What is a fast recovery diode (FRD)?

FRD stands for fast recovery diode. Fast recovery diodes have a shorter reverse recovery time, trr, than typical diodes and thus exhibit faster switching time and lower loss.

Fast recovery diodes (FRDs) provide short reverse recovery time (trr), making them superior to typical rectifier diodes in terms of switching speed and switching loss.
Toshiba classifies FRDs as a type of rectifier diodes.
FRDs are suitable for high-speed rectification because of short reverse recovery time (trr). They are also well suited for use in AC-DC converters and inverters with a switching frequency of less than several hundreds of hertz because of high withstand voltage.
The downside of reducing the reverse recovery time of FRDs is higher forward voltage and leakage current than those of typical rectifier diodes. Therefore, FRDs require thermal and safety design, taking forward and reverse losses into consideration.

Electrical Characteristics (Unless otherwise specified, Ta = 25°C)
Characteristics Symbol Test Conditions Min Typ. Max Unit
Peak forward voltage VFM IFM = 0.1 A (pulse measurement) 0.9 V
IFM = 0.7 A (pulse measurement) 1.4
IFM = 1.0 A (pulse measurement) 1.5 2.0
Repetitive peak reverse current IRRM VRRM = 600 V (pulse measurement) 50 µA
Reverse recovery time trr IF = 1.0 A, di/dt = -30 A/µs 100 ns

Example of a datasheet for a super-fast recovery diode (S-FRD)

Electrical Characteristics (Ta = 25°C)
Characteristics Symbol Test Conditions Min Typ. Max Unit
Peak forward voltage VFM(1) IFM = 0.1 A (Pulse test) 0.80 V
VFM(2) IFM = 0.7 A (Pulse test) 0.91 V
VFM(3) IFM = 1.0 A (Pulse test) 0.94 1.1 V
Repetitive peak reverse current IRRM VRRM = 600 V (Pulse test) 10 µA

Example of a datasheet for a typical rectifier diode

Please refer to the FAQ below for an explanation of the reverse recovery time.

FAQ:What is diode reverse recovery time (trr)?

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