Posted by Circuits Arena on Saturday, 16 March 2019
Types of Diodes and Their Uses is the artlcle explaining Introduction of Diode A diode is a two-terminal electrical device, that allows the transfer of current in only one direction. T...
Introduction of Diode
- A diode is a two-terminal electrical device, that allows the transfer of current in only one direction.
- The diode is also known for their unidirectional current property, where the electric current is permitted to flow in one direction.
- Basically, a diode is used for rectifying waveforms, within radio detectors or within power supplies.
- They can also be used in various electrical and electronic circuits where ‘one-way’ result of the diode is required.
- Most of the diodes are made from semiconductors like Si (silicon), but sometimes, Ge (germanium) is also used. It is sometimes beneficial to summarize the different types of diodes are existing.
- Some of the types may overlap, but the various definitions may benefit to narrow the field down and offer an overview of the different diode types.
Types of Diodes
There are different types of diodes are available for use in electronics design, namely; a PIN diode, PN Junction, Zener diode, Backward diode, BARITT diode, Gunn Diode, Laser diode, Light emitting diodes, Photodiode, Schottky diodes, Step recovery diode, Tunnel diode, Varactor diode.
Light Emitting Diode (LED):
LED stands for light emitting diode, is one of the most standard types of the diode. When the diode is connected in forwarding bias, then the current flows through the junction and generates the light. There are also many new LED developments are changing they are LEDs and OLEDs.Please refer the below link for: LED Light Sources
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Light Emitting Diode |
PN Junction Diode:
The standard PN junction may be thought of as the normal or standard type of diode in use today. These diodes can come as small signal types for use in RF (radio frequency), or other low current applications which may be called as signal diodes. Other types may be planned for high voltage and high current applications and are normally named rectifier diodes.
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PN Junction Diode |
Schottky Diode:
The Schottky diode has a lower forward voltage drop than ordinary Si PN-junction diodes. At low currents, the voltage drop may be between 0.15 & 0.4 volts as opposed to 0.6 volts for a Si diode.
To attain this performance they are designed in a different way to compare with normal diodes having a metal to semiconductor contact. These diodes are extensively used in rectifier application, clamping diodes, and also in RF applications.
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Schottky Diode |
Step Recovery Diode:
A step recovery diode is a type of microwave diode used to generate pulses at very HF (high frequencies). These diodes depend on the diode which has a very fast turn-off characteristic for their operation.
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Step Recovery Diode |
Zener Diode:
The Zener diode is used to provide a stable reference voltage. As a result, it is used in vast amounts. It works under reverse bias condition and found that when a particular voltage is reached it breaks down.
If the flow of current is limited by a resistor, it activates a stable voltage to be generated. This type of diode is widely used to offer a reference voltage in power supplies.
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Zener Diode |
BARITT Diode:
The short term of this diode Barrier Injection Transit Time diode is BARITT diode. It is applicable in microwave applications and allows many comparisons to the more widely used IMPATT diode. Please refer the below link for BARRITT Diode
Photodiode:
The photodiode is used to detect light. It is found that when light strikes a PN-junction it can create electrons and holes.
Typically, photodiodes operate under reverse bias condition where even a small amount of flow of current resulting from the light can be simply noticed. These diodes can also be used to produce electricity.
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Photodiode
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