Haven't posted a stupid newbee question in a while-diodes!!

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Mbira

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
2,422
Location
Austin, TX
Is there any difference in diodes (not zeners) other that max current rating and footprint? Don't they all do the same thing?
 
Uhhh... Voltage rating?

And in some situations: forward voltage drop, reverse recovery speed.
 
I forgot to mention voltage rating. Now looking at the datasheets, I was thinking that the different 1n40** had different amps, but they are different voltages.
 
So for the most part, any diode that has a high enough voltage and current or higher can be used in say a rectifier situation?
 
So for the most part, any diode that has a high enough voltage and current or higher can be used in say a rectifier situation?

Well, yes. Kinda.

But you really have to look at all parameters in a given design to choose a component that will last.
And beware of charge current in a PSU, its larger than it looks like at first glance.

I read a good article about diode ratings somewhere, not long ago.
I´ll try and find the link for it...
 
I have a box of 1N4007's that I use whenever a circuit calls for a 1N40-- diode. I was led to believe that the 1N40-- were the same things but rated for different voltages, and that the 1N4007's were rated at 1000v.

I realize I may be totally wrong.
 
> I was led to believe that the 1N40-- were the same things but rated for different voltages, and that the 1N4007's were rated at 1000v. I realize I may be totally wrong.

They are just voltage grades. 1N4001 used to be cheaper than 1N4007. Still is $0.002 cheaper in crate-lots. If you order DIY quantities, ten or a hundred: the price difference between 001 and 007 is lost in overhead and round-up and ten-for discounts and profit margin. May as well buy a baggie of 1N4007 and use them everywhere you need a <1A <1,000V rectifier.
 
Don't forget about things like the capacitance of the diode, and the switching speed. These things are especially important in applications like high-speed switching power supplies, and low-level signal detecting circuits like, for example, the sidechain of a compressor. Then there's noise, which comes into play when you use a diode to bias the output stage of an amplifier (such as a discrete op amp). In power supplies, you get to filter out the noise with a bunch of capacitors. In circuits where you don't get to do that, you need low-noise diodes.
 
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