400 V PIV is marked on a diode specification. What does this PIV mean?
PIV is the abbreviation for Peak Inverse Voltage. In the case of the diode, it means the maximum voltage that we can apply to the diode when polarized in the reverse direction, but this is a peak voltage, that is, a value that should not last more than a fraction of a second. A higher voltage causes the junction to break (reverse break) and the diode to burn.
