Shockley diode

Shockley diode
Invented William Shockley
Pin configuration Anode and Cathode
Electronic symbol
A sculpture representing a Shockley 4-layer diode, on the sidewalk in front of the new building at 391 San Antonio Rd., Mountain View, California, which was the original site of the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories where the first silicon device work in Silicon Valley was done

The Shockley diode (named after physicist William Shockley) is a four-layer semiconductor diode, which was one of the first semiconductor devices invented. It was a "pnpn" diode. It is equivalent to a thyristor with a disconnected gate. Shockley Diodes were manufactured and marketed by Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in the late 1950s.[1]

Usages

Common applications:

Niche applications:

Typical values

V–I diagram
Description Range[4] Typically
Forward operation
Switching voltage Vs 10V to 250V 50V +/- 4V
Holding voltage Vh 0.5V to 2V 0.8V
Switching current Is a few µA to some mA 120µA
Hold current IH 1 to 50mA 14 to 45mA
Reverse operation
Reverse current IR 15µA
Reverse breakdown voltage Vrb 10V to 250V 60V

Dynistor

Dynistor

Small-signal Shockley diodes are no longer manufactured, but the unidirectional thyristor breakover diode, also known as the dynistor, is a functionally equivalent power device. An early publication about dynistors was published in 1958.[5] In 1988 the first dynistor using silicon carbide was made.[6] Dynistors can be used as switches in micro- and nanosecond power pulse generators.[7]

References

  • Michael Riordan and Lillian Hoddeson; Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age. New York: Norton (1997) ISBN 0-393-31851-6 pbk.


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