Introduction

▪ A diode is a two-terminal electronic

component that
conducts current primarily in one
direction (asymmetric conductance). It
has low (ideally zero) resistance in one
direction, and high (ideally infinite)
resistance in the other.
▪ A 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.[4] It
has an exponential current–voltage
characteristic. Semiconductor diodes
were the first semiconductor
electronic devices. The discovery of
asymmetric electrical conduction
across the contact between a
crystalline mineral and a metal was
made by German physicist Ferdinand
Braun in 1874.
 TYPES OF DIODES
• There are many types of diodes. Ja scu
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• Light-Emitting Diode
• An LED produces light when electricity
flows through it. It is a longer lasting and
more efficient way of creating light
than incandescent light bulbs.
• Depending on how it was made, the LED
can make different colors. LEDs were
first used in the 1970's. The light-
emitting diode may eventually replace
the light bulb as developing technology
makes it brighter and cheaper (it is
already more efficient and lasts longer).
In the 1970's the LEDs were used to
show numbers in appliances such as
calculators, and as a way to show the
power was on for larger appliances.
 PHOTODIODE
• A photodiode is a light-sensitive
semiconductor diode.[1] It produces
current when it absorbs photons.
• The package of a photodiode allows
light (or infrared or ultraviolet
radiation, or X-rays) to reach the
sensitive part of the device. The
package may include lenses or optical
filters. Devices designed for use
specially as a photodiode use a PIN
junction rather than a p–n junction,
to increase the speed of response.
Photodiodes usually have a slower
response time as their surface area
increases. A photodiode is designed
to operate in reverse bias.[2] A solar
cell used to generate electric solar
power is a large area photodiode.
 PRINCIPLE OF
OPERATION
• A photodiode is a PIN structure or p–
n junction. When a photon of
sufficient energy strikes the diode, it
creates an electron–hole pair. This
mechanism is also known as the
inner photoelectric effect. If the
absorption occurs in the
junction's depletion region, or one
diffusion length away from it, these
carriers are swept from the junction
by the built-in electric field of the
depletion region. Thus holes move
toward the anode, and electrons
toward the cathode, and
a photocurrent is produced. The total
current through the photodiode is the
sum of the dark current (current that
is generated in the absence of light)
and the photocurrent, so the dark
current must be minimized to
maximize the sensitivity of the device.