AMALIA F.

FURAQUE
BSEE-3A

DIODE

A Diode, as I told earlier is a semi-conductor cylindrical component with two terminals. There are many types
of diodes but the most commonly used one is shown below.

The two terminals are named as Anode and Cathode, we will get into the symbol and how to identify the
terminals later, but for now just remember that any diode will have only two terminals (at least most of them)
and they are Anode and Cathode. Another golden rule with diodes is that they allow current to pass through them
in only one direction that is from Anode to Cathode. This property of diode is what makes it useful in many
applications.

To know why they conduct in only one direction we have to look at how they are constructed. A Diode is made
by joining two equally doped P-type semi-conductor and N-type semi-conductor material. When these two
materials are joined together something interesting happens, they form another small layer in-between them
called the depletion layer. This is because the P-type layer has excess hole and the N-type layer has excess
electrons and they both try to diffuse into each other forming a high resistance blockage between both the
materials like in the image shown below. This blockage layer is called as depletion layer.

This depletion layer (Blockage) has to be broken if the current has to flow through a diode. When a positive
voltage is applied to the Anode and a Negative voltage is applied to the Cathode the diode is said to be in forward
biased condition. During this state the positive voltage will pump more holes into the P-type region and the
negative voltage will pump more electrons into the N-type region which causes the depletion layer to breakdown
casing the current to flow from Anode to Cathode. This minimum voltage required to make the diode conduct
in forward direction is called the forward breakdown voltage.
Alternatively, if a negative voltage is applied to Anode and positive voltage is applied to Cathode the diode is
said to be in reverse biased condition. During this state the negative voltage will pump in more electrons to P-
type and N-type material will get more holes from positive voltage which makes the depletion layer even stronger
and thus allowing no current to flow through it. Keep in mind that these characteristics are applicable only to an
ideal diode (theoretical) practically there will be a little bit of current flowing even in reverse biased mode. We
will discuss this later.

The above animation illustrates the working of diode in a circuit, there are two circuits both in which we are
trying to glow a Led with a battery. In one circuit the diode is forward biased and in the other the diode is reverse
biased. When the simulation in run, you can notice that only the forward biased Diode allows current to flow
though it thus glowing the LED the reverse biased diode does not allow any current to pass through it.

Diode Types, Pinouts and symbols

Now, that we have understood the basics of diode it is important to know there are different types of diodes each
having a special property and application. In this article let’s cover only the three main types of diodes they are
the Rectifier Diode, Zener Diode and Schottky Diode. The picture, terminal and symbol of all diodes are
tabulated below
As shown in the table the Rectifier Diode and Schottky Diode looks similar in appearance, but the Schottky
diode is usually bigger in size than the conventional diodes. The Zener diode on the other hand can be easy
identified with its peculiar orange colour and grey line on it, as shown in the table above.

The anode and the cathode terminals can be identified with the grey line on the diode, the pin near to the grey
line will be cathode. Similarly with symbols the bottom of the triangle will always be the Anode and the other
will be Cathode. It is very important to remember this since it always considered being self understood while
interpreting a circuit of diode connection.
Diode Terminologies and Characteristics
When you are selecting a diode for your circuit or trying to understand the operation of a diode in a circuit you
have to consider the specifications of the diode which can be found in its datasheet. In order to understand what
the values actually mean let us look into few commonly used terminologies.

Forward Voltage Drop (Vf): When a diode is working in forward biased condition, it will allow current to flow
through them. During this state there will be some voltage drop across the diode this voltage drop is called as
the forward Voltage drop. For an ideal diode it should be as low as possible.

Maximum Forward Current (If): We already know that diode will allow current to flow through it when it is in
forward biased, what is the maximum current that can be allowed is answered by the Maximum forward current.
Normally it should be ensured that this current is more than the load current of your circuit.

Reverse break down current (Vr): Okay, here is a catch I told you that a diode will not allow current to flow
through it when it is reverse biased. It holds true but not for all values voltage. So the maximum voltage upto
which the diode can withstand breakdown is called as Reverse breakdown voltage. Normally the values of such
voltage will be very high, for example if the reverse breakdown voltage is 500V the diode will not allow current
to pass through it in reverse biased state until the voltage exceed this 500V.

Reverse Biased Current (Ir): While it is true that the diode will not allow current to flow though it in reverse
biased mode the value of current will not be ideally zero. There will be a very small and negligible (depends on
the circuit) current still flowing though the diode. This current is called the Reverse Biased current. The value
of this current will be in range of mA or even in uA. For an ideal Diode the value of this current should be as
low as possible. The current is called as the reverse leakage current.

Reverse Recovery Time: Say you are operating you diode in forward biased mode and then change it to reverse
biased mode by changing the polarity of the voltage. Now the diode will not come to a sudden halt, it will require
some time to block the flow of current through it. This time is called as the Reverse Recovery time.

Terminal (I-V) Characteristics of a Junction Diode: There are still other parameters like the Power dissipation,
Thermal Resistance etc. associated with a diode. These values can also be found in the datasheet of the diode.
To know more about diode let us look at on important graph of a diode which is the Current vs Voltage I-V
Curve. The I-V curve of an ideal diode will look something like this.
Here in the first quadrant you can see the diode operating in the Forward Biased mode and in the third quadrant
the diode is operating in the Reverse biased and Break down Region. The X-axis of the graph indicates the
voltage across the diode and the Y-axis indicates the current though the Diode. During the forward biased mode
you can notice that the diode starts to conduct (allow current) only when the voltage across the diode (V D) is
greater than 0.5V, this is the value of forward voltage of the Diode for a silicon diode this forward voltage can
be upto 0.7V as shown in the graph above.

During the Reverse biased the voltage across the diode is in negative potential so the current is also shown in
negative direction. Here as you can see the diode does not allow current (expect for a small value) to flow across
it until the breakdown voltage (VBD) is reached.

REFERENCE:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://components101.com/articles/introd
uction-to-different-types-of
diodes&ved=2ahUKEwiOm7ea_57sAhUafnAKHd5tDX4QFjAVegQIDhAB&usg=AOvVaw1UMRvAPl39RdUo
eH6RcRsn&cshid=1601954483751