Diode components

All diodes have the basic property of conducting easily in one direction, and not so well in the other direction. There are a lot of types of specialty diodes, because there’s a lot of semiconductor properties that circuits can take advantage of.

  • Rectifier:
  • LED:
  • Zener:
  • Schottky:
  • Photo:


Nice assortments of semiconductors that I use in my videos. An Amazon affiliate link ad.

It is important to learn the capabilities and limitations of the specific diode you are using.  Always Google search for the datasheet, or find other reference material. This website is just for general information purposes only.

Summary of common diode types:

Rectifier:

Rectifier diodes are the main diodes used to prevent current from going in the wrong direction. They can have extremely high breakdown voltages while reverse biased, while not dropping a lot of voltage while forward biased.

LEDs:

It was noticed that diodes that are in glass packages (PN chemistry is simply surrounded by clear glass), were emitting light while conducting forward biased. LEDs (light emitting diodes) are specially made to emit a lot of different kinds of light.

Zener:

Specially made to safely conduct current while reverse biased. Each zener diode has a rated value that it will conduct at while RB. By conducting current at a specific voltage, it prevents the voltage from getting higher at that node.

Schottky:

The schottky diode has a lower forward voltage than the rectifier diode. It’s not as good at reverse biased protection though.

Photo:

A photo diode is used reversed biased. The more light that falls on it, the more current that it will let flow through it while reverse biased.

More to be added:

  • 1N4001 to 1N4007 series of rectifier diode:

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