Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- About the authors
- To the Reader
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Equipment familiarization: multimeter, breadboard, and oscilloscope
- 2 RC circuits
- 3 Diodes
- 4 Bipolar transistors
- 5 Transistors II: FETs
- 6 Transistors III: differential amplifier
- 7 Introduction to operational amplifiers
- 8 More op amp applications
- 9 Comparators and oscillators
- 10 Combinational logic
- 11 Flip-flops: saving a logic state
- 12 Monostables, counters, multiplexers, and RAM
- 13 Digital↔analog conversion
- Further reading
- Appendix A Equipment and supplies
- Appendix B Common abbreviations and circuit symbols
- Appendix C RC circuits: frequency-domain analysis
- Appendix D Pinouts
- Glossary of basic electrical and electronic terms
- Index
3 - Diodes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- About the authors
- To the Reader
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Equipment familiarization: multimeter, breadboard, and oscilloscope
- 2 RC circuits
- 3 Diodes
- 4 Bipolar transistors
- 5 Transistors II: FETs
- 6 Transistors III: differential amplifier
- 7 Introduction to operational amplifiers
- 8 More op amp applications
- 9 Comparators and oscillators
- 10 Combinational logic
- 11 Flip-flops: saving a logic state
- 12 Monostables, counters, multiplexers, and RAM
- 13 Digital↔analog conversion
- Further reading
- Appendix A Equipment and supplies
- Appendix B Common abbreviations and circuit symbols
- Appendix C RC circuits: frequency-domain analysis
- Appendix D Pinouts
- Glossary of basic electrical and electronic terms
- Index
Summary
In this chapter we will explore semiconductor diodes and some circuits using them. We've seen that resistors have a simple linear relationship between the voltage across them and the current through them (Ohm's law). On the other hand,
• diodes have an exponential relationship between current and voltage. Mathematically this may seem much more complicated than Ohm's law, but we think you'll agree that the idea as just stated is simple enough – it just takes some getting used to! As we'll see, an important consequence of the exponential characteristic is that diodes conduct much more readily in one direction than in the other. This makes them ideally suited for rectification: the conversion of AC into DC.
Apparatus required
Breadboard, oscilloscope, one or two multimeters, one 1N914 (or similar) silicon signal diode, one 1N4001 (or similar) 1Asilicon rectifier diode, one 100Ω and one 10 k W resistor, one 1 k 2 W resistor, power transformer with 12.6 V r.m.s. output on each side of the center tap, one diode bridge element, one 100 μF electrolytic capacitor, and one 1000 μF electrolytic capacitor.
Semiconductor basics
Current will flow through a material provided that there are charge carriers free to move and an electric field to move them. Conductors (such as copper) have lots of charge carriers (electrons) ready to move in response to the slightest electric field.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Hands-On ElectronicsA Practical Introduction to Analog and Digital Circuits, pp. 31 - 46Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003