowthey
actuallyoperate.

CurrentVoltageRelationship
Themostimportantdiodecharacteristicisitscurrentvoltage(iv)relationship.Thisdefineswhatthe
currentrunningthroughacomponentis,givenwhatvoltageismeasuredacrossit.Resistors,for
example,haveasimple,linearivrelationshipOhmsLaw.Theivcurveofadiode,though,isentirely
nonlinear.Itlookssomethinglikethis:

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Thecurrentvoltagerelationshipofadiode.Inordertoexaggerateafewimportantpointsontheplot,the
scalesinboththepositiveandnegativehalvesarenotequal.
Dependingonthevoltageappliedacrossit,adiodewilloperateinoneofthreeregions:
1.Forwardbias:Whenthevoltageacrossthediodeispositivethediodeisonandcurrentcanrun
through.Thevoltageshouldbegreaterthantheforwardvoltage(VF)inorderforthecurrenttobe
anythingsignificant.
2.Reversebias:Thisistheoffmodeofthediode,wherethevoltageislessthanVFbutgreater
thanVBR.Inthismodecurrentflowis(mostly)blocked,andthediodeisoff.Averysmallamount
ofcurrent(ontheorderofnA)calledreversesaturationcurrentisabletoflowinreverse
throughthediode.
3.Breakdown:Whenthevoltageappliedacrossthediodeisverylargeandnegative,lotsofcurrent
willbeabletoflowinthereversedirection,fromcathodetoanode.

ForwardVoltage
Inordertoturnonandconductcurrentintheforwarddirection,adioderequiresacertainamountof
positivevoltagetobeappliedacrossit.Thetypicalvoltagerequiredtoturnthediodeoniscalledthe
forwardvoltage(VF).Itmightalsobecalledeitherthecutinvoltageoronvoltage.
Asweknowfromtheivcurve,thecurrentthroughandvoltageacrossadiodeareinterdependent.More
currentmeansmorevoltage,lessvoltagemeanslesscurrent.Oncethevoltagegetstoaboutthe
forwardvoltagerating,though,largeincreasesincurrentshouldstillonlymeanaverysmallincreasein
voltage.Ifadiodeisfullyconducting,itcanusuallybeassumedthatthevoltageacrossitistheforward
voltagerating.

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Amultimeterwithadiodesettingcanbeusedtomeasure(theminimumof)adiodesforwardvoltage
drop.
AspecificdiodesVFdependsonwhatsemiconductormaterialitsmadeoutof.Typically,asilicondiode
willhaveaVFaround0.61V.Agermaniumbaseddiodemightbelower,around0.3V.Thetypeofdiode
alsohassomeimportanceindefiningtheforwardvoltagedroplightemittingdiodescanhaveamuch
largerVF,whileSchottkydiodesaredesignedspecificallytohaveamuchlowerthanusualforward
voltage.

BreakdownVoltage
Ifalargeenoughnegativevoltageisappliedtothediode,itwillgiveinandallowcurrenttoflowinthe
reversedirection.Thislargenegativevoltageiscalledthebreakdownvoltage.Somediodesare
actuallydesignedtooperateinthebreakdownregion,butformostnormaldiodesitsnotveryhealthyfor
themtobesubjectedtolargenegativevoltages.
Fornormaldiodesthisbreakdownvoltageisaround50Vto100V,orevenmorenegative.

DiodeDatasheets
Alloftheabovecharacteristicsshouldbedetailedinthedatasheetforeverydiode.Forexample,this
datasheetfora1N4148diodeliststhemaximumforwardvoltage(1V)andthebreakdownvoltage(100V)
(amongalotofotherinformation):

Adatasheetmightevenpresentyouwithaveryfamiliarlookingcurrentvoltagegraph,tofurtherdetail
howthediodebehaves.Thisgraphfromthediodesdatasheetenlargesthecurvy,forwardregionpartof
theivcurve.Noticehowmorecurrentrequiresmorevoltage:

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Thatchartpointsoutanotherimportantdiodecharacteristicthemaximumforwardcurrent.Justlike
anycomponent,diodescanonlydissipatesomuchpowerbeforetheyblow.Alldiodesshouldlist
maximumcurrent,reversevoltage,andpowerdissipation.Ifadiodeissubjecttomorevoltageorcurrent
thanitcanhandle,expectittoheatup(orworsemelt,smoke,).
Somediodesarewellsuitedtohighcurrents1Aormoreotherslikethe1N4148smallsignaldiode
shownabovemayonlybesuitedforaround200mA.

That1N4148isjustatinysamplingofallthedifferentkindsofdiodesthereareoutthere.Nextwell
explorewhatanamazingvarietyofdiodesthereareandwhatpurposeeachtypeserves.

TypesofDiodes
NormalDiodes
Standardsignaldiodesareamongthemostbasic,average,nofrillsmembersofthediodefamily.They
usuallyhaveamediumhighforwardvoltagedropandalowmaximumcurrentrating.Acommon
exampleofasignaldiodeisthe1N4148.Verygeneralpurpose,itsgotatypicalforwardvoltagedropof
0.72Vanda300mAmaximumforwardcurrentrating.

Asmallsignaldiode,the1N4148.Noticetheblackcirclearoundthediode,thatmarkswhichofthe
terminalsisthecathode.
Arectifierorpowerdiodeisastandarddiodewithamuchhighermaximumcurrentrating.Thishigher
currentratingusuallycomesatthecostofalargerforwardvoltage.The1N4001,forexample,hasa
currentratingof1Aandaforwardvoltageof1.1V.

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A1N4001PTHdiode.Thistimeagraybandindicateswhichpinisthecathode.
And,ofcourse,mostdiodetypescomeinsurfacemountvarietiesaswell.Youllnoticethateverydiode
hassomeway(nomatterhowtinyorhardtosee)toindicatewhichofthetwopinsisthecathode.

LightEmittingDiodes(LEDs!)
Theflashiestmemberofthediodefamilymustbethelightemittingdiode(LED).Thesediodesquite
literallylightupwhenapositivevoltageisapplied.

AhandfulofthroughholeLEDs.Fromlefttoright:ayellow3mm,blue5mm,green10mm,superbright
red5mm,anRGB5mmandablue7segmentLED.
Likenormaldiodes,LEDsonlyallowcurrentthroughonedirection.Theyalsohaveaforwardvoltage
rating,whichisthevoltagerequiredforthemtolightup.TheVFratingofanLEDisusuallylargerthan
thatofanormaldiode(1.2~3V),anditdependsonthecolortheLEDemits.Forexample,therated
forwardvoltageofaSuperBrightBlueLEDisaround3.3V,whilethatoftheequalsizeSuperBrightRed
LEDisonly2.2V.
YoullobviouslymostoftenfindLEDsinlightingapplications.Theyreblinkyandfun!Butmorethanthat,
theirhighefficiencyhasleadtowidespreaduseinstreetlights,displays,backlighting,andmuchmore.
OtherLEDsemitalightthatisnotvisibletothehumaneye,likeinfraredLEDs,whicharethebackbone
ofmostremotecontrols.AnothercommonuseofLEDsisinopticallyisolatingadangeroushighvoltage
systemfromalowervoltagecircuit.OptoisolatorspairaninfraredLEDwithaphotosensor,whichallows
currenttoflowwhenitdetectslightfromtheLED.Belowisanexamplecircuitofanoptoisolator.Note
howtheschematicsymbolforthediodevariesfromthenormaldiode.LEDsymbolsaddacouplearrows
extendingoutfromthesymbol.

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SchottkyDiodes
AnotherverycommondiodeistheSchottkydiode.ThesemiconductorcompositionofaSchottkydiodeis
slightlydifferentfromanormaldiode,andthisresultsinamuchsmallerforwardvoltagedrop,whichis
usuallybetween0.15Vand0.45V.Theyllstillhaveaverylargebreakdownvoltagethough.
Schottkydiodesareespeciallyusefulinlimitinglosses,wheneverylastbitofvoltagemustbespared.
Theyreuniqueenoughtogetacircuitsymboloftheirown,withacouplebendsontheendofthe
cathodeline.

ZenerDiodes
Zenerdiodesaretheweirdoutcastofthediodefamily.Theyreusuallyusedtointentionallyconduct
reversecurrent.Zenersaredesignedtohaveaveryprecisebreakdownvoltage,calledthezener
breakdownorzenervoltage.Whenenoughcurrentrunsinreversethroughthezener,thevoltagedrop
acrossitwillholdsteadyatthebreakdownvoltage.
Takingadvantageoftheirbreakdownproperty,Zenerdiodesareoftenusedtocreateaknownreference
voltageatexactlytheirZenervoltage.Theycanbeusedasavoltageregulatorforsmallloads,but
theyrenotreallymadetoregulatevoltagetocircuitsthatwillpullsignificantamountsofcurrent.

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Zenersarespecialenoughtogettheirowncircuitsymbol,withwavyendsonthecathodeline.The
symbolmightevendefinewhat,exactly,thediodeszenervoltageis.Heresa3.3Vzenerdiodeactingto
createasolid3.3Vvoltagereference:

Photodiodes
Photodiodesarespeciallyconstructeddiodes,whichcaptureenergyfromphotonsoflight(seePhysics,
quantum)togenerateelectricalcurrent.KindofoperatingasanantiLED.

ABPW34photodiode(notthequarter,thelittlethingontopofthat).Getitunderthesunanditcan
generateaboutfewWsofpower!.
Solarcellsarethemainbenefactorofphotodiodetechnology.Butthesediodescanalsobeusedto
detectlight,orevencommunicateoptically.

DiodeApplications
Forsuchasimplecomponent,diodeshaveahugerangeofuses.Youllfindadiodeofsometypeinjust
abouteverycircuit.Theycouldbefeaturedinanythingfromasmallsignaldigitallogictoahighvoltage
powerconversioncircuit.Letsexploresomeoftheseapplications.

Rectifiers
Arectifierisacircuitthatconvertsalternatingcurrent(AC)todirectcurrent(DC).Thisconversionis
criticalforallsortsofhouseholdelectronics.ACsignalscomeoutofyourhouseswalloutlets,butDCis
whatpowersmostcomputersandothermicroelectronics.
CurrentinACcircuitsliterallyalternatesquicklyswitchesbetweenrunninginthepositiveandnegative
directionsbutcurrentinaDCsignalonlyrunsinonedirection.SotoconvertfromACtoDCyoujust
needtomakesurecurrentcantruninthenegativedirection.SoundslikeajobforDIODES!

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Ahalfwaverectifiercanbemadeoutofjustasinglediode.IfanACsignal,likeasinewavefor
example,issentthroughadiodeanynegativecomponenttothesignalisclippedout.

Input(red/left)andoutput(blue/right)voltagewaveforms,afterpassingthroughthehalfwaverectifier
circuit(middle).
AfullwavebridgerectifierusesfourdiodestoconvertthosenegativehumpsintheACsignalinto
positivehumps.

Thebridgerectifiercircuit(middle),andtheoutputwaveformitcreates(blue/right).
ThesecircuitsareacriticalcomponentinACtoDCpowersupplies,whichturnthewalloutlets
120/240VACsignalinto3.3V,5V,12V,etc.DCsignals.Ifyoutoreapartawallwart,youdmostlikelysee
ahandfulofdiodesinthere,rectifyingitup.

Canyouspotthefourdiodesmakingabridgerectifierinthiswallwart?

ReverseCurrentProtection
Everstickabatteryinthewrongway?Orswitchuptheredandblackpowerwires?Ifso,adiodemight
betothankforyourcircuitstillbeingalive.Adiodeplacedinserieswiththepositivesideofthepower
supplyiscalledareverseprotectiondiode.Itensuresthatcurrentcanonlyflowinthepositivedirection,
andthepowersupplyonlyappliesapositivevoltagetoyourcircuit.

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Thisdiodeapplicationisusefulwhenapowersupplyconnectorisntpolarized,makingiteasytomessup
andaccidentallyconnectthenegativesupplytothepositiveoftheinputcircuit.
Thedrawbackofareverseprotectiondiodeisthatitllinducesomevoltagelossbecauseoftheforward
voltagedrop.ThismakesSchottkydiodesanexcellentchoiceforreverseprotectiondiodes.

LogicGates
Forgettransistors!Simpledigitallogicgates,liketheANDortheOR,canbebuiltoutofdiodes.
Forexample,adiodetwoinputORgatecanbeconstructedoutoftwodiodeswithsharedcathode
nodes.Theoutputofthelogiccircuitisalsolocatedatthatnode.Whenevereitherinput(orboth)isa
logic1(high/5V)theoutputbecomesalogic1aswell.Whenbothinputsarealogic0(low/0V),the
outputispulledlowthroughtheresistor.

AnANDgateisconstructedinasimilarmanner.Theanodesofbothdiodesareconnectedtogether,
whichiswheretheoutputofthecircuitislocated.Bothinputsmustbelogic1forcingcurrenttorun
towardstheoutputpinandpullithighalso.Ifeitheroftheinputsarelow,currentfromthe5Vsupplyruns
throughthediode.

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Forbothlogicgates,moreinputscanbeaddedbyaddingjustasinglediode.

FlybackDiodesandVoltageSpikeSuppression
Diodesareveryoftenusedtolimitpotentialdamagefromunexpectedlargespikesinvoltage.Transient
voltagesuppression(TVS)diodesarespecialtydiodes,kindoflikezenerdiodeslowishbreakdown
voltages(oftenaround20V)butwithverylargepowerratings(oftenintherangeofkilowatts).Theyre
designedtoshuntcurrentsandabsorbenergywhenvoltagesexceedtheirbreakdownvoltage.
Flybackdiodesdoasimilarjobofsuppressingvoltagespikes,specificallythoseinducedbyaninductive
component,likeamotor.Whencurrentthroughaninductorsuddenlychanges,avoltagespikeis
created,possiblyaverylarge,negativespike.Aflybackdiodeplacedacrosstheinductiveload,willgive
thatnegativevoltagesignalasafepathtodischarge,actuallyloopingoverandoverthroughtheinductor
anddiodeuntiliteventuallydiesout.

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Thatsjustahandfulofapplicationsforthisamazinglittlesemiconductorcomponent.

ResourcesandGoingFurther
Nowthatyouvegottenahandleondiodes,maybeyoudliketofurtherexploremoresemiconductors:
Transistors
LEDs
Orlearnaboutintegratedcircuits,like:
555Timers
OperationalAmplifiers
ShiftRegisters
Ordiscoversomeoftheothercommonelectroniccomponents:
Resistors
Capacitors
Inductors
VoltageRegulators

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