A diode symbol with two arrows pointing away, marking a light-emitting diode.
Also known as: Light emitting diode symbol, LED schematic symbol, Diode with arrows
The LED symbol is the diode symbol with two small arrows drawn pointing away from it, meaning light leaving the component. The same arrows pointing inward mean the opposite component — a photodiode, which detects light rather than emitting it.
Marks a light-emitting diode: a diode that emits light when current passes through it in the forward direction.
Contexts: Electrical equipment
Adds two small parallel arrows pointing away from the diode body, a general schematic convention meaning radiation leaving a component.
Contexts: Electrical equipment
Is distinguished from the photodiode only by the direction of those arrows: pointing away means light is emitted, pointing toward means light is detected. The two components are functional opposites and the arrowheads are the only difference on the page.
A practical reading trap worth stating: at small scale on a dense schematic the arrow direction is easy to miss.
Contexts: Electrical equipment
A solid triangle meeting a short bar at its tip, with two small parallel arrows drawn diagonally alongside, both pointing away from the triangle.
Identical but for the two added arrows, which are easy to overlook on a dense diagram.