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Electrical & Electronics Engineering vocabulary · Circuits and Components

Diode

Meaning in electrical & electronics engineering, with examples

/ˈdaɪoʊd/nounCore term

In electrical & electronics engineering, diode means: A semiconductor component that lets current flow easily in one direction and blocks it in the other. Its two terminals are called the anode and the cathode.

In Turkish: diyot

How it is used

Used for rectification, reverse-polarity protection and protection against voltage spikes. Engineers talk about forward voltage (about 0.7 V for silicon), Zener and Schottky diodes and flyback diodes across relay coils. A diode is 'forward-biased' or 'reverse-biased'.

Example sentences

  1. Add a diode across the relay coil to protect the transistor.

  2. The diode is in backwards; remember that the stripe marks the cathode.

Common collocations

  • forward voltage
  • Zener diode
  • Schottky diode
  • flyback diode
  • reverse-biased diode
  • LEDShort for light-emitting diode: a diode that gives off light when current flows through it in the forward direction. It needs a resistor or a driver to limit its current.
  • rectifierA circuit or device that converts AC into DC, usually with diodes. A bridge rectifier uses four diodes so that both halves of the AC waveform are used.
  • transistorA semiconductor device used to switch or amplify signals. A small current or voltage at one terminal controls a much larger current through the other two.
  • voltage dropThe reduction in voltage along a conductor or across a component as current flows through it. In long cables it means the load receives less voltage than the source supplies.

More terms: Circuits and Components

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