This chapter begins with a basic discussion of the structure and behavior of the pn junction diode
and its terminal characteristics. Next is an introduction to the concept of modeling, and several
different models for the diode are introduced and used to analyze the behavior of diode circuits.We
begin to develop the intuition needed to make choices between models of various complexities in
order to simplify electronic circuit analysis and design. Diode circuits are then explored, including
the detailed application of the diode in rectifier and wave-shaping circuits. The characteristics of
Zener diodes, photo diodes, solar cells, and light-emitting diodes are also discussed.
