This letter describes the preparation and electrical characteristics ofa‐Si:Hp‐i‐n‐i‐pandn‐i‐p‐i‐nthin‐film diodes suitable for driving monochrome liquid crystal displays with more than 500 lines. The symmetrical current‐voltage curves in the reverse breakdown regime can be described byi=i0 exp(E/E0), whereE0&bartil;9×104V/cm. In the range 20–125 °C, the current is thermally activated with an energy of 0.25 eV. The response time to applied voltage pulses is ≤10 &mgr;s. The stability of the electrical characteristics is adequate for at least 104h of operation in a liquid crystal display. Electrical characteristics indicate that the reverse breakdown current is a tunneling current injected into theilayer and that electrons are likely to be dominant.