OLA’S EESE

They ARE diodes. That is the “D” in the acronym. They work like diodes. But not really good diodes.

So here are the reasons they shouldn’t be used like ordinary diodes:

• They have large forward voltage drops compared to a silicon diodes and their reverse breakdown voltages are usually quite low. Ideal diodes have lower forward drop and higher breakdown voltages.
• They are optimized to emit light in the forward direction and not to be used in the reverse direction and be good rectifiers if that is what you want. Reverse leakage may not be well controlled.
• Forward average current is not particularly very high; in combination with the forward voltage drop they will dissipate too much power and be inefficient.

So if you just want a good diode get a 1N914 for small signals/HF or a 1N4007 for a rectifier good for an Amp and 1000 PIV. Or a 1N5408 for up to 3 Amps. They’re cheap and plentiful.

So you probably shouldn’t use them in place of ordinary diodes, not that you can’t.

All LEDs are diodes but not all diodes LEDs