Diode
hideIn electronics, a diode is a two-terminal device (thermionic diodes may also have one or two ancillary terminals for a heater).
Diodes have two active electrodes between which the signal of interest may flow, and most are used for their unidirectional electric current property. The varicap diode is used as an electrically adjustable capacitor.
The unidirectionality most diodes exhibit is sometimes generically called the rectifying property. The most common function of a diode is to allow an electric current in one direction (called the forward biased condition) and to block the current in the opposite direction (the reverse biased condition). Thus, the diode can be thought of as an electronic version of a check valve.
Real diodes do not display such a perfect on-off directionality but have a more complex non-linear electrical characteristic, which depends on the particular type of diode technology. Diodes also have many other functions in which they are not designed to operate in this on-off manner.
Early diodes included “cat’s whisker” crystals and vacuum tube devices (also called thermionic valves). Today most diodes are made of silicon, but other semiconductors such a germanium are sometimes used.
For more information about Diode, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with diode
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In everything from computer processor chips to car engines to electric powerplants, the need to get rid of excess heat creates a major source of inefficiency. But new research points the way ...
Two Retinal Imaging Display Devices at Prototype Stage
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Oct 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NEC and Brother are both developing wearable prototype devices that use Retinal Imaging Display (RID) technology to project images directly on the wearer's retina. NEC's gadget is designed ...
Super-thin flexible OLED from Sony
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Oct 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Sony is showing off prototypes incorporating its super-thin, flexible OLED technology at the CREATEC JAPAN 2009 IT and electronics trade show in Makuhari Messe (Chiba) in Japan.
Cheap, efficient white light LEDs new design
Apr 07, 2009 |
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Roughly 20 percent of the electricity consumed worldwide is used to light homes, businesses, and other private and public spaces. Though this consumption represents a large drain on resources, it also presents ...
Atomtronic transistor and diode could advance quantum computing
Oct 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- What if atoms could be used to perform the functions currently the province of electronic devices? The goal of atomtronics is to do just that by creating analogues to the common items found in electronic ...
Smart Lighting: New LED Drops the 'Droop'
Jan 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed and demonstrated a new type of light emitting diode (LED) with significantly improved lighting performance and energy efficiency.
Organic light-emitting diode screens ready to go mainstream
Jun 24, 2009 |
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It's not yet lights-out for LCD and plasma, but OLED displays are finally ready to begin pushing those technologies out of the limelight.
Liquid crystal lasers promise cheaper, high colour resolution laser television
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Centre of Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics (CMMPE) (part of the Department's Photonics Research Group at the University of Cambridge) are leading the way ...
LED light bulbs yield big savings in energy
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One way the United States could slash its electricity use, dependence on fossil fuels and emissions of heat-trapping gases is really quite simple: better light bulbs.
LG to Launch 15-inch OLED TV
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Sep 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Korean company, LG Electronics, the second largest television manufacturer in the world, has announced it will launch a 15-inch organic display TV set in early September. The announcement, ...
Liquid-OLED Offers More Light-Emitting Possibilities
Aug 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are poised to go mainstream in the near future, scientists continue to explore new twists on the technology. Recently, researchers have fabricated ...
Solar Cells with LEDs Provide Inexpensive Lighting
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Of the 1.5 billion people in developing countries who do not have electricity, many rely on kerosene lamps for light after the sun goes down. But now, researchers from Denmark have designed ...
Carbon nanotube avalanche process nearly doubles current
Feb 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- By pushing carbon nanotubes close to their breaking point, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a remarkable increase in the current-carrying capacity of the nanotubes, ...
Tiny particles make LED light more pleasing
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
May 05, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Light-emitting diodes are prime candidates for replacing inefficient incandescent bulbs, but have a few things working against them. They can provide a pleasing warm light or they can be energy-efficient, ...
Ultrathin light-emitting diodes create new classes of lighting and display systems
Aug 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new process for creating ultrathin, ultrasmall inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and assembling them into large arrays offers new classes of lighting and display systems with interesting ...
