Input logical zero

If the voltage of some input voltage source is low (input logical 0), the power supply
passes current through the resistor, diode and the input source. The diode is forward
biased (the diode switch is closed) and the output voltage drop across the diode is low
(output logical 0). The output resistance is low and is determined by the input source. The
rest of diodes connected to high input voltages (input logical 1s) are backward biased and
their input sources are disconnected from the output Node 1.

If two diode AND logic gates are cascaded, they behave as current-sinking logic
gates: if the first gate produces high output voltage, the second gate does not consume
current from the first one; if the first gate produces low output voltage, the second gate
injects current into the output of the first one. A diode AND gate uses its own power
supply to drive the load through the pull-up resistor.

Diode as Rectifier

Before the development of silicon semiconductor rectifiers, vacuum tube diodes

and copper (I) oxide or selenium rectifier stacks were used. With the introduction of
semiconductor electronics, vacuum tube rectifiers became obsolete, except for some
enthusiasts of vacuum tube audio equipment. For power rectification from very low to very
high current, semiconductor diodes of various types (junction diodes, Schottky diodes,
etc.) are widely used. Other devices which have control electrodes as well as acting as
unidirectional current valves are used where more than simple rectification is required,
e.g., where variable output voltage is needed. High power rectifiers, such as are used in
high-voltage direct current power transmission, employ silicon semiconductor devices of
various types. These are thyristors or other controlled switching solid-state switches
which effectively function as diodes to pass current in only one direction.

Half-Wave Bridge Type

In half wave rectification of a single-phase supply, either the positive or negative

half of the AC wave is passed, while the other half is blocked. Because only one half of
the input waveform reaches the output, mean voltage is lower. Half-wave rectification
requires a single diode in a single-phase supply, or three in a three-phase supply.
Rectifiers yield a unidirectional but pulsating direct current; half-wave rectifiers produce
far more ripple than full-wave rectifiers, and much more filtering is needed to eliminate
harmonics of the AC frequency from the output.

A half wave rectifier (ideal) allows conduction for only 180° or half of a complete
cycle. The output frequency is the same as the input.