Editing Photodiode (section)

{{short description|Converts light into current}}
{{Infobox electronic component
|name              = Photodiode 
|image             = Image:Fotodio.jpg
|image_size        =
|caption           = One Ge (top) and three Si (bottom) photodiodes
|type              = [[passivity (engineering)|Passive]], [[diode]]
|working_principle = Converts [[light]] into [[electric current|current]]
|invented          = 
|first_produced    =
|symbol            = [[File:Photodiode symbol.svg|150px]]
|pins              = [[anode]] and [[cathode]]
}}

A '''photodiode''' is a semiconductor [[diode]] sensitive to [[photon]] radiation, such as visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation, [[X-rays]] and [[gamma rays]].<ref name="pears1">{{cite book|last1=Pearsall|first1=Thomas|title=Photonics Essentials, 2nd edition|publisher=McGraw-Hill|date=2010|url=https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/photonics-essentials-second-edition-pearsall/9780071629355.html|isbn=978-0-07-162935-5|access-date=2021-02-25|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817005021/https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/photonics-essentials-second-edition-pearsall/9780071629355.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It produces an electrical current when it absorbs photons. This can be used for detection and measurement applications, or for the generation of electrical power in [[solar cells]]. Photodiodes are used in a wide range of applications throughout the electromagnetic spectrum from visible light photocells to gamma ray spectrometers.