We have all had difficulty testing diodes in-circuit. Most DMM’s have a diode Vf function that measures forward drop, but what is the normal voltage drop? Analog VOM’s attempt to measure resistance of ...

The diode is a fundamental component you must understand if you want to grow your electronics prowess. So today, we’re going to take a quick look at what a diode is, then look at 4½ uses for a diode ...

The other day Linda from Purchasing came to me with a problem: Lou from Operations needed to source a replacement for a shorted diode on a switching power supply. The darned thing was marked with a ...

A major cause of losses in a conventional power supply using a 50/60-Hz transformer is the bridge rectifier. This article shows how to build a “greener” rectifier, substantially reducing losses by ...

Everyone loves a full-wave bridge rectifier, but there’s no denying that they aren’t 100% efficient due to the diode voltage drop. Which isn’t to say that with some effort we cannot create an ideal ...

Alpha and Omega Semiconductor has announced a family of active diodes which can reduce the 1.2V forward drop of 600V bridge rectifiers. “Both products are self-powered from the AC line and do not ...

The most demanding component in terms of high-frequency operation on an RF-ID tag is the rectifying device: this device needs to be able to charge a storage capacitor providing quasi-d.c. power supply ...