diode

[dahy-ohd] /ˈdaɪ oʊd/
noun, Electronics.
1.
a device, as a two-element electron tube or a semiconductor, through which current can pass freely in only one direction.
Origin
1919; di-1 + -ode2
Examples from the web for diode
  • It wasn't long before he could tune the cheap diode lasers nearly as accurately as standard lasers.
  • In a lidar gun, electronics ramp up battery power to high voltage that drives a laser diode.
  • The diode emits infrared laser pulses every five milliseconds.
  • diodes block current in one direction, and running them in series divides the voltage each diode sees.
  • Electrons on one end of the diode tend to be in a high-energy state and at the other a low-energy state.
  • Typically, a microwave antenna with a diode is able to capture the energy.
  • At the heart of the silicon modulator design is a diode, similar to those found in electronics.
  • The microcircuitry only is enough to support one light-emitting diode.
  • Possibly, a coherent beam could drive a laser diode.
  • Same was said of gallium nitride, can't make a diode because of defects.
British Dictionary definitions for diode

diode

/ˈdaɪəʊd/
noun
1.
a semiconductor device containing one p-n junction, used in circuits for converting alternating current to direct current More formal name semiconductor diode
2.
the earliest and simplest type of electronic valve having two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, between which a current can flow only in one direction. It was formerly widely used as a rectifier and detector but has now been replaced in most electrical circuits by the more efficient and reliable semiconductor diode
Word Origin
C20: from di-1 + -ode²
Word Origin and History for diode
n.

1886, from Greek di- "twice" + hodos "way" (see cede).

diode in Science
diode
  (dī'ōd')   

An electrical device with two active terminals, an anode and a cathode, through which current passes more easily in one direction (from anode to cathode) than in the reverse direction. Diodes have many uses, including conversion of AC power to DC power, and the decoding of audio-frequency signals from radio signals.
diode in Technology

hardware, electronics
A semiconductor device which conducts electric current run in one direction only. This is the simplest kind of semiconductor device, it has two terminals and a single PN junction. One diode can be used as a half-wave rectifier or four as a full-wave rectifier.
(1995-03-14)