Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote:

In other words, this data is just a plot of a diode's DC I vs V
characteristic, right?

What is of more interest is the slope at a given DC operating point. If
we pick 0V, for example, the above data (within the limits of its
precision) gives a flat line around that point (+5mV 21 Mohms, -5mV 21
Mohms). With a 100 uV signal, you might as well throw a 21 M ohm
resistor in there instead.


Exactly. At very small currents, the diode is just a resistor (shunted
by a capacitance). At slightly small currents, it's a very poor diode,
with reverse current almost equal to the forward current, so on each
negative half cycle you suck out nearly all the charge you delivered
during the positive half cycle.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL