12 Facts About Semiconductor diode

Diode vacuum tube or thermionic Semiconductor diode is a vacuum tube with two electrodes, a heated cathode and a plate, in which electrons can flow in only one direction, from cathode to plate.

Semiconductor diode, the most commonly used type today, is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals.

Semiconductor diode principles were unknown to the developers of these early rectifiers.

Thermionic Semiconductor diode is a thermionic-valve device consisting of a sealed, evacuated glass or metal envelope containing two electrodes: a cathode and a plate.

P–n junction diode is made of a crystal of semiconductor, usually silicon, but germanium and gallium arsenide are used.

The Semiconductor diode's terminals are attached to the n-type and p-type regions.

The Semiconductor diode is commonly said to have a forward "threshold" voltage, above which it conducts and below which conduction stops.

Under reverse bias voltages the exponential in the Semiconductor diode equation is negligible, and the current is a constant reverse current value of -IS.

The subtracted '1' in the Semiconductor diode equation is then negligible and the forward Semiconductor diode current can be approximated by.

Since most electronic circuits can be damaged when the polarity of their power supply inputs are reversed, a series Semiconductor diode is sometimes used to protect against such situations.

Diode can be used as a temperature measuring device, since the forward voltage drop across the Semiconductor diode depends on temperature, as in a silicon bandgap temperature sensor.

Normally, both are charged from a single alternator, and a heavy-duty split-charge Semiconductor diode is used to prevent the higher-charge battery from discharging through the lower-charge battery when the alternator is not running.