A Diode is an electronic Semiconductor device. Most diodes are made with semiconductor materials such as silicon, germanium, or selenium.A diode is a one-way conductor. It has two terminals, the anode or positive terminal and the cathode or negative terminal.The conventional current flows from the positive (anode) terminal to the negative (cathode) terminal although the movement of electrons (electron flow) is in the opposite direction, from cathode to anode.
The basic diode symbol is shown below.
Many types of diode are used for a wide range of applications.
1)Rectifier diodes are used to convert AC voltage to DC.
2)Zener diodes are used for voltage stabilisation.
3)Signal diodes are used to obtain the audio and video signals from transmitted radio frequency signals (demodulation) and can also be used to shape and modify AC signal waveforms.
