= Ideal diode model
{title2=$I_D\geq0,\ V_D\leq0,\ I_DV_D=0$}
= Ideal diode
{synonym}
The <ideal diode model> sets the conducting <electric potential difference> to zero and the blocking <electric current> to zero. With the stated orientation,
$$
\begin{aligned}
\text{conducting:}&\quad V_D=0,\quad I_D\geq0,\\
\text{blocking:}&\quad I_D=0,\quad V_D\leq0.
\end{aligned}
$$
<The Junction Diode by W. Marshall Leach, Jr.>[The Junction Diode, §1.12.1, printed p. 30: zero forward voltage and zero reverse current idealization]{ref}
The surrounding <electrical circuit> chooses the state and remaining value. The two branches meet at $V_D=I_D=0$. Their product vanishes, so the ideal <diode> dissipates no <power>: $P_D=V_DI_D=0$.
The <ideal diode model> omits forward drop, reverse leakage, <diode reverse breakdown> and switching delay.
\Image[/diode-characteristic-model-and-ideal.png]
{title=Smooth <diode> models and the <ideal diode> constraint}
{description=Original calculated <current-voltage characteristics>, not device measurements. Left: the <Shockley diode equation> with $I_S=1\,\mathrm{nA}$, $n=2$, $T=300\,\mathrm K$, and a constructed extension with internal series <electrical resistance> $R_s=20\,\Omega$. The inset resolves reverse <electric current> in nanoamperes. Right: the two allowed branches of the <ideal diode model>, using the same terminal orientation.}
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