(electronics) Also known as crystal diode; crystal rectifier; diode. A two-electrode semiconductor device that utilizes the rectifying properties of a pn junction or a point contact. More generally, any two-terminal electronic device that utilizes the properties of the semiconductor from which it is constructed.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.