Diodes
A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction, a behavior known as asymmetric conductance¹. It has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other¹. The most common type of diode in use today is the semiconductor diode, which is a crystalline piece of semiconductor material with a p–n junction connected to two electrical terminals¹. This type of diode has an exponential current–voltage characteristic¹. Diodes were first discovered by German physicist Ferdinand Braun in 1874¹. Today, most diodes are made of silicon, but other semiconducting materials such as gallium arsenide and germanium are also used¹. The primary function of a diode is to allow an electric current to pass in one direction (called the diode's forward direction), while blocking it in the opposite direction (the reverse direction). This unidirectional behavior is called rectification and is used to convert alternatin...