The Schottky diode, also known as a hot-carrier diode or leaky-carrier diode, is the most popular semiconductor diode invented by Walter H. Schottky in 1926. In the early days, wireless devices & metal rectifiers used cat’s whisker detectors within power applications and these detectors can be considered as primitive Schottky diodes. So, let us see why a Schottky diode is so special? What is Schottky Diode? A Schottky diode is a special type of metal-semiconductor junction diode that … [Read more...]
What is a Freewheeling Diode : Circuit & Its Working
In different circuits, a switching element switches at a fixed frequency to manage the load’s voltage. Once the switching element activates then an extremely high voltage spike because of the stored energy within the magnetic field of the inductive load comes into view across the switching element terminals in switch OFF condition so, it may destroy the switching element. To disperse this energy, the freewheeling diode is utilized. When the switching element is deactivated then the load can … [Read more...]
What is a Crystal Diode : Construction & Its Working
A diode is a semiconductor device through which current supplies in one direction only. The initial diodes were crystal diodes which are used as rectifiers in radio kits. In this diode, a weak signal was fed into the crystal material using a very fine wire namely the cat's whisker. The crystal material in the diode removes the high-frequency carrier signal of radio by allowing the elements of the signal through the audio data to approach through clear. The crystal material was packed with … [Read more...]
What are Electronic Circuit Symbols – Reference Designators
There are different kinds of electronic components that are used in different circuits to make different engineering projects as well as electronic devices. These components are represented with electronic circuit symbols within various circuits. At present, circuit symbols & their utilization have been very much standardized. This allows the user to identify the components like wires, semiconductors, batteries, logic circuits, ICs, etc. By using electronic component symbols in circuits, … [Read more...]
What is IMPATT Diode : Construction & Its Working
The concept of IMPATT diode was actually invented in the year 1954 by William Shockley. So, he expanded the idea for producing a negative resistance with the help of a mechanism like transit time delay. He proposed the injection technique for charge carriers within a PN junction is forward biased and published his thought in the Technical Journal of Bell Systems in 1954 and titled with the name 'Negative Resistance Occurring from Transit Time within Semiconductor Diodes. Further, the proposal … [Read more...]
What is PIN Diode : Construction, Working & Its Applications
We know that there are different types of diodes are used in different applications based on the requirement like Varactor diode, Schottky diode, LED, Zener diode, etc. Even though, the most popular diode including a basic PN- junction is also used in different circuits which are called a PIN diode. As compared with a normal PN junction diode, this kind of diode is different because this diode includes three layers like P, I & N whereas the PN junction diode includes two layers like P & … [Read more...]
What is a Phototransistor : Working & Its Applications
After the development of the first point-contact transistor, the phototransistor was invented by one of the teams at Bell Labs. At that time, a large number of developments were being started. Even though the phototransistor history is not publicized like other early developments of semiconductors, but it was certainly a very significant development. The first invention of this transistor was announced on March 30th, 1950. This article discusses an overview of a phototransistor and its … [Read more...]
What is Gunn Diode : Construction & Its Working
In GaAs semiconductor materials, the electrons are present in two states like high mass low velocity & low mass high velocity. By the demand of an adequate electric field, the electrons are forced to move from a low mass state to a high mass state. At this specific state, electrons can form a group & moves at a consistent rate that can cause to flow current in a series of pulses. So this is known as Gunn Effect which is used by Gunn diodes. These diodes are the best and most frequently … [Read more...]
What is Light Emitting Diode : Working & Its Applications
At present, one of the latest inventions in diodes is an LED or light-emitting diode. These light bulbs are used almost everywhere from cell phones to large display boards. Day by day, its popularity & its usage is increasing rapidly because of some extraordinary properties. In particular, light-emitting diodes are extremely small in size & consume less power. Generally, light-emitting diodes are active semiconductor-type electronic components. As compared to a normal diode, an LED is … [Read more...]
What is Mica Capacitor – Construction & Its Working
A capacitor is a passive component, used to store electric charge within an electric field. It includes two terminals namely anode and cathode. The effect of this component can be called capacitance which exists among the two electrical conductors within a circuit. This capacitor is also known as a condenser. There are different types of the capacitor based on the requirement where the charge storage can be done by using these capacitors. The construction of capacitors can be done using … [Read more...]